Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 13, 2021

559 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.25/cwt -0.90 vs last sale · ≈ $605/hd at 468 lb · 46 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.91/cwt +8.40 vs last sale · ≈ $698/hd at 426 lb · 24 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.78/cwt -2.11 vs last sale · ≈ $661/hd at 517 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 559 852 1,098
Feeder cattle 462 721 943
Slaughter cattle 53 91 81
Replacement cattle 44 40 74

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher. There was moderate demand for slaughter classes.

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
312–335 320 3 145.00–150.00 $148.25 $474 —
360–390 375 2 157.50–162.50 $159.90 $600 -2.60
400–445 423 15 152.50–165.00 $159.45 $674 +10.89
430–431 fancy 430 9 170.00–173.00 $171.34 $737 —
460–465 fancy 462 3 163.00–169.00 $165.01 $762 —
460–490 482 15 141.00–156.00 $145.36 $701 +0.86
515–525 value added 520 4 150.00–155.00 $152.48 $793 —
513–542 522 16 130.00–145.00 $141.48 $739 -4.40
550–595 568 22 133.00–146.00 $139.57 $793 -3.29
600–648 621 19 131.00–147.00 $137.86 $856 -2.14
650–695 672 9 135.00–141.00 $138.54 $931 +0.54
705–745 722 5 134.00–145.00 $139.59 $1,008 —
750 value added 750 9 140.50 $140.50 $1,054 -4.50
780 780 3 128.00–137.00 $134.00 $1,045 -1.50
810 810 2 131.00 $131.00 $1,061 -2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 112.00 $112.00 $319 —
310–340 325 2 122.00–127.50 $124.88 $406 -20.12
385 385 2 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $499 -10.50
405–435 416 4 141.00–145.00 $142.42 $592 —
465–490 478 2 134.00–135.00 $134.49 $643 -0.52
525–545 535 2 120.00–122.00 $121.02 $647 -14.93
550–555 551 5 130.00 $130.00 $716 —
615 615 1 126.00 $126.00 $775 +6.00
685 685 1 126.00 $126.00 $863 —
735 735 1 106.00 $106.00 $779 —
790 790 1 114.00 $114.00 $901 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 137.50 $137.50 $337 —
270–290 280 2 130.00–147.50 $138.44 $388 —
325–340 335 4 130.00–140.00 $133.80 $448 -2.45
385–390 387 3 130.00–132.00 $131.33 $508 -1.26
405–409 fancy 409 8 143.00–147.00 $146.50 $599 —
417–440 429 11 123.00–138.00 $132.08 $567 -1.93
450–495 468 46 120.00–134.00 $129.25 $605 -0.37
500–545 517 23 121.00–134.00 $127.78 $661 +2.04
551–595 572 20 123.00–135.00 $129.27 $739 +5.30
605–646 629 18 118.00–125.25 $124.04 $780 +1.68
650–685 657 5 120.00–121.00 $120.59 $792 +2.62
700–707 706 8 113.00–119.00 $113.74 $803 —
765 765 1 115.00 $115.00 $880 +2.29
800 800 1 101.00 $101.00 $808 —
875 875 1 102.00 $102.00 $892 —
925 925 3 105.00 $105.00 $971 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 2 121.00–125.00 $123.00 $301 —
270–295 283 2 122.50–125.00 $123.81 $350 —
320–340 330 4 122.50–127.50 $126.21 $416 +1.21
355–395 375 2 100.00–102.50 $101.32 $380 -18.68
405–430 418 2 120.00–121.00 $120.51 $504 +0.51
470 470 1 118.00 $118.00 $555 +0.90
505–540 523 2 113.00–119.00 $115.90 $606 -1.10
563–577 569 5 107.00–115.00 $110.25 $627 +4.37
605 605 1 110.00 $110.00 $666 —
685 685 2 101.00–103.00 $102.00 $699 -10.99
720 720 1 104.00 $104.00 $749 —
885 885 1 93.00 $93.00 $823 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–336 331 4 140.00–144.00 $140.95 $467 -9.09
350–390 366 5 134.00–137.50 $136.08 $498 -3.09
405–448 432 6 134.00–138.00 $137.21 $593 -6.25
475–480 478 3 141.00–142.50 $141.50 $676 -2.91
517–545 526 3 131.00–144.00 $135.49 $713 -3.13
550–575 563 9 122.00–134.00 $130.92 $737 -7.05
601–635 610 8 124.00–133.00 $128.88 $786 +1.41
655–682 673 3 123.00–127.00 $124.30 $837 -4.70
707 707 2 125.00 $125.00 $884 +22.66
790 790 1 110.00 $110.00 $869 +5.00
805 805 1 104.00 $104.00 $837 +10.00
860–892 881 3 101.00–113.00 $109.10 $961 +11.85
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–290 270 2 120.00–125.00 $122.31 $330 —
320 320 3 130.00 $130.00 $416 -6.00
400–425 413 2 120.00–122.00 $120.97 $500 -7.03
485 485 1 129.00 $129.00 $626 +1.45
520–525 523 2 118.00–125.00 $121.48 $635 -5.39
572 572 4 113.00 $113.00 $646 -3.00
615 615 1 110.00 $110.00 $676 -3.52
695 695 1 112.00 $112.00 $778 +2.74
740 740 1 112.00 $112.00 $829 +22.00
895 895 1 99.00 $99.00 $886 —
915 915 1 80.00 $80.00 $732 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1310 1154 80-85% 9 43.00–48.50 $45.50 $525 -11.50
1080–1395 1255 80-85% 21 50.50–58.00 $53.95 $677 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740–1000 903 85-90% 3 41.50–45.50 $43.07 $389 —
715–990 913 85-90% 5 46.00–51.50 $48.44 $442 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1560–1670 1618 75-80% 5 52.50–57.00 $54.58 $883 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1840 1555 3 85.00–86.00 $85.61 $1,331 —
1370–1940 1606 8 88.00–95.00 $91.55 $1,470 —
1585–1660 1623 2 98.00–99.00 $98.49 $1,598 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–1445 1039 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 410.00–920.00 $721.55
850–1220 1053 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 600.00–850.00 $730.60
1010–1385 1209 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 700.00–1,100.00 $845.44

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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
1170–1730 1383 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,085.00–1,175.00 $1,131.77 -303.23

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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.