Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 6, 2021

535 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.85/cwt -0.15 vs last sale · ≈ $679/hd at 562 lb · 62 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $119.80/cwt +6.83 vs last sale · ≈ $623/hd at 520 lb · 41 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.10/cwt +7.28 vs last sale · ≈ $782/hd at 524 lb · 35 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 535 123 968
Feeder cattle 477 94 862
Slaughter cattle 41 22 98
Replacement cattle 17 7 8

No market trends due to Holiday.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 150.00 $150.00 $458 -7.50
381 fancy 381 4 172.00 $172.00 $655
390 390 2 151.00 $151.00 $589
400–440 value added 423 13 154.00–161.00 $156.95 $664
405–445 423 3 145.00–146.00 $145.33 $615 -10.99
465–470 468 2 141.00–146.00 $143.49 $672 -3.51
465–485 value added 474 17 151.00–156.00 $153.97 $730
500–540 523 9 136.00–141.00 $139.22 $728 -2.60
500–545 value added 525 26 145.00–155.50 $152.52 $801
553–593 value added 579 31 142.00–146.00 $144.86 $839
575–590 583 2 134.00–135.00 $134.49 $784 +3.49
603–640 618 6 126.50–133.00 $129.29 $799
650–696 680 20 123.00–130.00 $125.64 $854 -4.36
715 715 1 120.00 $120.00 $858 +2.00
821 821 3 118.50 $118.50 $973
1212 1212 2 104.00 $104.00 $1,260
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 2 125.00 $125.00 $606
535–540 538 2 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $697
610–630 623 3 116.00–117.00 $116.67 $727
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 138.00 $138.00 $718
680 680 1 121.00 $121.00 $823
710 710 2 119.00 $119.00 $845

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 122.50 $122.50 $288
270 270 1 132.00 $132.00 $356
318–320 319 4 120.00–127.50 $121.88 $389 -3.37
332 value added 332 2 143.00 $143.00 $475
377–380 378 3 129.00–130.00 $129.66 $490 +5.14
419–447 value added 433 13 130.00–133.00 $131.70 $570
442 442 2 124.00 $124.00 $548 -6.85
477 value added 477 5 133.00 $133.00 $634
465–485 479 14 116.00–124.50 $121.63 $583 -3.83
500–537 512 8 112.00–119.00 $115.40 $591 +2.43
500–542 value added 522 33 119.25–124.50 $120.87 $631
550–579 value added 558 47 116.50–124.75 $123.25 $688
550–595 575 15 108.50–116.00 $113.31 $652 -7.69
622–636 626 13 111.00–113.50 $112.00 $701
626–643 630 19 116.00–123.00 $120.62 $760
660 660 2 119.00 $119.00 $785 +7.00
662–685 674 6 104.00–111.00 $108.48 $731 -3.52
761 761 3 107.50 $107.50 $818
805 805 1 104.00 $104.00 $837
810 810 1 85.00 $85.00 $688
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 111.00 $111.00 $272
255 255 1 117.50 $117.50 $300
305–340 326 5 115.00 $115.00 $375 +4.00
370 370 1 115.00 $115.00 $426 ±0.00
403–415 406 4 106.00–113.00 $107.79 $438
515–525 520 2 105.00 $105.00 $546
560–570 565 2 98.00–99.00 $98.50 $557
600–625 613 2 90.00–91.00 $90.49 $555 -4.90
650 650 1 100.00 $100.00 $650
790 790 1 79.00 $79.00 $624 -6.00
905 905 2 71.00 $71.00 $643
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 2 90.00 $90.00 $441
685 685 1 90.00 $90.00 $616

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 162.50 $162.50 $455
320–335 325 3 140.00–141.00 $140.34 $456
365–370 368 2 144.00–146.00 $144.99 $534 +7.88
400–445 423 2 136.00–141.00 $138.37 $585
515–547 534 9 126.00–130.50 $129.14 $690 -7.36
550–590 573 3 125.00–129.00 $127.33 $730 -9.72
615–645 633 8 116.00–123.00 $117.84 $746 -13.16
685–687 686 3 116.00–120.00 $117.33 $805 +4.20
710–735 722 3 102.00–111.00 $104.95 $758
835–845 840 2 96.00–99.00 $97.51 $819 +9.51
915 915 1 85.00 $85.00 $778
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–295 285 3 130.00–137.50 $132.32 $377
315–340 328 2 134.00–135.00 $134.48 $441
385 385 1 130.00 $130.00 $500 +25.00
547 547 2 124.00 $124.00 $678
655–680 668 2 110.00–111.00 $110.51 $738
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 2 127.00 $127.00 $610
700–717 711 4 100.00–101.00 $100.75 $716
960 960 1 72.00 $72.00 $691
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 120.00 $120.00 $318
340 340 1 115.00 $115.00 $391
410 410 1 100.00 $100.00 $410
505–530 518 2 100.00–110.00 $104.88 $543

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1440 1207 80-85% 5 39.00–46.00 $44.07 $532
1155–1340 1235 80-85% 6 49.00–55.00 $50.84 $628
1145–1575 1329 80-85% 7 55.50–64.00 $59.06 $785
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1405 1310 75-80% 2 40.00–48.50 $43.94 $576
1225–1695 1476 75-80% 7 55.00–61.00 $58.26 $860 +4.53
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1000 923 85-90% 2 44.50–46.00 $45.19 $417 +15.69
845–1120 1010 85-90% 3 38.00–44.00 $40.85 $413

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435–1915 1638 4 92.50–98.00 $94.51 $1,548
1505–2045 1775 2 82.00–87.00 $84.88 $1,507

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
980–1215 1098 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 700.00–750.00 $722.32
1045–1440 1243 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 750.00–810.00 $775.23
1155–1465 1278 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 700.00 $700.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
760 760 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
1250 1250 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1375–1510 1438 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 900.00–1,000.00 $947.74

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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.