Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 4, 2020

350 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.34/cwt +5.04 vs last sale · ≈ $669/hd at 525 lb · 24 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.99/cwt +0.51 vs last sale · ≈ $693/hd at 573 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $140.71/cwt +5.16 vs last sale · ≈ $741/hd at 526 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 350 557 1,102
Feeder cattle 288 464 978
Slaughter cattle 52 60 103
Replacement cattle 10 33 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher with moderate to good demand in a light test. Slaughter cows sold steady with moderate demand . Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 higher with good demand.

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
363–390 375 8 154.00–158.00 $157.11 $589 +6.09
408–410 value added 409 4 156.00–159.00 $158.25 $647 +1.96
425 425 1 140.00 $140.00 $595 -7.16
475–486 482 7 137.00–140.00 $138.44 $667 -4.63
500–545 522 7 133.00–139.00 $136.45 $712 +0.90
516–547 value added 530 9 142.00–145.00 $144.03 $763 —
550–597 576 10 131.00–139.00 $134.57 $775 +1.34
601 value added 601 3 134.00 $134.00 $805 —
605–620 612 6 124.00–133.00 $127.35 $779 +0.84
650 value added 650 2 139.50 $139.50 $907 +9.50
655–685 670 2 123.00–132.00 $127.40 $854 +2.38
725 725 1 122.00 $122.00 $884 +2.00
760–782 value added 771 4 130.00–133.00 $131.52 $1,014 —
780 780 1 127.00 $127.00 $991 +5.20
815 815 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,027 —
862 fancy 862 2 131.00 $131.00 $1,129 —
910 910 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,138 —
1090 1090 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,101 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 135.00 $135.00 $452 -2.50
380 380 1 146.00 $146.00 $555 —
470 470 1 125.00 $125.00 $588 —
560–565 563 2 115.00–124.00 $119.52 $673 -5.48
620 620 1 120.00 $120.00 $744 —
810–830 820 2 109.00–111.00 $109.99 $902 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 105.00 $105.00 $536 —
665 665 1 103.00 $103.00 $685 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–240 232 3 127.50–138.00 $134.36 $312 —
250–297 281 6 128.00–130.00 $129.37 $364 +1.87
320–340 333 5 121.00–130.00 $126.56 $421 -2.50
350–395 377 9 121.00–131.00 $126.04 $475 -1.75
405–447 428 10 120.00–129.00 $125.91 $539 +1.27
425–440 value added 432 3 130.00–132.00 $130.66 $564 -3.84
453–490 470 9 120.00–130.00 $126.58 $595 +3.65
470–485 value added 475 4 130.00–131.00 $130.74 $621 -0.01
500–548 value added 523 21 125.00–131.00 $129.15 $675 +5.64
540 540 3 114.00–115.00 $114.67 $619 -1.60
556–597 value added 570 16 120.00–126.00 $122.24 $697 -0.08
575–595 587 3 112.00–117.00 $114.34 $671 -1.79
605–615 610 2 107.00–118.00 $112.55 $687 +0.71
605–641 628 6 122.00–125.00 $123.17 $774 +11.33
655–692 685 5 107.00–115.00 $108.53 $743 -0.80
720 720 1 109.00 $109.00 $785 +2.00
762 762 2 99.00 $99.00 $754 -3.35
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 120.00 $120.00 $336 -5.00
355–367 363 3 109.00–110.00 $109.67 $398 +2.44
470–475 473 2 104.00–114.00 $109.03 $516 -0.75
530 530 1 109.00 $109.00 $578 —
595 595 2 110.00 $110.00 $654 —
840 840 1 86.00 $86.00 $722 +4.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 377 2 91.00 $91.00 $343 —
420–425 423 2 100.00–104.00 $101.99 $431 —
510 510 1 92.00 $92.00 $469 —
560 560 1 99.00 $99.00 $554 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 112.00 $112.00 $594 —
790 790 1 94.00 $94.00 $743 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 151.00 $151.00 $498 +7.92
402–445 421 6 138.00–144.00 $140.09 $590 +4.57
455–490 474 5 134.00–141.00 $138.35 $656 +5.40
500 500 2 131.00 $131.00 $655 +6.29
600–635 609 7 117.00–125.00 $119.02 $725 +0.36
730 730 2 106.00 $106.00 $774 +0.46
765 765 1 111.00 $111.00 $849 +9.00
815 815 1 104.00 $104.00 $848 +4.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 132.50 $132.50 $272 —
300–340 320 2 125.00 $125.00 $400 -0.12
350–395 365 3 130.00–137.50 $133.30 $487 +4.32
445 445 1 130.00 $130.00 $578 -1.00
455 455 1 132.00 $132.00 $601 +10.65
600–638 625 6 104.00–109.00 $108.16 $676 +3.64
750 750 1 93.00 $93.00 $698 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 120.00 $120.00 $318 +10.00
402 402 2 107.00 $107.00 $430 +2.21
500 500 3 110.00 $110.00 $550 +2.00
550–575 563 2 112.00 $112.00 $631 —
625 625 1 92.00 $92.00 $575 —
725 725 1 86.00 $86.00 $624 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 1 111.00 $111.00 $694 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1510 1510 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220 1220 80-85% 1 49.50 $49.50 $604 —
1145–1320 1234 80-85% 8 50.50–54.50 $52.81 $652 —
1080–1460 1258 80-85% 4 55.50–59.50 $57.72 $726 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725–1070 926 85-90% 4 34.00–38.00 $35.92 $333 —
955–1175 1045 85-90% 5 45.00–50.00 $47.53 $497 —
1030–1275 1153 85-90% 2 53.00–54.00 $53.55 $617 +1.19
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1620 1392 75-80% 5 51.00–54.50 $52.91 $737 —
1400 1400 75-80% 1 47.00 $47.00 $658 -5.61
1290–1830 1553 75-80% 4 55.50–60.00 $58.21 $904 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1960 1609 7 79.00–85.50 $82.37 $1,325 —
1655 1655 1 52.00 $52.00 $861 -27.59
1915–2190 2067 3 86.00–89.50 $87.80 $1,815 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
935 935 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
915–1355 1116 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 610.00–735.00 $665.67
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1225 1225 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765 765 1 70.00 $70.00 $536 —

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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.