Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 23, 2020

123 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 123 761 0
Feeder cattle 94 683 0
Slaughter cattle 22 48 0
Replacement cattle 7 30 0

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
265 265 1 149.00 $149.00 $395 —
315 315 1 157.50 $157.50 $496 +7.50
350 350 2 157.50 $157.50 $551 -4.50
430–437 435 3 155.00–159.00 $156.32 $680 +8.31
470–475 473 2 147.00 $147.00 $695 +0.52
515–535 525 2 138.00–145.50 $141.82 $745 +2.00
565 fancy 565 1 150.00 $150.00 $848 —
566 566 3 131.00 $131.00 $741 -11.22
695 695 1 130.00 $130.00 $904 +0.96
710 710 1 118.00 $118.00 $838 -4.18
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
692 692 2 117.00 $117.00 $810 -3.00
722 722 2 114.00 $114.00 $823 —
795 795 1 110.00 $110.00 $874 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 2 122.50–128.00 $125.25 $407 -2.75
371–375 372 4 122.00–132.00 $124.52 $463 +0.52
380 fancy 380 2 137.00 $137.00 $521 +6.00
416–425 420 8 128.00–135.00 $130.85 $550 +11.05
455–487 469 6 123.00–129.00 $125.46 $588 +8.05
520–531 528 6 110.00–120.00 $112.97 $596 -2.30
565 565 1 121.00 $121.00 $684 +6.35
650 650 2 109.00–115.00 $112.00 $728 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 2 105.00–117.00 $111.00 $355 —
382 382 2 115.00 $115.00 $439 +9.00
495 495 1 114.00 $114.00 $564 +8.00
600–625 613 2 90.00–101.00 $95.39 $585 —
765 765 2 85.00 $85.00 $650 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–390 374 5 132.00–146.00 $137.11 $513 -1.03
455–481 473 5 139.00–149.00 $141.71 $670 +6.71
525 525 2 134.00–139.00 $136.50 $717 —
560–595 588 6 133.00–141.00 $137.05 $806 +2.48
610 610 1 131.00 $131.00 $799 +26.32
653–690 662 4 105.00–116.00 $113.13 $749 +3.13
755 755 1 100.00 $100.00 $755 -6.44
805 805 1 88.00 $88.00 $708 -9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 105.00 $105.00 $394 —
430 430 1 102.50 $102.50 $441 —
460–475 468 2 96.00–105.00 $100.57 $471 —
565–580 573 2 95.00–108.00 $101.59 $582 -21.41
630 630 1 81.00 $81.00 $510 —
765 765 1 91.00 $91.00 $696 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1790 1459 75-80% 4 50.00–57.00 $53.73 $784 +2.40
1705–2030 1809 75-80% 5 57.50–61.50 $59.08 $1,069 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165 1165 80-85% 1 52.00 $52.00 $606 —
1210–1625 1353 80-85% 3 58.00–63.00 $60.00 $812 +10.11
1440–1555 1498 80-85% 2 44.00–45.00 $44.52 $667 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 29.50 $29.50 $266 —
1155 1155 85-90% 1 47.00 $47.00 $543 +9.43
1200–1240 1220 85-90% 2 49.50–50.00 $49.75 $607 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1240 1140 2 70.00–79.00 $74.89 $854 —
1895 1895 1 87.50 $87.50 $1,658 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1080 1025 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 575.00–850.00 $681.03
1070 1070 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 460.00 $460.00
1280 1280 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
785 785 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 850.00 $850.00

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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.