Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 23, 2022

844 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.07/cwt +4.86 vs last sale · ≈ $991/hd at 688 lb · 61 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $184.23/cwt +6.93 vs last sale · ≈ $984/hd at 534 lb · 46 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $158.29/cwt +1.24 vs last sale · ≈ $828/hd at 523 lb · 41 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 844 981 714
Feeder cattle 709 914 637
Slaughter cattle 120 65 64
Replacement cattle 15 2 13

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-2.00 higher with good demand, Slaughter bulls sold steady-1.00 higher. There was good 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
212 212 2 204.00 $204.00 $432 —
287 fancy 287 2 225.00 $225.00 $646 —
295 295 3 207.50–211.00 $209.83 $619 —
305–340 330 4 180.00–208.00 $191.55 $632 —
370–390 382 14 190.00–208.00 $196.71 $751 +9.38
383–385 fancy 383 13 212.00–212.50 $212.04 $812 -7.96
412 412 2 191.00 $191.00 $787 +10.11
405–440 fancy 438 15 202.00–215.00 $203.07 $889 -7.73
450–476 fancy 462 18 200.00–207.00 $204.87 $946 +10.41
450–486 471 20 173.00–199.00 $188.61 $888 +12.08
512–530 value added 526 9 195.00–204.00 $196.95 $1,036 +10.66
510–548 536 37 166.00–188.00 $181.14 $971 +9.83
550–596 578 16 166.00–185.00 $175.46 $1,014 +0.11
600–620 value added 610 2 176.00 $176.00 $1,074 +0.13
615–645 636 9 155.00–170.00 $160.96 $1,024 +2.06
670–695 683 8 153.00–158.00 $155.64 $1,063 +8.20
705–745 725 11 134.00–148.00 $140.42 $1,018 -3.71
790 790 2 137.00 $137.00 $1,082 +1.00
870 870 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,131 -2.00
910 910 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,247 —
1030 1030 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,288 -1.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–330 325 2 152.50–162.50 $157.58 $512 +10.08
410–427 420 4 145.00–166.00 $154.26 $648 -4.53
465–495 485 4 131.00–160.00 $152.75 $741 +2.75
555–595 575 2 145.00–154.00 $149.66 $861 -3.34
725 725 1 120.00 $120.00 $870 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–270 262 3 156.00–172.50 $166.03 $435 +6.03
325–340 332 3 167.50–172.50 $169.97 $564 +2.88
366–372 368 5 165.00–171.00 $167.42 $616 +5.61
370 fancy 370 1 184.00 $184.00 $681 +6.93
403–442 fancy 423 10 178.00–181.00 $179.97 $761 +7.04
435 435 4 159.00–175.00 $167.50 $729 +0.40
450 fancy 450 4 180.00 $180.00 $810 ±0.00
460–498 476 25 155.00–169.00 $164.88 $785 +5.05
500–525 value added 520 19 164.00–171.00 $165.93 $863 +3.53
500–545 526 22 140.00–159.00 $151.70 $798 -1.24
550–583 572 12 141.00–160.00 $153.03 $875 +0.30
608 value added 608 3 150.00 $150.00 $912 —
610–640 628 5 132.00–142.00 $137.46 $863 -4.54
682 value added 682 35 146.75 $146.75 $1,001 —
655–699 695 26 130.00–144.75 $140.47 $976 +1.26
839 839 11 126.00 $126.00 $1,057 +3.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 150.00 $150.00 $398 —
335 335 1 150.00 $150.00 $502 +8.75
355–395 378 8 152.00–160.00 $158.11 $598 —
455–470 462 3 128.00–146.00 $139.56 $645 -0.61
515–517 516 3 138.00 $138.00 $712 —
580–582 581 3 132.00–135.00 $134.00 $779 +13.00
600–640 625 8 120.00–130.00 $122.57 $766 +2.57
665–685 673 3 118.00–122.00 $120.31 $810 -5.69
705 705 1 108.00 $108.00 $761 —
772 772 2 111.00 $111.00 $857 —
945 945 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,030 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 182.50 $182.50 $447 —
275 275 1 187.50 $187.50 $516 —
315–335 323 3 171.00–192.00 $182.80 $590 +7.80
323 fancy 323 3 201.00 $201.00 $649 —
365 fancy 365 1 194.00 $194.00 $708 —
357–395 369 4 171.00–190.00 $182.08 $672 -3.40
420 fancy 420 2 185.00–199.00 $192.00 $806 -5.85
400–445 425 8 160.00–180.00 $170.00 $722 -3.96
473–485 475 6 160.00–164.00 $162.99 $774 +2.08
510–545 527 8 166.00–178.00 $170.13 $897 +0.93
565 565 1 171.00 $171.00 $966 +9.40
605–635 619 6 145.00–162.00 $154.15 $954 +1.68
650–665 658 2 148.00–155.00 $151.46 $997 +10.59
735 735 1 120.00 $120.00 $882 —
785 785 2 116.00 $116.00 $911 -5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 150.00 $150.00 $548 -1.08
500 500 1 131.00 $131.00 $655 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1175 1137 80-85% 3 61.00–68.00 $64.03 $728 —
965–1265 1142 80-85% 11 70.00–79.00 $76.60 $875 —
945–1390 1219 80-85% 32 80.00–93.00 $84.66 $1,032 +0.45
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370–1595 1467 75-80% 3 76.00–85.00 $81.11 $1,190 —
1315–1760 1507 75-80% 10 86.00–97.00 $90.01 $1,356 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–985 928 85-90% 2 53.00–58.00 $55.65 $516 +7.65
890–1080 981 85-90% 7 60.00–67.00 $62.66 $615 -9.66
1005–1185 1075 85-90% 3 70.00–75.00 $72.16 $776 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1230 1203 3 86.00–89.00 $86.98 $1,046 —
1305–1495 1410 3 94.00–109.00 $104.37 $1,472 —
1515–1875 1729 6 111.00–128.00 $122.45 $2,117 —

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1130 1130 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00
1305 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,325.00 $1,325.00

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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
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —
1050–1350 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,000.00–1,425.00 $1,239.06 —

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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.