Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 17, 2021

782 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.28/cwt -2.73 vs last sale · ≈ $663/hd at 525 lb · 59 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.57/cwt -5.14 vs last sale · ≈ $602/hd at 472 lb · 51 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.08/cwt +20.11 vs last sale · ≈ $988/hd at 606 lb · 50 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 782 1,164 892
Feeder cattle 685 949 778
Slaughter cattle 70 155 80
Replacement cattle 27 60 34

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold unevenly steady. Feeder heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Strongest demand noted for weaned and preconditioned feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady. 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
385–390 388 5 151.00–162.50 $154.19 $598 —
415–427 425 6 142.00–153.00 $150.68 $640 -0.96
463–495 484 18 150.00–165.00 $157.32 $761 +4.82
497 fancy 497 7 169.95 $169.95 $845 —
510–532 value added 525 3 159.00–163.00 $161.70 $849 +5.74
500–545 530 23 139.00–155.00 $147.07 $779 -2.14
552–588 573 24 133.00–144.00 $138.12 $791 -2.46
600 fancy 600 31 176.00 $176.00 $1,056 —
600–617 value added 615 9 151.00–153.00 $152.78 $940 +4.49
605–640 617 10 129.00–136.00 $132.30 $816 -0.52
650–667 656 8 127.00–139.00 $135.70 $890 +5.30
730 730 1 126.00 $126.00 $920 +2.66
755–782 773 3 130.00–133.00 $130.98 $1,012 +0.39
815 815 1 125.50 $125.50 $1,023 —
880–890 882 11 123.00–128.25 $127.29 $1,123 -5.21
975 975 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,180 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–390 385 4 137.50–140.00 $138.73 $534 —
400–430 423 7 130.00–137.50 $133.40 $564 -2.58
452–485 467 11 140.00–146.00 $143.95 $672 —
505–540 517 5 124.00–131.00 $127.33 $658 -6.35
600–635 620 3 110.00–119.00 $114.39 $709 -10.61
675 675 2 114.00 $114.00 $770 —
820 820 1 90.00 $90.00 $738 —
955 955 1 85.00 $85.00 $812 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 125.00 $125.00 $275 —
285–295 290 2 127.50–132.00 $129.79 $376 -2.21
335–347 342 17 126.00–136.00 $131.72 $450 +5.92
350–375 371 9 121.00–125.00 $123.35 $458 -6.36
414–445 428 26 120.00–135.00 $127.74 $547 -1.27
450–497 472 51 120.00–135.00 $127.57 $602 +2.50
500–544 525 59 120.00–131.00 $126.28 $663 +4.28
555–590 568 33 119.00–130.00 $126.82 $720 +3.92
603–647 629 22 119.00–131.50 $123.20 $775 +6.25
650–678 668 12 121.00–133.00 $128.92 $861 +11.89
710–742 731 4 102.00–115.00 $105.75 $773 -2.25
1141 1141 3 96.00 $96.00 $1,095 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–290 283 3 115.00–119.00 $117.73 $333 +0.23
385–390 388 2 112.50–119.00 $115.73 $449 -3.27
430–435 432 5 110.00 $110.00 $475 —
455–482 474 4 115.00–116.00 $115.76 $549 -0.10
505 505 1 117.00 $117.00 $591 +6.31
555–592 580 7 110.00–117.00 $113.01 $655 +2.03
612 612 2 110.00 $110.00 $673 —
652–690 678 11 114.00–118.00 $115.64 $784 —
720 720 1 91.00 $91.00 $655 —
755 755 1 92.00 $92.00 $695 +11.00
880 880 1 92.00 $92.00 $810 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 140.00 $140.00 $392 —
300–345 329 4 139.00–147.00 $142.86 $470 -2.16
374 374 9 158.00 $158.00 $591 +13.40
405–415 fancy 410 2 155.00–156.00 $155.49 $638 -1.68
400–445 423 9 126.00–137.50 $131.14 $555 -10.63
467–468 468 7 140.00–154.50 $150.36 $704 +6.26
505–545 511 23 129.00–142.75 $138.44 $707 +0.65
555–595 567 9 120.00–135.00 $127.94 $725 -6.86
600–645 626 5 114.00–130.00 $122.76 $768 -1.50
670–695 678 3 116.00–125.00 $121.93 $827 +1.49
705–722 717 6 106.00–116.00 $112.37 $806 +2.37
755 755 1 102.00 $102.00 $770 -6.00
915 915 1 99.00 $99.00 $906 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 129.00 $129.00 $316 —
305–310 308 2 131.00–137.00 $133.98 $413 +5.71
385 385 2 136.00 $136.00 $524 +4.28
450–493 482 13 122.50–128.00 $127.02 $612 —
517 517 2 123.00 $123.00 $636 -5.20
555–590 578 8 118.00–121.00 $118.36 $684 -7.87
610 610 1 115.00 $115.00 $702 +7.00
695 695 1 104.00 $104.00 $723 —
730 730 1 92.00 $92.00 $672 +8.00
775 775 1 90.00 $90.00 $698 -3.00
850–885 863 3 90.00–91.00 $90.33 $780 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1365 1168 80-85% 14 42.00–49.50 $47.39 $554 —
1015–1440 1232 80-85% 23 50.00–58.50 $53.74 $662 —
1425–1430 1428 80-85% 2 62.00 $62.00 $885 +0.02
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905 905 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $525 —
950–985 968 85-90% 2 50.00–52.00 $51.02 $494 —
870–1045 970 85-90% 3 42.00–47.00 $44.48 $431 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480–1650 1536 75-80% 4 53.00–57.00 $55.17 $847 —
1580 1580 75-80% 1 46.00 $46.00 $727 —
1810 1810 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $1,068 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540 1540 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,494 —
1350–2200 1721 7 86.00–93.00 $90.07 $1,550 —
1850 1850 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,517 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1130 992 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 500.00–625.00 $566.30
695–1380 1041 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 450.00–775.00 $640.23
1005–1510 1262 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 500.00–1,100.00 $865.49

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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
1295 1295 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 925.00 $925.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790 790 1 66.00 $66.00 $521 —
890 890 1 52.00 $52.00 $463 —

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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.