Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 5, 2021

417 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.93/cwt -2.23 vs last sale · ≈ $787/hd at 575 lb · 89 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $139.98/cwt +1.55 vs last sale · ≈ $736/hd at 526 lb · 34 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.01/cwt +0.09 vs last sale · ≈ $814/hd at 612 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 417 469 399
Feeder cattle 336 355 354
Slaughter cattle 58 67 41
Replacement cattle 23 47 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower with moderate demand for weaned calf packages. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 lower with moderate demand for weaned packages. Higher corn prices have put downward pressure on the cattle market the last few weeks. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 160.00 $160.00 $344 —
385–392 390 4 158.00–162.00 $160.51 $626 -4.49
410–435 425 4 147.50–164.50 $157.04 $667 +3.95
440 value added 440 3 162.00 $162.00 $713 -3.95
486 value added 486 6 159.00 $159.00 $773 -9.00
500–517 value added 510 4 152.00–157.00 $154.66 $789 -8.77
506–535 516 7 140.00–151.00 $147.69 $762 +2.87
573 573 3 150.00 $150.00 $860 —
576 value added 576 3 156.00 $156.00 $899 -6.02
600–612 value added 606 5 139.00–151.00 $147.02 $891 -2.94
678 value added 678 4 139.50 $139.50 $946 —
685 685 2 127.50 $127.50 $873 —
700 700 3 122.00 $122.00 $854 -2.00
703 value added 703 3 126.00 $126.00 $886 -5.43
780 780 2 123.00 $123.00 $959 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 140.00 $140.00 $546 —
450 450 1 144.00 $144.00 $648 —
590 590 2 126.00 $126.00 $743 -9.00
650 650 1 122.00 $122.00 $793 —
772 772 2 113.00 $113.00 $872 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
601 601 3 121.00 $121.00 $727 -14.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
326–345 332 5 140.00–148.00 $144.72 $480 +6.48
355–395 369 11 136.00–144.00 $140.37 $518 +2.15
405–423 value added 416 8 140.00–148.00 $143.15 $596 -2.92
480–485 483 5 131.00–138.00 $135.22 $653 -1.78
490 value added 490 1 138.00 $138.00 $676 -6.51
515 515 1 134.00 $134.00 $690 +3.67
508–540 value added 526 33 134.00–142.00 $140.16 $737 -1.36
574–588 value added 575 89 131.00–138.00 $136.93 $787 -3.17
603–615 value added 610 11 131.00–139.00 $135.19 $825 +1.39
615–630 623 2 119.00–123.00 $121.02 $754 -3.98
715 715 1 109.00 $109.00 $779 -2.00
755 value added 755 4 120.00 $120.00 $906 —
762 762 2 119.00 $119.00 $907 +6.03
821–826 823 9 115.00–116.00 $115.33 $949 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–390 387 3 125.00–132.50 $127.46 $493 +0.03
465 465 1 120.00 $120.00 $558 -1.50
500–535 517 5 115.00–121.00 $119.56 $618 +2.56
580 580 2 123.00 $123.00 $713 +8.49
770 770 1 93.00 $93.00 $716 —
965 965 1 76.00 $76.00 $733 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
507 507 2 122.00 $122.00 $619 —
577 577 2 120.00 $120.00 $692 -3.00
600 600 1 90.00 $90.00 $540 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
329 329 5 152.50 $152.50 $502 +7.46
365–390 380 3 147.50–155.00 $150.75 $573 +2.63
402–425 value added 414 5 155.00–159.00 $157.58 $652 —
400–440 420 2 141.00–152.00 $146.76 $616 -2.49
420 fancy 420 2 160.00 $160.00 $672 —
475–485 483 8 142.00–149.00 $145.12 $701 -3.36
512 value added 512 2 144.00 $144.00 $737 -8.75
520–545 533 2 137.50–141.00 $139.21 $742 -6.50
560–585 578 7 130.00–143.00 $135.62 $784 -6.32
593 value added 593 3 147.00 $147.00 $872 —
601 value added 601 3 130.00 $130.00 $781 —
612–635 624 4 126.00–127.00 $126.49 $789 -7.11
700–735 718 3 107.00–115.00 $111.38 $800 -7.13
875 875 2 94.00 $94.00 $822 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
277 277 2 141.00 $141.00 $391 —
325–330 328 2 132.50–140.00 $136.22 $447 —
355 355 1 134.00 $134.00 $476 -4.33
435 435 1 140.00 $140.00 $609 —
455–490 480 4 132.00–135.00 $132.97 $638 +1.97
525 525 1 128.00 $128.00 $672 —
555–595 573 3 119.00–125.00 $121.63 $697 -10.17
657–670 661 3 110.00 $110.00 $727 -5.50
765 765 1 103.00 $103.00 $788 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 144.00 $144.00 $504 —
530 530 1 136.00 $136.00 $721 —
625 625 1 118.00 $118.00 $738 -6.51
770 770 1 101.00 $101.00 $778 -4.00
930 930 1 92.00 $92.00 $856 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1270 1270 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 985.00 $985.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 121.00 $121.00 $690 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1265 1215 80-85% 2 60.00–63.50 $61.82 $751 —
1170–1550 1327 80-85% 14 65.00–75.00 $69.29 $919 -0.92
1360 1360 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $816 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1100 1013 85-90% 5 61.50–63.50 $62.50 $633 +3.80
830–1235 1074 85-90% 4 51.00–58.00 $55.09 $592 —
995–1180 1118 85-90% 3 68.50–70.00 $69.12 $773 +3.30
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1575 1485 75-80% 4 68.50–71.00 $69.26 $1,029 —
1930 1930 75-80% 1 63.00 $63.00 $1,216 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1660 1385 2 74.00–80.00 $77.60 $1,075 —
1515–1605 1560 2 85.00–91.00 $88.09 $1,374 —
1565–2150 1810 14 92.50–102.50 $97.15 $1,758 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
910–1260 1085 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 830.00–910.00 $863.55
1295 1295 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00
1125 1125 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700 700 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 575.00 $575.00
940 940 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 560.00 $560.00

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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
1160–1355 1262 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 870.00–990.00 $913.94 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1360 1360 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 785.00 $785.00 —

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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.