Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 16, 2022

981 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards report →

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.99/cwt +16.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,154/hd at 722 lb · 97 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $153.16/cwt +2.16 vs last sale · ≈ $900/hd at 588 lb · 33 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $187.42/cwt +10.25 vs last sale · ≈ $872/hd at 466 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 981 1,096 680
Feeder cattle 914 1,038 641
Slaughter cattle 65 58 29
Replacement cattle 2 — 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold 1.00-3.00 higher, feeder heifers sold 3.00-4.00 higher, with heavy demand on 400-500lb heifers. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-2.00 higher with good demand, Slaughter bulls sold steady-2.00 higher. There was moderate demand for all feeder cattle, with good offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in weaned steers and heifers with favorable condition.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 370 5 177.50–194.00 $187.33 $693 +14.75
373 fancy 373 8 220.00 $220.00 $821 +9.00
406–425 414 7 172.00–187.50 $180.89 $749 —
401–435 fancy 423 10 198.00–214.00 $210.80 $892 +9.67
452–482 fancy 462 17 193.00–200.00 $194.46 $898 -1.42
450–495 471 11 165.00–189.00 $176.53 $831 +4.71
500–545 523 9 160.00–178.00 $171.31 $896 -4.29
505–536 value added 528 6 185.00–189.00 $186.29 $984 +0.29
564–595 571 19 163.00–178.00 $175.35 $1,001 +7.81
550–576 value added 572 6 181.00–185.00 $184.36 $1,055 —
600–636 value added 612 9 175.00–177.00 $175.87 $1,076 +3.37
600–645 621 13 145.00–169.00 $158.90 $987 -0.03
659 value added 659 21 174.50 $174.50 $1,150 —
665–683 676 5 143.00–150.00 $147.44 $997 +1.66
720 value added 720 72 165.50 $165.50 $1,192 —
709–731 726 25 142.00–149.00 $144.13 $1,046 +0.49
755–767 763 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,038 -2.68
835 835 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,102 —
856 856 3 132.00 $132.00 $1,130 -5.00
1040 1040 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,310 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 4 147.50 $147.50 $494 ±0.00
352–390 365 3 147.50–155.00 $150.17 $548 —
407–410 408 5 150.00–161.00 $158.79 $648 —
475 475 1 150.00 $150.00 $712 —
500–535 518 2 140.00–150.00 $144.83 $750 +21.83
590 590 1 153.00 $153.00 $903 +11.76
765–770 768 2 123.00–129.00 $125.99 $968 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 160.00 $160.00 $464 +16.90
315–340 334 8 160.00–170.00 $167.09 $558 +9.52
360–393 fancy 389 11 174.00–180.00 $177.07 $689 —
380–392 390 7 160.00–173.00 $161.81 $631 +0.63
405–435 fancy 426 7 172.50–173.00 $172.93 $737 —
405–440 428 12 162.00–170.00 $167.10 $715 +7.77
467 fancy 467 2 180.00 $180.00 $841 —
460–491 481 14 154.00–163.00 $159.83 $769 -3.90
500–541 520 13 139.00–158.00 $152.94 $795 +7.45
525–530 value added 526 10 160.00–163.00 $162.40 $854 —
550 value added 550 1 167.00 $167.00 $918 —
560–596 589 32 142.00–155.00 $152.73 $900 +1.73
610–622 617 5 140.00–143.00 $142.00 $876 +2.83
655–676 665 16 132.00–145.00 $139.21 $926 +8.69
705–735 717 12 123.00–131.00 $129.17 $926 —
750–780 765 2 120.00–125.00 $122.45 $937 —
808 808 6 122.50 $122.50 $990 —
1015 1015 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,056 —
1085 1085 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,237 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 2 135.00–147.50 $141.25 $424 +5.54
435–445 440 2 120.00–127.00 $123.54 $544 -18.46
450–485 460 4 136.00–145.00 $140.17 $645 —
562 562 2 121.00 $121.00 $680 +12.16
610 610 1 120.00 $120.00 $732 +2.00
685 685 1 126.00 $126.00 $863 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 175.00 $175.00 $542 +12.40
360–390 379 7 174.00–192.00 $185.48 $703 +8.26
405–436 420 7 160.00–180.00 $173.96 $731 +1.16
416–448 fancy 432 8 194.00–202.00 $197.85 $855 —
463 fancy 463 4 190.00 $190.00 $880 —
465–490 484 8 153.00–181.00 $160.91 $779 -9.64
500 fancy 500 1 185.00 $185.00 $925 +9.00
500–530 517 9 158.00–179.00 $169.20 $875 +14.02
550 fancy 550 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,040 —
550–590 569 10 154.00–167.00 $161.60 $920 +4.51
610–625 616 4 148.00–158.00 $152.47 $939 +11.47
660–690 675 2 135.00–147.00 $140.87 $951 -5.53
790 790 2 121.00 $121.00 $956 —
870 870 1 107.00 $107.00 $931 —
950 950 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,083 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–390 385 2 145.00–157.00 $151.08 $582 —
455 455 1 125.00 $125.00 $569 —
575 575 1 138.00 $138.00 $794 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1285 1089 80-85% 9 66.00–79.00 $73.72 $803 —
1040–1365 1229 80-85% 14 80.00–88.00 $84.21 $1,035 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940 940 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $451 —
885–1015 949 85-90% 5 59.00–68.00 $62.12 $590 —
915–1020 973 85-90% 4 69.00–76.00 $72.32 $704 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385 1385 75-80% 1 72.00 $72.00 $997 —
1440–1735 1594 75-80% 7 84.00–94.00 $88.53 $1,411 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1725 1480 5 93.00–107.00 $101.27 $1,499 +1.55
1565–2035 1755 4 109.00–123.00 $113.54 $1,993 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1000 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 975.00 $975.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 461 3 120.00 $120.00 $553 —
740 740 6 100.00 $100.00 $740 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.