Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, July 14, 2021

766 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.30/cwt ≈ $931/hd at 678 lb · 123 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $143.43/cwt +6.12 vs last sale · ≈ $766/hd at 534 lb · 49 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.73/cwt ≈ $952/hd at 628 lb · 43 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 766 199 336
Feeder cattle 668 128 286
Slaughter cattle 71 49 41
Replacement cattle 27 22 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers limited comparison with last week's light test. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher with good demand in a limited comparison. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with very 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 fancy 385 1 180.00 $180.00 $693 —
415–430 value added 425 23 157.00–167.00 $162.23 $689 -7.75
445 445 1 155.00 $155.00 $690 —
457–488 value added 473 6 158.00–160.00 $159.36 $754 -0.64
455–490 475 4 150.00–156.00 $154.30 $733 +0.30
502–520 509 4 150.00–157.00 $153.29 $780 +3.78
504–540 value added 518 38 158.00–175.00 $166.51 $863 +6.51
565–582 570 10 144.00–156.00 $149.02 $849 —
550–593 value added 573 22 158.00–171.00 $164.72 $944 —
600–647 value added 623 23 148.00–166.00 $158.60 $988 —
600–643 633 20 141.00–147.00 $143.83 $910 —
655–690 674 8 135.00–145.00 $140.49 $947 —
672–685 value added 680 19 149.50–153.00 $151.71 $1,032 +6.96
704 value added 704 29 151.75 $151.75 $1,068 —
735 735 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,014 —
750–778 767 6 132.00–135.00 $134.18 $1,029 —
810 810 21 134.00 $134.00 $1,085 +5.00
903 903 7 129.00 $129.00 $1,165 +2.00
960 960 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,114 —
1075 1075 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,247 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 2 150.00 $150.00 $345 —
445 445 1 142.50 $142.50 $634 —
526 526 4 140.00 $140.00 $736 -5.00
570 570 1 149.00 $149.00 $849 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 value added 640 2 148.00 $148.00 $947 —
652 652 2 139.00 $139.00 $906 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302–345 316 3 145.00–147.00 $146.27 $462 +1.27
355–380 value added 368 2 150.00–160.00 $154.83 $570 +4.83
410–433 value added 430 8 154.00–157.00 $156.27 $672 +9.52
425–445 438 3 140.00–145.00 $141.62 $620 +3.05
465 465 3 135.00–140.00 $136.67 $636 +3.67
465–492 value added 484 8 146.00–152.00 $150.91 $730 +4.96
510–547 value added 533 41 136.00–152.00 $145.41 $775 +6.98
510–546 539 8 130.00–135.00 $133.28 $718 +8.28
555 555 1 135.00 $135.00 $749 +3.00
550–590 value added 566 13 137.00–142.00 $139.70 $791 —
605–615 value added 612 3 134.00–141.00 $136.98 $838 —
629–635 630 10 123.00–129.00 $123.61 $779 +1.61
660–695 677 5 128.00–130.00 $129.02 $873 —
651–688 value added 678 118 134.00–139.00 $137.65 $933 —
725 725 2 126.00 $126.00 $914 +9.00
725–730 value added 728 7 131.50–135.50 $133.93 $975 —
785 785 6 128.00 $128.00 $1,005 +14.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 130.00 $130.00 $442 —
385 385 1 120.00 $120.00 $462 -10.00
420–440 430 2 123.00–130.00 $126.42 $544 —
515–540 526 17 125.00–129.00 $127.01 $668 —
550–586 579 12 116.00–127.00 $124.85 $723 —
650 650 1 116.00 $116.00 $754 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560 560 1 125.00 $125.00 $700 —
685 685 1 122.00 $122.00 $836 —
702 702 2 120.00 $120.00 $842 —
770–795 788 4 113.00–119.00 $116.28 $916 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
562 562 2 115.00 $115.00 $646 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 2 157.50 $157.50 $539 —
420–430 427 3 155.00–157.50 $156.68 $669 +9.18
455–495 470 6 141.00–150.00 $144.91 $681 —
515–544 534 15 140.00–151.00 $148.48 $793 +4.47
560–572 566 9 145.00–150.50 $146.55 $829 —
633 value added 633 8 140.50 $140.50 $889 —
640 640 2 130.00 $130.00 $832 —
712 value added 712 7 130.50 $130.50 $929 —
715 715 1 119.00 $119.00 $851 -4.00
770 770 1 116.00 $116.00 $893 -5.76
888 888 7 109.50 $109.50 $972 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–390 383 2 139.00–142.50 $140.72 $539 —
435–437 436 3 142.50–147.50 $145.84 $636 —
488–490 489 4 132.50–138.00 $136.62 $668 +4.12
565–595 583 4 126.00–136.00 $130.76 $762 -0.60
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 150.00 $150.00 $518 —
530 530 2 128.00 $128.00 $678 -5.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 130.00 $130.00 $552 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1335 1175 80-85% 2 61.00–64.00 $62.30 $732 —
1080–1550 1276 80-85% 6 66.50–71.00 $69.08 $881 —
1090–1460 1321 80-85% 10 74.00–83.50 $77.94 $1,030 +10.81
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1320 1244 75-80% 4 65.50–71.50 $68.12 $847 —
1290 1290 75-80% 1 64.00 $64.00 $826 —
1215–1775 1454 75-80% 10 74.00–80.50 $77.15 $1,122 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–1220 1063 85-90% 3 60.00–65.00 $61.91 $658 +3.83
1175 1175 85-90% 1 73.00 $73.00 $858 —
1000–1405 1198 85-90% 6 52.00–55.00 $53.94 $646 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1545 1545 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,421 —
1245–2135 1668 9 99.00–114.00 $105.20 $1,755 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1055–1140 1112 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 660.00–760.00 $718.11
1125 1125 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 675.00 $675.00
1245 1245 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 790.00 $790.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 560.00 $560.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
790 790 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 550.00 $550.00

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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
1140–1585 1280 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,080.00–1,200.00 $1,134.53 —
1795 1795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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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.