Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 3, 2021

1,854 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.17/cwt +22.09 vs last sale · ≈ $890/hd at 613 lb · 217 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.32/cwt +11.96 vs last sale · ≈ $731/hd at 536 lb · 138 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.84/cwt +12.25 vs last sale · ≈ $664/hd at 478 lb · 104 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,854 740 350
Feeder cattle 1,679 594 288
Slaughter cattle 144 126 52
Replacement cattle 31 20 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady with good demand for weaned packages; fleshy bawling calves facing discounts. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

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
330 fancy 330 1 173.00 $173.00 $571 —
332 332 2 169.00 $169.00 $561 +5.29
366–395 375 20 164.00–169.00 $165.08 $619 +2.33
402–445 value added 433 43 156.00–173.00 $164.76 $713 +4.31
430–441 436 6 152.50–154.00 $153.24 $668 —
450–475 value added 461 41 157.00–170.00 $160.40 $739 -7.60
455–495 476 25 142.50–155.00 $152.14 $724 +2.14
500–537 526 18 140.00–151.00 $145.71 $766 +0.12
517–543 value added 539 13 156.50–160.00 $157.02 $846 -5.63
551–555 value added 552 43 153.00–155.00 $153.37 $847 —
550–590 559 41 141.50–148.00 $144.01 $805 —
616–637 value added 617 42 141.00–156.90 $156.12 $963 +9.39
600–638 619 30 133.00–139.50 $135.88 $841 -2.61
660 660 2 138.00 $138.00 $911 +5.00
672 value added 672 5 141.50 $141.50 $951 -8.00
730 730 1 131.00 $131.00 $956 -2.00
768 value added 768 6 140.50 $140.50 $1,079 —
770 770 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,032 +3.00
820 820 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,099 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 140.00 $140.00 $399 —
445 445 1 140.00 $140.00 $623 —
475–492 489 6 125.00–138.00 $135.90 $665 —
505–537 524 4 130.00–136.00 $132.73 $696 +7.73
570–585 576 10 126.00–136.00 $128.20 $738 -4.15
601–625 612 7 128.00–130.50 $129.29 $791 +8.23
651 651 7 125.50 $125.50 $817 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 3 139.50 $139.50 $646 —
535 value added 535 13 152.00 $152.00 $813 —
572–590 576 5 131.00–132.00 $131.21 $756 —
608 608 4 126.00 $126.00 $766 —
670 670 1 130.00 $130.00 $871 +1.00
835 835 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,102 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–225 218 2 129.00–132.50 $130.69 $285 -4.70
270–297 280 9 120.00–139.00 $135.44 $379 +1.75
300–340 317 17 132.00–139.00 $135.97 $431 +6.95
300–340 value added 327 6 141.00–152.50 $145.45 $476 +0.34
355–390 362 6 126.00–138.00 $129.04 $467 -4.39
350–375 value added 371 8 140.00–152.00 $146.06 $542 +6.52
410–445 419 15 126.00–130.00 $127.52 $534 +4.68
405–448 value added 431 45 130.00–141.50 $134.38 $579 -5.29
457–485 value added 478 65 130.00–152.75 $146.84 $702 +15.29
458–495 478 39 121.00–130.00 $125.52 $600 +1.40
505–548 530 51 121.00–128.00 $126.88 $672 +4.41
507–548 value added 540 87 128.50–149.25 $141.85 $766 —
550–597 573 52 120.00–127.00 $123.13 $706 +1.92
580 value added 580 46 145.50 $145.50 $844 +18.85
601–645 611 25 115.00–125.00 $121.21 $741 -1.29
600–627 value added 613 192 126.00–150.00 $148.29 $909 +18.29
662 662 4 121.00 $121.00 $801 -2.29
696 value added 696 74 146.70 $146.70 $1,021 —
730 730 2 117.00 $117.00 $854 -3.36
710–739 value added 732 8 123.00–127.00 $126.03 $923 —
703–743 735 17 106.00–111.00 $107.08 $787 -13.28
750 750 1 121.00 $121.00 $908 —
820 820 1 108.00 $108.00 $886 —
833 833 3 106.00 $106.00 $883 —
865 865 1 102.00 $102.00 $882 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 119.00 $119.00 $256 —
305–335 327 5 110.00–125.00 $119.16 $390 +0.74
355–395 388 6 112.50–124.00 $117.99 $458 —
415–430 421 5 112.00–121.00 $117.96 $497 —
455–485 466 13 109.00–117.50 $111.65 $520 -4.86
512–545 531 13 107.00–115.00 $109.95 $584 -6.05
560–585 578 17 105.00–115.00 $110.22 $637 -1.78
620–645 633 8 105.00–110.00 $107.64 $681 -2.72
660–676 672 9 102.00–104.00 $102.44 $688 +0.44
705–745 722 9 91.00–105.00 $102.26 $738 -5.74
750–785 763 5 92.00–107.00 $100.79 $769 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435–440 437 3 120.00–122.00 $121.33 $530 —
450 450 1 122.00 $122.00 $549 —
775 775 1 102.00 $102.00 $790 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–290 284 4 140.00–161.00 $155.02 $440 —
320–340 330 2 150.00–155.00 $152.42 $503 -10.58
350–375 360 4 155.00–161.00 $158.44 $570 +3.18
360–365 fancy 363 3 152.00–166.00 $161.38 $586 —
420–443 438 9 144.00 $144.00 $631 -5.63
450–493 473 12 144.00–148.00 $145.69 $689 +0.59
467–495 fancy 488 13 151.00–153.50 $152.55 $744 —
504 fancy 504 5 145.00 $145.00 $731 -8.00
515–545 529 10 131.00–141.50 $137.00 $725 -2.40
562–590 582 10 131.00–139.00 $135.84 $791 -2.30
600–640 630 19 123.50–131.00 $125.31 $789 +0.34
682–695 685 5 120.00–122.00 $120.41 $825 -2.29
720–721 721 4 110.00–111.00 $110.75 $799 -0.25
780–795 791 4 107.00–114.00 $112.27 $888 —
800–810 805 2 101.00–107.00 $104.02 $837 +17.02
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–220 205 4 122.50–127.50 $126.16 $259 —
300–345 315 5 124.00–138.00 $130.13 $410 -9.87
380–385 383 2 130.00–135.00 $132.48 $507 —
435 435 1 123.00 $123.00 $535 —
500–529 526 13 119.50–131.00 $120.48 $634 -4.35
550–590 574 4 121.00–130.00 $124.17 $713 -4.85
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 2 150.00 $150.00 $540 —
615 615 1 123.00 $123.00 $756 —
675 675 4 116.00 $116.00 $783 -1.47
732 732 2 103.00 $103.00 $754 —
790 790 1 102.00 $102.00 $806 +10.00
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1630 1630 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,390.00 $1,390.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1430 1245 80-85% 4 49.00–52.00 $50.98 $635 —
1065–1480 1262 80-85% 18 54.00–60.00 $58.10 $733 +7.95
1095–1890 1349 80-85% 32 60.00–69.00 $63.63 $858 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–1215 1054 85-90% 14 38.00–52.00 $46.58 $491 +2.87
800–1280 1083 85-90% 6 58.00–63.00 $60.07 $651 +9.92
875–1235 1095 85-90% 18 52.00–57.50 $54.48 $597 +4.33
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1505 1395 75-80% 4 57.00–59.50 $58.35 $814 —
1285–1885 1579 75-80% 15 61.00–68.50 $64.51 $1,019 +3.63

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1535 1351 7 64.50–79.00 $73.40 $992 —
1295–1875 1601 5 81.00–88.00 $85.63 $1,371 —
1420–1900 1649 7 90.00–102.50 $93.90 $1,548 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1040 1040 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1190 1190 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 860.00 $860.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115–1215 1165 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 610.00–710.00 $662.15
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
955 955 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 490.00 $490.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
718 718 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 610.00 $610.00
718 718 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 660.00 $660.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1460 1460 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1600 1600 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,120.00 $1,120.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1330 1330 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 820.00 $820.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
559 559 5 79.00 $79.00 $442 —

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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.