Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 1, 2021

563 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.41/cwt +23.92 vs last sale · ≈ $997/hd at 667 lb · 76 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $150.72/cwt +26.05 vs last sale · ≈ $1,068/hd at 708 lb · 61 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.81/cwt +23.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,224/hd at 908 lb · 44 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 563 578 721
Feeder cattle 487 515 620
Slaughter cattle 57 31 66
Replacement cattle 19 32 35

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady with good demand for weaned packages. Very good demand for yearling packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls 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
343 value added 343 3 187.50 $187.50 $643 —
367 367 2 167.50 $167.50 $615 +0.44
380 value added 380 1 192.50 $192.50 $732 —
420 420 3 151.00 $151.00 $634 -6.66
400–446 value added 436 9 169.00–182.50 $175.56 $765 +5.98
460–495 value added 473 8 161.00–175.00 $166.06 $785 -7.30
500–525 515 3 142.00–154.00 $147.24 $758 -4.75
510–540 value added 515 7 160.00–161.00 $160.57 $827 —
550–565 value added 554 4 154.00–163.00 $157.51 $873 +0.51
550–595 573 2 145.00–151.00 $148.12 $849 +4.54
605–648 value added 629 29 149.00–165.00 $158.16 $995 —
669–686 value added 674 22 153.00–159.00 $156.79 $1,057 +10.05
700–715 705 3 137.00–139.00 $137.68 $971 +6.68
781 value added 781 31 156.75 $156.75 $1,224 +14.75
1010 1010 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,141 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 152.50 $152.50 $488 —
375–385 378 3 142.50 $142.50 $539 -6.50
605 605 1 126.00 $126.00 $762 -1.69
835 835 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,077 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
636 value added 636 3 144.00 $144.00 $916 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 147.50 $147.50 $494 +8.47
340 value added 340 1 155.00 $155.00 $527 —
355–380 value added 364 7 154.00–161.00 $158.64 $577 +5.91
423–440 427 4 134.00–137.50 $134.90 $576 -7.60
420–435 value added 429 5 140.00–147.50 $143.48 $616 -7.16
460–470 value added 465 2 146.00–147.00 $146.51 $681 +2.59
473 473 3 140.00 $140.00 $662 +0.34
500–545 value added 517 17 144.00–148.00 $145.72 $753 +4.82
530 530 3 134.00 $134.00 $710 -2.40
565 565 1 135.00 $135.00 $763 +0.25
550–580 value added 571 14 141.00–147.00 $144.06 $823 +2.06
635–640 638 2 128.00–129.00 $128.50 $820 +0.73
640–645 642 3 131.00–135.00 $132.66 $852 +4.89
650 650 1 129.00 $129.00 $838 —
665 value added 665 66 151.75 $151.75 $1,009 —
670–693 684 9 130.00–136.00 $134.54 $920 +9.05
701–741 value added 708 59 144.00–154.75 $151.57 $1,073 —
710 710 1 136.00 $136.00 $966 +11.33
730 730 1 115.00 $115.00 $840 -9.67
805 805 1 117.00 $117.00 $942 —
885 885 3 104.00 $104.00 $920 —
900 900 1 105.00 $105.00 $945 -6.00
908 fancy 908 43 135.50 $135.50 $1,230 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 132.50 $132.50 $358 -0.53
350 350 1 116.00 $116.00 $406 —
510–520 513 3 121.00–127.50 $124.50 $639 +11.91
555–595 575 2 120.00–121.00 $120.48 $693 —
870 870 1 89.00 $89.00 $774 —
935 935 1 89.00 $89.00 $832 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 129.00 $129.00 $690 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 162.50 $162.50 $536 +8.35
350 fancy 350 1 175.00 $175.00 $612 +5.00
365–390 378 2 165.00–166.00 $165.52 $626 +8.12
425–440 fancy 433 2 160.00–172.50 $166.14 $719 +8.14
445 445 1 160.00 $160.00 $712 —
462–491 483 7 153.00–159.00 $154.64 $747 +7.64
500 fancy 500 1 152.00 $152.00 $760 —
500–535 512 3 137.00–140.00 $138.95 $711 -6.52
581 581 4 134.00 $134.00 $779 -3.22
667 667 2 134.00 $134.00 $894 +8.00
767 767 2 117.00 $117.00 $897 -6.00
810–840 825 2 110.00–112.00 $110.98 $916 +3.98
940 940 1 101.00 $101.00 $949 -13.00
1163 1163 3 90.00 $90.00 $1,047 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 149.00 $149.00 $462 -1.00
380 380 1 137.50 $137.50 $522 -5.55
410 410 1 145.00 $145.00 $594 —
505 505 2 122.00–132.00 $127.00 $641 -7.00
550–565 555 3 121.00–122.00 $121.34 $673 -8.66
655 655 1 102.50 $102.50 $671 -6.81
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 127.00 $127.00 $419 —
450 450 1 122.00 $122.00 $549 —
520 520 1 122.00 $122.00 $634 —
552 552 2 106.00 $106.00 $585 —
615 615 1 104.00 $104.00 $640 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1580 1367 75-80% 5 65.00–70.00 $68.49 $936 —
1215–1890 1579 75-80% 11 71.50–76.50 $74.51 $1,177 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195 1195 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $693 +4.00
1165–1280 1218 80-85% 3 72.00–74.00 $73.36 $894 —
1065–1410 1227 80-85% 8 64.00–69.00 $66.36 $814 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1060 919 85-90% 4 48.00–57.00 $51.73 $475 -14.88
870–1265 1051 85-90% 5 66.00–71.50 $68.43 $719 —
1055–1245 1150 85-90% 2 61.00–65.00 $63.17 $726 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1630 1356 5 87.00–95.00 $92.17 $1,250 —
1425–1990 1702 9 99.00–110.00 $104.23 $1,774 —
2080 2080 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,726 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1007–1035 1016 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 970.00–1,025.00 $1,006.33
1240–1545 1367 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 860.00–1,090.00 $997.83
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
960–1065 1013 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 630.00–800.00 $719.41
1005–1160 1083 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 700.00–750.00 $726.79
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
855–875 865 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 475.00–485.00 $479.94

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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
1520 1520 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,360.00 $1,360.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
880 880 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
730 730 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 675.00 $675.00 —

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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.