Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 28, 2020

557 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Bluegrass Stockyard report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.55/cwt +2.29 vs last sale · ≈ $732/hd at 540 lb · 51 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $122.30/cwt +4.65 vs last sale · ≈ $639/hd at 522 lb · 42 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.77/cwt +2.61 vs last sale · ≈ $584/hd at 468 lb · 34 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 557 621 1,011
Feeder cattle 464 492 862
Slaughter cattle 60 64 128
Replacement cattle 33 65 21

Compared to last Wednesday middleweight feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 lower with light demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–347 340 3 147.50–155.00 $152.61 $519 -4.89
350–371 366 6 150.00–152.00 $151.02 $553 -7.34
355–390 fancy 381 4 161.00 $161.00 $613
400–445 412 11 143.00–151.00 $147.16 $606 +8.67
410–422 value added 414 10 151.00–158.00 $156.29 $647 -0.53
460–495 477 7 140.00–149.00 $143.07 $682 +3.75
457–489 value added 484 14 146.00 $146.00 $707
515–547 540 51 130.00–136.25 $135.55 $732 +2.29
556–593 572 10 129.00–135.00 $133.23 $762 -2.06
589 value added 589 5 138.00 $138.00 $813
600–635 615 6 125.00–128.00 $126.51 $778 +0.02
620–645 value added 641 6 130.00–131.00 $130.16 $834
660 value added 660 2 130.00 $130.00 $858
655–690 671 7 124.00–127.00 $125.02 $839 +1.32
700 700 1 120.00 $120.00 $840
755–757 756 5 120.50–124.00 $121.80 $921 -1.20
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 137.50 $137.50 $433 -5.00
510–545 528 2 126.00–128.00 $127.03 $671 +2.02
555–587 577 4 125.00 $125.00 $721 -1.47
700 700 1 115.00 $115.00 $805
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 117.00 $117.00 $474

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 127.50 $127.50 $332 -1.99
317–321 fancy 319 5 137.00 $137.00 $437 -2.00
315–347 338 11 126.00–131.00 $129.06 $436 +3.69
365–392 fancy 375 10 131.00–139.00 $134.95 $506 -1.16
360–395 379 4 124.00–130.00 $127.79 $484 +8.79
405–445 425 12 118.00–129.00 $124.64 $530 +0.05
443 value added 443 7 134.50 $134.50 $596 +1.50
450–470 value added 461 8 128.00–135.50 $130.75 $603
450–497 470 26 115.00–127.00 $122.93 $578 +0.77
500–530 519 7 113.00–118.00 $116.27 $603 +0.37
500–545 value added 523 35 119.00–126.00 $123.51 $646 +3.68
555–590 572 8 115.00–118.00 $116.13 $664 +1.90
550–595 value added 584 19 119.00–127.00 $122.32 $714 +3.81
605–610 606 5 120.00–123.00 $122.40 $742 -1.60
600–615 608 3 109.00–116.50 $111.84 $680 -12.16
655–670 660 3 107.00–112.00 $109.33 $722 +0.84
710 710 1 107.00 $107.00 $760 +5.00
770–795 780 3 100.00–104.00 $102.35 $798 -1.68
850 850 1 95.00 $95.00 $808 +3.01
865 865 1 101.00 $101.00 $874 +9.01
925 925 1 85.00 $85.00 $786
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 125.00 $125.00 $331 +12.50
305 305 1 110.00 $110.00 $336 +5.00
365–390 378 2 100.00–114.00 $107.23 $405 -4.05
415 415 1 114.00 $114.00 $473 +6.71
475–485 478 4 101.00–115.00 $109.78 $525 +1.31
610–620 615 2 104.00–106.00 $104.99 $646 +2.53
680 680 1 101.00 $101.00 $687 +2.81
775 775 3 90.00 $90.00 $698 +4.00
825 825 1 82.00 $82.00 $676
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
557 557 2 111.00 $111.00 $618 +3.00
670 670 1 104.00 $104.00 $697

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–280 268 2 132.50–147.50 $140.35 $376 -4.65
300–337 325 3 140.00–150.00 $143.08 $465 -3.06
370–395 383 2 141.00–150.00 $145.35 $557 +9.41
410–445 433 3 133.00–141.00 $135.52 $587 +6.92
460–495 474 10 130.00–135.00 $132.95 $630 -0.58
510–540 523 11 121.00–129.00 $124.71 $652 -2.66
550–587 572 4 125.00–126.00 $125.50 $718 +0.26
600–630 610 3 118.00–119.00 $118.66 $724 +5.27
700–720 710 2 103.00–108.00 $105.54 $749 -2.46
760 760 1 102.00 $102.00 $775 +6.00
810–815 812 3 98.00–102.00 $100.00 $812
965 965 1 86.00 $86.00 $830
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–330 323 2 120.00–130.00 $125.12 $404 -8.99
375–395 385 5 126.00–136.00 $128.98 $497 -3.24
445 445 1 131.00 $131.00 $583
470–485 480 3 115.00–129.00 $121.35 $582 +3.35
500–510 505 2 120.00–125.00 $122.48 $619 +4.23
600–645 630 3 93.00–111.00 $104.52 $658
650–695 673 4 106.00–110.00 $107.26 $722 +2.27
745 745 1 101.00 $101.00 $752 +8.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425–435 430 2 125.00 $125.00 $538
527 527 2 125.00 $125.00 $659
555–565 558 3 117.00–119.00 $118.01 $658
705–725 720 4 95.00–101.00 $98.50 $709
755 755 1 104.00 $104.00 $785
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 110.00 $110.00 $297 -2.50
405–420 413 2 102.50–107.00 $104.79 $433 -6.49
485 485 1 111.00 $111.00 $538 +1.00
535 535 1 108.00 $108.00 $578 +2.00

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1165 1090 80-85% 2 48.00 $48.00 $523
1155–1475 1334 80-85% 11 50.50–55.00 $53.09 $708
1235–1605 1399 80-85% 9 56.00–60.00 $57.98 $811 -2.91
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1055 993 85-90% 3 39.00–40.00 $39.50 $392
960–1265 1098 85-90% 9 43.50–50.00 $46.72 $513
1050–1275 1176 85-90% 6 51.50–54.00 $52.36 $616
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1395 1305 75-80% 3 57.50–59.00 $58.36 $762
1335–1535 1426 75-80% 4 51.00–54.00 $52.61 $750 -8.42

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375 1375 1 69.00 $69.00 $949
1260–2120 1677 7 77.00–82.50 $79.59 $1,335
1380–2350 1792 7 83.00–91.50 $85.61 $1,534 -3.89

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Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1380 1168 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–700.00 $654.66
1175–1195 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 585.00–685.00 $623.57
1185 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 735.00 $735.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060–1375 1239 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 750.00–870.00 $803.86
1595 1595 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
840 840 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 525.00 $525.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035–1095 1069 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 810.00–1,075.00 $947.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
840 840 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
890 890 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 660.00 $660.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1345–1420 1383 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,025.00–1,050.00 $1,037.84
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1230 1230 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 785.00 $785.00

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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.