Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 2, 2023

578 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $249.21/cwt +27.21 vs last sale · ≈ $2,094/hd at 840 lb · 67 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $242.07/cwt -0.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,261/hd at 521 lb · 45 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $244.11/cwt +2.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,163/hd at 477 lb · 32 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 578 626 1,140
Feeder cattle 514 510 1,030
Slaughter cattle 62 113 85
Replacement cattle 2 3 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 4.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to 3.00 higher with slaughter bulls steady.

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
270 270 1 270.00 $270.00 $729 —
315–320 318 3 272.50–277.50 $275.85 $877 —
365–395 381 9 250.00–275.00 $268.63 $1,023 —
400–445 427 3 250.00–262.50 $254.35 $1,086 -2.85
450–497 467 17 251.00–275.00 $265.88 $1,242 +10.64
515–522 value added 521 5 279.00–282.50 $279.69 $1,457 —
515–542 530 7 256.00–265.00 $262.63 $1,392 +2.53
550–581 value added 563 10 270.00–285.00 $276.23 $1,555 —
550–590 568 11 250.00–264.00 $255.80 $1,453 -3.99
605–645 627 20 250.00–263.00 $259.01 $1,624 +4.01
655–690 669 9 255.00–268.00 $262.87 $1,759 +16.20
700–745 721 5 232.50–250.00 $243.33 $1,754 —
755–770 763 2 220.00–243.00 $231.39 $1,766 +5.39
810–825 818 2 216.00–234.00 $225.08 $1,841 +3.08
841 value added 841 65 249.95 $249.95 $2,102 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,201 —
616 616 4 239.00 $239.00 $1,472 +13.19
671–680 673 4 220.00–231.00 $228.22 $1,536 +1.22
730–740 735 2 216.00–219.00 $217.51 $1,599 —
1055 1055 2 171.00 $171.00 $1,804 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,357 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 177.50 $177.50 $799 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,290 —

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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 1 235.00 $235.00 $682 +2.50
321–335 325 4 230.00–237.50 $235.56 $766 +5.56
360–380 374 4 222.50–237.50 $232.96 $871 -1.89
400–440 425 14 231.00–242.50 $237.68 $1,010 +0.97
430–445 value added 438 9 248.00–255.00 $249.21 $1,092 -0.17
463–479 value added 473 13 250.00–259.00 $253.58 $1,199 +3.18
450–495 479 19 230.00–245.00 $237.63 $1,138 -1.52
500–542 value added 516 8 247.00–251.00 $248.78 $1,284 -2.97
500–543 522 37 231.00–244.00 $240.62 $1,256 +2.01
554 value added 554 12 257.00 $257.00 $1,424 —
550–590 572 13 228.00–243.00 $235.82 $1,349 -2.51
605–620 616 9 226.00–239.00 $229.18 $1,412 +5.23
621–638 value added 626 11 241.00–244.00 $241.83 $1,514 —
660 660 3 229.00 $229.00 $1,511 +16.67
730 730 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,350 —
835 835 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,553 —
880 880 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,540 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 215.00 $215.00 $731 +10.49
395 395 2 205.00 $205.00 $810 +5.00
440 440 1 215.00 $215.00 $946 +2.46
485–495 493 4 205.00–220.00 $211.53 $1,043 -4.93
510–540 532 8 219.00–222.50 $220.05 $1,171 +14.58
620–645 632 5 210.00–216.00 $212.90 $1,346 +15.04
655–695 682 5 203.00–215.00 $206.94 $1,411 +7.94
830 830 1 162.00 $162.00 $1,345 —
880 880 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,434 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 190.00 $190.00 $694 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,110 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–395 383 3 240.00–262.50 $248.51 $952 +8.29
402–445 419 10 240.00–247.50 $242.42 $1,016 +0.50
470–495 485 7 252.00–262.50 $259.11 $1,257 +23.07
500–535 515 12 237.50–245.00 $241.67 $1,245 —
550 fancy 550 5 250.00 $250.00 $1,375 —
555–590 565 6 223.00–237.50 $228.67 $1,292 —
600–645 627 3 222.00–227.00 $224.95 $1,410 +6.95
655–685 665 3 220.00–227.50 $223.28 $1,485 +14.28
710 710 1 193.00 $193.00 $1,370 -6.12
845 845 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,479 +15.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 230.00 $230.00 $966 +10.00
455–495 477 10 220.00–239.00 $229.03 $1,092 +15.86
510–535 525 6 208.00–220.00 $214.53 $1,126 -0.42
550–595 574 6 200.00–223.00 $215.61 $1,238 —
600–645 618 4 200.00–212.50 $206.77 $1,278 +7.77
675–685 679 4 208.00–210.00 $209.00 $1,419 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 165.00 $165.00 $512 —
430 430 1 182.50 $182.50 $785 —
650 650 1 150.00 $150.00 $975 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,020 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
695 695 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,230 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1105 960 85-90% 6 82.00–92.00 $86.58 $831 —
880–1195 1052 85-90% 17 97.00–110.00 $104.91 $1,104 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1425 1211 80-85% 14 110.00–118.00 $112.91 $1,367 +18.55
1250–1460 1357 80-85% 3 94.00–106.00 $98.73 $1,340 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305–1620 1436 75-80% 5 106.00–114.00 $108.33 $1,556 +11.99
1325–1610 1499 75-80% 4 95.00–104.00 $100.40 $1,505 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1715 1503 4 100.00–109.00 $105.44 $1,585 —
1415–1630 1523 2 119.00–120.00 $119.54 $1,821 —
1715–1995 1863 3 125.00–130.00 $128.01 $2,385 —

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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
1005 1005 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 1 740.00 $740.00 —

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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.