Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, July 7, 2021

199 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.31/cwt -2.55 vs last sale · ≈ $713/hd at 520 lb · 12 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.66/cwt +3.99 vs last sale · ≈ $705/hd at 487 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 199 700 425
Feeder cattle 128 633 347
Slaughter cattle 49 38 60
Replacement cattle 22 29 18

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder cattle lightly tested. Slaughter cows sold steady 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
410–425 value added 415 3 168.00–172.00 $169.98 $705 +3.14
450–470 460 2 154.00 $154.00 $708 +0.68
475 value added 475 1 160.00 $160.00 $760 -7.74
500–520 value added 510 2 160.00 $160.00 $816 -0.27
520–535 528 2 149.00–150.00 $149.51 $789 -3.49
660–685 value added 676 4 144.00–145.00 $144.75 $979 +3.75
795 value added 795 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,073 —
825 825 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,064 -10.71
901 901 3 127.00 $127.00 $1,144 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 142.50 $142.50 $577 —
500 500 1 145.00 $145.00 $725 —
600–635 618 2 133.00–136.00 $134.54 $831 +4.54
680 680 1 137.00 $137.00 $932 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 3 145.00 $145.00 $435 —
372 value added 372 6 150.00 $150.00 $558 +5.00
380 380 1 135.00 $135.00 $513 —
410–435 425 4 132.50–142.50 $138.57 $589 —
415–440 value added 426 4 145.00–148.00 $146.75 $625 -3.48
480 480 1 133.00 $133.00 $638 -0.67
460–499 value added 488 9 140.00–147.50 $145.95 $712 +3.78
507–542 value added 519 11 137.00–140.00 $138.43 $718 -2.47
525 525 1 125.00 $125.00 $656 -7.06
585 585 1 132.00 $132.00 $772 +0.84
600 600 1 122.00 $122.00 $732 +1.00
700 700 1 117.00 $117.00 $819 —
770 770 1 114.00 $114.00 $878 +3.00
770 770 1 121.00 $121.00 $932 +10.00
850 850 1 112.00 $112.00 $952 —
965 965 1 98.00 $98.00 $946 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610 610 1 115.00 $115.00 $702 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 130.00 $130.00 $468 +10.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 fancy 358 5 169.00 $169.00 $605 +4.00
440 440 2 146.00–149.00 $147.50 $649 -3.50
462 fancy 462 6 160.00 $160.00 $739 —
515–525 520 2 143.00–145.00 $144.01 $749 +0.51
725 725 1 123.00 $123.00 $892 -4.00
762–775 769 4 120.00–123.50 $121.76 $936 -6.24
800–830 818 3 102.00–119.00 $110.92 $907 -10.06
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 132.50 $132.50 $636 —
510–540 525 8 130.00–139.00 $135.14 $709 +5.14
565–580 575 3 128.00–133.00 $131.36 $755 +2.86
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
526 526 3 133.00 $133.00 $700 —
600 600 1 123.00 $123.00 $738 —
655–657 656 3 127.00 $127.00 $833 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1305 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,575.00 $1,575.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 80-85% 1 62.00 $62.00 $710 —
1125–1555 1239 80-85% 14 70.50–75.00 $72.51 $898 —
1210–1370 1318 80-85% 4 67.00–67.50 $67.13 $885 +0.69
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985–1075 1042 85-90% 3 63.00–67.00 $65.32 $681 —
1015–1160 1080 85-90% 4 55.50–61.00 $58.08 $627 +2.59
1020–1270 1138 85-90% 8 67.00–70.00 $68.59 $781 +6.62
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1320 1307 75-80% 3 67.50–68.50 $68.00 $889 —
1355–1765 1545 75-80% 3 70.00–73.50 $72.21 $1,116 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1295 1248 2 92.00 $92.00 $1,148 —
1320 1320 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,069 —
1350–2000 1716 9 97.00–111.00 $105.37 $1,808 +7.56

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1280 1280 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 885.00 $885.00
1260–1360 1310 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 875.00–950.00 $913.93
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
875 875 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
1235–1615 1488 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,150.00–1,285.00 $1,247.66 —
1810 1810 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,460.00 $1,460.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1000 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00 —
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
795 795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $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.