Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 20, 2021

537 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.52/cwt +29.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,010/hd at 852 lb · 69 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $132.31/cwt +3.95 vs last sale · ≈ $841/hd at 635 lb · 39 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.59/cwt +0.19 vs last sale · ≈ $638/hd at 525 lb · 34 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 537 747 667
Feeder cattle 475 650 607
Slaughter cattle 50 66 48
Replacement cattle 12 31 12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold mostly 2.00 to 4.00 higher with good demand. Feeder heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with moderate demand Quality was good through attractive. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 lower with moderate 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
345 345 1 159.00 $159.00 $549 —
367–385 375 4 153.00–159.00 $157.21 $590 +2.21
412 412 2 150.00 $150.00 $618 +8.04
400–448 value added 433 5 151.00–160.00 $158.10 $685 +5.18
450–475 value added 460 5 159.00–159.50 $159.29 $733 +9.66
465–483 479 6 148.00–150.00 $148.66 $712 +3.66
505–532 523 3 135.00–139.00 $136.29 $713 -1.93
536 value added 536 5 145.50 $145.50 $780 -4.05
550–577 559 10 137.00–140.00 $139.18 $778 +2.17
566 value added 566 5 151.00 $151.00 $855 —
610–644 631 10 124.00–128.00 $125.92 $795 +1.28
620–644 value added 637 29 130.00–138.00 $134.51 $857 +2.29
650–685 661 4 121.00–127.00 $124.49 $823 —
666 value added 666 16 130.00 $130.00 $866 +1.39
700–726 714 8 116.00–120.00 $119.02 $850 +0.49
755–760 758 2 120.00 $120.00 $910 +4.49
800–837 821 14 118.50–119.50 $119.17 $978 +3.17
945 945 1 101.00 $101.00 $954 —
1040 1040 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,092 —
1067 1067 2 109.00 $109.00 $1,163 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 2 136.00 $136.00 $608 —
470 470 1 136.00 $136.00 $639 +7.20
505 505 1 130.00 $130.00 $656 +0.29
559–585 566 11 128.00–130.00 $129.44 $733 -0.56
643 643 3 115.00 $115.00 $739 -1.00
935 935 1 96.00 $96.00 $898 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 113.00 $113.00 $582 —
665 665 2 102.00 $102.00 $678 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
257–280 265 3 134.00–135.00 $134.35 $356 —
315 fancy 315 3 144.00 $144.00 $454 —
317–335 323 3 128.00–129.00 $128.35 $415 +2.26
350–390 fancy 377 6 135.00–139.00 $137.76 $519 +1.15
380–395 387 5 125.00–129.00 $127.40 $493 +4.30
410–435 value added 423 14 127.00–140.00 $133.58 $565 +4.97
410–442 432 4 122.00–126.00 $123.97 $536 +0.53
456–496 value added 473 7 129.00–130.00 $129.55 $613 +1.97
450–490 474 17 120.00–126.00 $123.37 $585 -0.05
505–548 value added 525 30 118.00–125.00 $122.20 $642 -0.22
505–545 526 4 116.00–118.00 $117.00 $615 +3.02
557–595 value added 577 7 118.00–121.00 $119.60 $690 -0.99
585–597 591 5 112.00–116.00 $113.19 $669 +9.60
613–622 620 21 119.50–120.00 $119.91 $743 +11.34
615–633 629 4 104.00–110.00 $108.53 $683 -0.04
670 670 1 114.00 $114.00 $764 +9.11
700–712 708 11 108.00–114.00 $111.84 $792 -4.54
792 792 11 115.00 $115.00 $911 +19.67
851 fancy 851 63 119.95 $119.95 $1,021 —
860 860 3 115.00 $115.00 $989 +26.00
863 863 3 92.00 $92.00 $794 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 112.50 $112.50 $366 —
380 380 2 120.00 $120.00 $456 +3.77
470–477 475 3 104.00–111.00 $108.69 $516 -5.83
632 632 2 96.00 $96.00 $607 -6.00
840 840 1 83.00 $83.00 $697 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 107.00 $107.00 $546 -3.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 145.00 $145.00 $297 —
366–375 368 5 145.00–150.00 $148.98 $548 +7.47
405–427 420 3 144.00–145.00 $144.32 $606 +4.32
465–490 471 7 138.00–139.00 $138.70 $653 +2.97
510–547 529 9 124.00–134.00 $126.98 $672 -4.65
585–596 593 4 124.00–131.00 $129.27 $767 +0.20
610–632 625 3 110.00–115.00 $111.63 $698 -8.19
665–670 668 2 114.00–115.00 $114.50 $765 -0.87
700 fancy 700 2 118.00 $118.00 $826 —
705–725 715 3 104.00–117.00 $109.27 $781 +2.28
760 760 1 100.00 $100.00 $760 -3.22
755–775 763 4 106.00–108.00 $107.24 $818 +4.02
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 3 136.00 $136.00 $442 +4.38
355 355 1 122.00 $122.00 $433 -10.00
425 425 1 129.00 $129.00 $548 +3.00
511–515 512 4 121.00 $121.00 $620 +1.46
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–335 320 2 122.50 $122.50 $392 —
535 535 1 114.00 $114.00 $610 +4.00
565 565 1 110.00 $110.00 $622 -5.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 127.00 $127.00 $559 —
535 535 1 121.00 $121.00 $647 —
995 995 1 85.00 $85.00 $846 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1030 934 85-90% 7 32.00–42.00 $37.23 $348 —
1030 1030 85-90% 2 50.50–52.00 $51.25 $528 —
1005–1250 1149 85-90% 10 45.00–49.00 $46.98 $540 +0.16
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1400 1306 80-85% 4 43.00–49.00 $47.13 $616 —
1260–1380 1335 80-85% 7 50.00–54.00 $51.93 $693 +7.11
1325–1495 1390 80-85% 5 55.50–59.00 $56.55 $786 +4.11
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300 1300 75-80% 1 54.50 $54.50 $708 —
1405–1730 1541 75-80% 4 55.00–58.50 $57.06 $879 —
1730 1730 75-80% 1 49.00 $49.00 $848 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430 1430 1 76.50 $76.50 $1,094 -1.50
1495–1850 1682 3 91.00–91.50 $91.17 $1,533 —
1995 1995 1 87.50 $87.50 $1,746 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990–1180 1085 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 910.00–1,000.00 $951.06
1245 1245 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,185.00 $1,185.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
910–1210 1060 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 625.00–635.00 $630.71
1140 1140 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00

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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.