Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 4, 2021

822 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.25/cwt -5.53 vs last sale · ≈ $836/hd at 623 lb · 46 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.30/cwt +5.59 vs last sale · ≈ $917/hd at 673 lb · 41 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.13/cwt -7.47 vs last sale · ≈ $982/hd at 633 lb · 37 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 822 446 464
Feeder cattle 737 383 340
Slaughter cattle 77 46 107
Replacement cattle 8 17 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady with good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 3.00 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
335 335 1 165.00 $165.00 $553 —
370–390 385 4 162.50–169.00 $167.44 $645 —
405–430 418 2 159.00 $159.00 $665 +1.50
417–440 value added 429 15 159.00–177.00 $171.91 $737 +0.15
453 453 4 160.00 $160.00 $725 ±0.00
456–498 value added 480 16 167.00–172.50 $169.59 $814 +1.01
510–535 523 12 151.00–155.00 $152.32 $797 —
515–541 value added 525 16 162.00–173.00 $167.93 $882 —
575 575 1 153.00 $153.00 $880 —
560–595 value added 576 6 155.00–163.00 $158.96 $916 -16.29
615–643 value added 632 35 149.50–159.75 $155.54 $983 -11.47
645 645 2 148.00 $148.00 $955 +4.29
665 value added 665 14 155.50 $155.50 $1,034 +0.63
665–695 687 17 141.00–146.00 $142.43 $978 —
700–735 value added 723 7 141.00–150.00 $142.81 $1,033 +0.81
775–790 value added 784 5 139.25–141.00 $139.94 $1,097 —
815–820 818 2 128.00–135.00 $131.51 $1,076 —
915 915 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,180 —
1123 1123 4 106.00 $106.00 $1,190 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 157.50 $157.50 $339 —
285 285 1 152.00 $152.00 $433 —
345 345 1 155.00 $155.00 $535 —
400–435 407 5 149.00–151.00 $149.43 $608 —
455–485 461 5 149.00–149.50 $149.39 $689 —
505–540 534 7 140.00–149.50 $145.78 $778 +4.78
583 583 3 145.00 $145.00 $845 —
615–630 618 5 134.00–139.00 $137.98 $853 —
700 700 2 131.50 $131.50 $920 —
862 862 2 122.00 $122.00 $1,052 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 307 2 138.00 $138.00 $424 -11.00
325–335 fancy 328 4 155.00–157.50 $155.64 $510 —
375–377 fancy 376 3 152.50–155.00 $154.17 $580 —
380 380 1 141.00 $141.00 $536 -9.00
400–445 value added 418 16 149.00–160.00 $155.22 $649 +0.36
422–435 426 4 142.50–145.00 $143.76 $612 —
452–480 value added 465 19 146.00–157.50 $152.44 $709 -0.59
465–495 484 15 137.00–145.00 $143.87 $696 -0.46
500–535 518 2 140.00 $140.00 $725 —
500–547 value added 525 29 141.00–154.00 $148.47 $779 -3.34
555 555 1 137.00 $137.00 $760 +0.54
552–598 value added 569 28 140.00–151.00 $144.82 $824 +1.08
600–648 value added 620 22 134.00–139.50 $136.81 $848 -2.97
600–647 625 24 127.00–134.00 $131.90 $824 —
658–688 value added 673 41 135.00–141.50 $136.30 $917 +5.30
710 value added 710 1 124.00 $124.00 $880 -2.00
710 710 1 113.00 $113.00 $802 -2.00
775 775 2 111.00–114.00 $112.50 $872 -3.50
810 810 2 101.00 $101.00 $818 -22.50
826 826 13 125.00 $125.00 $1,032 +1.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 135.00 $135.00 $310 —
250 250 1 125.00 $125.00 $312 -10.00
300 300 1 124.00 $124.00 $372 —
370 370 1 120.00 $120.00 $444 —
426–440 429 10 140.00 $140.00 $601 —
453 453 3 137.00 $137.00 $621 —
535–547 543 3 128.00–133.00 $129.64 $704 +7.14
560–581 576 4 121.00–136.00 $132.35 $762 +11.35
615 615 3 118.00 $118.00 $726 —
655–680 673 11 113.00–126.00 $122.11 $822 +6.60
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 2 139.00 $139.00 $619 —
556 556 5 137.00 $137.00 $762 —
677 677 2 123.00 $123.00 $833 ±0.00
790 790 1 105.00 $105.00 $830 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–390 370 10 156.00–162.50 $158.67 $587 +1.06
400–405 fancy 403 2 165.00–171.00 $168.02 $677 —
453–455 fancy 454 6 167.00–173.00 $169.01 $767 —
470–495 478 7 149.00–154.00 $152.14 $727 +5.13
505–546 532 14 140.00–149.00 $145.86 $776 +0.86
537 fancy 537 5 152.00 $152.00 $816 —
551 fancy 551 5 158.00 $158.00 $871 —
550–590 571 12 140.00–149.00 $145.84 $833 -0.93
600–635 value added 609 4 144.00–145.50 $145.11 $884 —
650–685 662 7 130.00–137.50 $134.86 $893 +3.86
700 700 2 133.50 $133.50 $934 +11.16
727 value added 727 10 136.00 $136.00 $989 —
750–777 770 6 119.00–129.00 $124.82 $961 —
848 848 3 115.00 $115.00 $975 +9.66
885–890 887 3 105.00–110.00 $108.33 $961 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 139.00 $139.00 $368 -18.50
340 340 2 151.00 $151.00 $513 —
450–485 459 4 138.00–139.00 $138.74 $637 —
500–535 521 6 134.00–137.00 $134.82 $702 —
580–590 583 3 126.00–127.00 $126.34 $737 -5.05
670 670 1 122.00 $122.00 $817 —
715 715 1 115.00 $115.00 $822 —
865 865 1 97.00 $97.00 $839 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 122.50 $122.50 $288 —
285 285 2 127.50 $127.50 $363 —
425 425 1 127.50 $127.50 $542 —
470 470 1 132.50 $132.50 $623 —
530 530 1 112.00 $112.00 $594 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 145.00 $145.00 $856 +12.00
685 685 1 125.00 $125.00 $856 +10.00
905 905 1 94.00 $94.00 $851 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1360 1225 80-85% 12 64.50–70.00 $68.27 $836 +10.81
1200–1635 1340 80-85% 11 71.00–76.50 $73.32 $982 +1.41
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1665 1382 75-80% 7 65.50–70.00 $68.00 $940 —
1200–1995 1494 75-80% 14 71.00–75.50 $73.45 $1,097 +1.53
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1060 983 85-90% 3 64.00–65.50 $64.46 $634 +3.46
1000–1170 1075 85-90% 3 59.00–61.50 $60.22 $647 +10.87
970–1195 1106 85-90% 5 67.50–72.00 $70.06 $775 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1505 1424 6 90.00–97.00 $93.83 $1,336 —
1345–1990 1738 9 101.00–115.50 $106.85 $1,857 —
1550–1925 1738 2 71.00–77.00 $74.32 $1,292 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
895 895 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 76.00 $76.00 $680

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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
1575 1575 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,130.00 $1,130.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 43 125.00 $125.00 $512 —
477 477 47 122.50 $122.50 $584 —
613 613 3 101.00 $101.00 $619 —

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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.