Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 23, 2021

403 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.36/cwt +11.51 vs last sale · ≈ $800/hd at 554 lb · 111 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.72/cwt -1.03 vs last sale · ≈ $916/hd at 633 lb · 16 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.00/cwt +9.35 vs last sale · ≈ $723/hd at 524 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 403 330 646
Feeder cattle 319 275 517
Slaughter cattle 51 48 109
Replacement cattle 33 7 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold mostly 3.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows sold 4.00 lower with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady 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
385 value added 385 2 172.50 $172.50 $664 —
405–440 value added 424 8 162.50–177.50 $171.02 $725 +1.34
445 445 2 160.00 $160.00 $712 +7.50
470–485 477 3 152.00–167.50 $157.48 $751 —
520–540 530 2 150.00–152.00 $151.02 $800 +9.02
551–555 552 5 148.00–150.00 $149.60 $826 +7.60
600–646 value added 632 13 144.00–148.00 $145.65 $921 -0.68
635–640 638 3 140.00–141.00 $140.67 $897 +3.67
660–680 670 2 139.00–141.00 $140.01 $938 —
670–695 value added 683 2 145.00 $145.00 $990 —
760 760 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,011 +5.54
1160 1160 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,206 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 377 2 140.00 $140.00 $528 —
510–515 513 6 138.00–140.00 $139.34 $715 —
585 585 1 135.00 $135.00 $790 +4.00
615–620 617 6 134.00–139.00 $137.50 $848 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 125.00 $125.00 $375 —
360 360 1 145.00 $145.00 $522 —
600 600 1 139.00 $139.00 $834 +5.00
690 690 1 141.00 $141.00 $973 +9.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 2 137.50 $137.50 $385 —
325 value added 325 1 147.50 $147.50 $479 —
332 332 2 136.00 $136.00 $452 —
377–385 380 3 135.00–140.00 $138.31 $526 —
375–390 value added 381 5 140.00–146.00 $142.89 $544 -10.76
440 440 1 130.00 $130.00 $572 -7.54
460 460 1 130.00 $130.00 $598 -5.26
455–494 value added 480 9 145.00–149.50 $148.42 $712 +3.07
500–535 value added 522 10 133.00–142.00 $138.80 $725 —
545 545 1 130.00 $130.00 $708 +1.35
551–570 value added 553 104 135.00–148.00 $145.25 $803 +10.13
552–595 569 7 128.00–133.00 $131.10 $746 +1.89
600–612 value added 608 3 134.00–138.00 $136.68 $831 +6.35
657–686 675 7 124.00–128.00 $125.12 $845 +5.12
705 705 1 110.00 $110.00 $776 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–385 372 3 112.50–129.00 $120.62 $449 —
410–420 415 2 110.00–120.00 $115.06 $477 —
480–491 488 4 121.00–122.50 $121.37 $592 -0.39
505 505 1 120.00 $120.00 $606 —
570 570 1 112.00 $112.00 $638 -2.23
672 672 2 110.00 $110.00 $739 -3.00
700 700 1 101.00 $101.00 $707 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 126.00 $126.00 $731 —
655 655 1 122.00 $122.00 $799 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 150.00 $150.00 $375 —
350 350 1 165.00 $165.00 $578 +16.15
365–390 value added 376 7 167.50–172.50 $170.39 $641 —
410–440 value added 430 3 160.00 $160.00 $688 —
480 480 1 156.00 $156.00 $749 —
482 value added 482 2 167.50 $167.50 $807 —
530–545 538 2 147.00 $147.00 $791 +16.00
610–647 635 3 125.00–128.00 $127.04 $807 +6.04
660–690 672 3 124.00–125.00 $124.67 $838 +4.68
695 value added 695 2 129.00 $129.00 $897 +1.00
720–730 value added 723 3 124.00–126.00 $124.67 $901 —
765 765 1 114.00 $114.00 $872 —
785 value added 785 1 124.00 $124.00 $973 —
830 fancy 830 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,021 —
850–860 855 2 106.00–113.00 $109.48 $936 -3.52
900 900 1 105.00 $105.00 $945 —
1100 1100 1 80.00 $80.00 $880 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 152.50 $152.50 $511 —
355 355 2 147.50 $147.50 $524 —
565 565 1 123.00 $123.00 $695 +1.00
600 600 1 121.00 $121.00 $726 +12.01
745 745 1 95.00 $95.00 $708 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 145.00 $145.00 $370 —
565–570 568 2 127.00–130.00 $128.51 $730 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 115.00 $115.00 $310 —
365 365 1 125.00 $125.00 $456 —
565 565 1 110.00 $110.00 $622 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1530 1530 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1585 1328 80-85% 13 69.00–77.50 $73.57 $977 -4.78
1360 1360 80-85% 1 61.00 $61.00 $830 —
1420–1490 1455 80-85% 2 67.00–68.00 $67.51 $982 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810 810 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $470 —
1015–1120 1067 85-90% 5 63.00–67.00 $64.56 $689 —
1000–1215 1133 85-90% 4 69.00–77.00 $73.08 $828 +0.58
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1420 1353 75-80% 2 68.00–68.50 $68.24 $923 —
1295–1565 1454 75-80% 6 69.00–76.50 $72.50 $1,054 -4.85
1720 1720 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $1,118 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–2180 1513 4 84.00–92.00 $89.93 $1,361 +2.10
1415–1925 1685 12 96.00–111.00 $104.24 $1,756 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1295 1098 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 900.00–1,025.00 $951.25
1180–1445 1271 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 975.00–1,000.00 $985.64
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00
965 965 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
1145 1145 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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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
995 995 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00 —
1430–1615 1538 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,325.00–1,425.00 $1,376.52 —
1710 1710 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,675.00 $1,675.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
815 815 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 81.00 $81.00 $381 —

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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.