Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 25, 2020

230 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.10/cwt +9.31 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 505 lb · 17 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.01/cwt +3.77 vs last sale · ≈ $647/hd at 522 lb · 16 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.44/cwt +4.58 vs last sale · ≈ $733/hd at 619 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 230 892 0
Feeder cattle 163 778 0
Slaughter cattle 42 80 0
Replacement cattle 25 34 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 600lbs 2.00-3.00 higher with instances of 8.00 higher on value added steers, over 600lbs steady. Feeder heifers sold steady with good demand on all feeder cattle. Buyers showed good interest in weaned and pre-conditioned cattle. Slaughter cows sold steady; Slaughter bulls sold steady with moderate demand on all slaughter cattle.

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
315 value added 315 2 192.50 $192.50 $606 —
365–370 value added 368 3 185.00–192.50 $189.49 $697 —
380 380 2 142.50 $142.50 $542 -9.04
420 420 1 155.00 $155.00 $651 +9.00
400–435 value added 423 3 170.00–177.50 $172.36 $729 +18.96
455 455 1 152.50 $152.50 $694 +10.99
503 value added 503 14 153.50 $153.50 $772 +9.99
507–530 515 3 134.00–143.00 $139.91 $721 +0.98
565–587 580 3 124.00–138.00 $133.45 $774 -4.80
600–620 612 5 127.00–137.00 $130.92 $801 +4.26
650 650 1 122.00 $122.00 $793 -6.00
710–745 716 7 113.00–123.50 $120.95 $866 -3.08
808 808 3 120.00 $120.00 $970 —
925 925 1 100.00 $100.00 $925 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 122.50 $122.50 $576 -16.16
575–580 578 2 110.00–120.00 $115.02 $665 -10.27
655 655 1 114.00 $114.00 $747 -8.63

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 130.00 $130.00 $370 —
335–340 338 2 121.00–133.00 $126.96 $429 +1.65
355–380 364 4 115.00–130.00 $126.29 $460 +2.68
425 425 1 124.00 $124.00 $527 +1.82
450–495 461 10 117.00–131.00 $127.30 $587 +5.70
514–545 522 16 115.50–126.50 $124.01 $647 +6.66
550–575 564 5 117.00–121.00 $119.24 $673 +2.44
600–623 619 15 114.50–119.50 $118.44 $733 +5.01
690 690 1 106.00 $106.00 $731 -2.60
700–738 727 7 101.00–110.00 $104.23 $758 -1.41
805 805 1 90.00 $90.00 $724 -2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 112.50 $112.50 $292 —
440 440 1 106.00 $106.00 $466 -4.50
460 460 1 104.00 $104.00 $478 -8.56
500–510 507 3 100.00–101.00 $100.67 $510 -8.80
565–585 575 3 94.00–101.00 $98.63 $567 -3.82
765 765 1 66.00 $66.00 $505 -26.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 value added 382 2 185.00 $185.00 $707 —
425 value added 425 1 172.50 $172.50 $733 —
450–475 458 3 124.00–127.50 $126.29 $578 -12.30
566 566 3 137.50 $137.50 $778 +8.46
605 605 2 117.00–126.00 $121.50 $735 -1.48
665 665 2 118.00 $118.00 $785 —
720 720 2 84.00–104.00 $94.00 $677 -19.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 715 1 68.00 $68.00 $486 —
790 790 1 80.00 $80.00 $632 —
825–840 833 2 77.00–80.00 $78.51 $654 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1490 1271 80-85% 5 43.00–53.00 $49.16 $625 -9.25
1115–1385 1293 80-85% 7 54.00–56.00 $54.40 $703 -4.01
1330–1480 1405 80-85% 2 59.00–61.00 $60.05 $844 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1165 1059 85-90% 4 37.00–40.00 $39.31 $416 -11.69
1085 1085 85-90% 1 31.50 $31.50 $342 -13.84
930–1355 1125 85-90% 5 51.50–54.00 $52.31 $588 —
1055–1185 1142 85-90% 3 44.50–47.00 $45.79 $523 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1640 1469 75-80% 5 53.00–57.50 $55.43 $814 —
1390–1610 1500 75-80% 5 58.00–60.00 $58.92 $884 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1485 1423 2 84.00–88.00 $86.09 $1,225 —
1355–1830 1553 3 76.00–81.00 $78.56 $1,220 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1055 1055 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 550.00 $550.00
960–1155 1058 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 525.00–625.00 $570.39
980–1190 1085 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 475.00–675.00 $584.68
1040–1455 1248 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 575.00–950.00 $793.69
1320 1320 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1220–1500 1322 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 750.00–825.00 $781.24
1095–1620 1338 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 675.00–925.00 $820.71

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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
860 860 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —
1460 1460 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.