Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 16, 2020

761 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.71/cwt +7.26 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 617 lb · 145 head

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.46/cwt +10.44 vs last sale · ≈ $963/hd at 721 lb · 95 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.18/cwt +4.88 vs last sale · ≈ $870/hd at 690 lb · 47 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	761	1,741	329
Feeder cattle	683	1,597	287
Slaughter cattle	48	132	36
Replacement cattle	30	12	6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold mixed with 400-500 lbs 3.00 lower; 500-600 lbs 3.00 higher good demand for weaned packages, fleshy bawling calves facing discounts. Yearlings limited comparison. Feeder heifers sold steady to 2.00 lower with moderate demand. Heifers over 600 lbs not guaranteed open facing noticeable discounts. Slaughter cows sold steady with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold firm 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
317	317	2	150.00	$150.00	$476	-4.15
308–347 fancy	319	7	170.00–174.00	$171.24	$546	-7.76
373	373	3	162.00	$162.00	$604	+5.24
386 fancy	386	3	170.00	$170.00	$656	-4.18
413–446 value added	429	13	151.50–155.00	$153.35	$658	-6.88
410–442	430	4	147.00–149.00	$148.01	$636	+7.53
475–482	479	4	144.00–149.00	$146.48	$702	+0.04
455–495 value added	485	15	150.00–159.00	$156.83	$761	-0.54
505–545	524	8	136.00–143.00	$139.82	$733	—
505–540 value added	524	22	145.00–157.00	$154.69	$811	-0.20
562–575 value added	569	4	148.00–149.00	$148.49	$845	+1.79
560–595	581	4	141.00–145.00	$142.22	$826	+3.62
605–635 value added	613	11	130.00–140.00	$136.75	$838	+6.86
660–695	681	9	125.00–130.00	$129.04	$879	+4.26
701–724 value added	721	86	126.00–136.00	$134.64	$971	—
714–738	725	9	121.50–123.00	$122.18	$886	-0.84
765–778	774	5	120.00–125.00	$123.21	$954	-0.82
805–820	810	3	121.00–123.50	$121.84	$987	+19.84
1016	1016	3	103.50	$103.50	$1,052	-11.50

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355–360	357	5	136.00–145.00	$138.61	$495	-5.39
415–435	423	9	132.50–139.00	$134.79	$570	—
460	460	1	137.00	$137.00	$630	+7.15
530	530	1	130.00	$130.00	$689	-1.98
680	680	1	120.00	$120.00	$816	+1.34

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
445	445	1	122.50	$122.50	$545	—
502	502	2	113.00	$113.00	$567	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
730	730	1	119.00	$119.00	$869	-1.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
330	330	2	128.00	$128.00	$422	+2.22
330 fancy	330	1	131.00	$131.00	$432	-5.69
355 fancy	355	2	131.00	$131.00	$465	-1.90
390	390	2	124.00	$124.00	$484	+1.33
401–445	425	20	115.00–125.00	$119.80	$509	-3.72
450–497	474	13	112.00–122.00	$117.41	$557	-4.43
479 value added	479	10	127.00	$127.00	$608	-1.98
515–535	524	11	110.00–117.00	$115.27	$604	-0.28
556–598	582	19	112.00–116.00	$114.65	$667	-1.36
608–616 value added	612	120	127.35–128.25	$127.80	$782	—
600–648	639	25	100.00–108.00	$104.05	$665	-7.78
687	687	2	102.00	$102.00	$701	-10.92
690 value added	690	45	127.25	$127.25	$878	-0.25
750	750	7	113.50	$113.50	$851	+2.83
791	791	3	100.00	$100.00	$791	-8.00
1017	1017	6	94.00	$94.00	$956	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
230–242	238	3	110.00–116.00	$114.07	$271	—
370	370	2	106.00	$106.00	$392	-3.49
402–435	413	3	106.00–111.00	$107.76	$445	-4.25
460	460	1	106.00	$106.00	$488	-4.45
510–517	514	4	100.00–109.00	$105.77	$544	-0.44
570–590	580	3	105.00–109.00	$106.66	$619	—
685	685	1	96.00	$96.00	$658	-4.03
737	737	2	90.00	$90.00	$663	—
805	805	1	81.00	$81.00	$652	±0.00

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
260	260	1	100.00	$100.00	$260	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355–395	368	3	136.00–142.00	$138.14	$508	-4.33
451	451	3	135.00	$135.00	$609	—
511 fancy	511	3	145.50	$145.50	$744	+1.50
581–595	584	5	129.00–136.00	$134.57	$786	+2.44
610–635	618	3	104.00–106.00	$104.68	$647	-15.18
675	675	1	110.00	$110.00	$742	-7.55
717	717	2	104.00	$104.00	$746	-1.95
758–799	781	9	104.50–109.00	$106.44	$831	—
830	830	1	97.00	$97.00	$805	+7.00
880	880	6	96.00	$96.00	$845	-4.00
930	930	1	101.00	$101.00	$939	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
232	232	2	115.00	$115.00	$267	—
315–335	325	2	102.50–107.50	$104.92	$341	—
380	380	2	120.00	$120.00	$456	—
470	470	1	103.00	$103.00	$484	-2.00
535	535	1	108.00	$108.00	$578	—
570–595	587	3	105.00–110.00	$106.62	$626	-4.62

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315	315	1	137.50	$137.50	$433	—
520–530	525	2	120.00	$120.00	$630	-1.58
575	575	1	123.00	$123.00	$707	+2.76
690	690	1	100.00	$100.00	$690	-5.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1150–1365	1258	80-85%	2	42.00–44.00	$42.91	$540	-6.61
1170–1610	1369	80-85%	8	46.00–52.00	$49.89	$683	—
1165–1685	1396	80-85%	8	52.50–55.50	$54.05	$755	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1260–1635	1481	75-80%	8	50.50–52.50	$51.33	$760	—
1535	1535	75-80%	1	45.00	$45.00	$691	—
1435–1670	1560	75-80%	3	54.00–57.50	$55.71	$869	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
930–1030	980	85-90%	2	43.50–44.00	$43.76	$429	—
1010–1355	1189	85-90%	4	36.00–40.00	$37.57	$447	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1130–1535	1313	3	61.00–72.00	$65.13	$855	—
1335–1930	1623	3	95.50–98.00	$96.38	$1,564	—
1700–2155	1948	4	84.00–86.00	$84.88	$1,653	—

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1210–1225	1218	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	500.00–635.00	$567.08
1080–1650	1283	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	500.00–700.00	$619.49

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
900	900	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	735.00	$735.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
820	820	(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	600.00	$600.00
870–1015	943	(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	650.00–700.00	$676.92

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1205–1465	1300	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	3	775.00–890.00	$841.85	—
1315	1315	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	910.00	$910.00	—

↑ Back to top

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.