Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 22, 2021

209 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.71/cwt -2.76 vs last sale · ≈ $819/hd at 617 lb · 13 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.55/cwt -1.45 vs last sale · ≈ $702/hd at 526 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 209 1,151 123
Feeder cattle 156 1,061 94
Slaughter cattle 42 73 22
Replacement cattle 11 17 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder steers and heifers fully steady, Moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 higher, Slaughter bulls steady, Good 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
265 265 1 151.00 $151.00 $400 —
400–445 421 4 162.00–171.00 $168.18 $708 +0.14
450–470 457 8 150.00–171.00 $165.56 $757 +2.42
510 value added 510 1 163.00 $163.00 $831 -4.71
560 560 1 156.00 $156.00 $874 +0.65
560 value added 560 1 160.00 $160.00 $896 -4.12
602 value added 602 2 149.00 $149.00 $897 +5.31
655 655 1 142.00 $142.00 $930 +9.76
720 720 1 136.00 $136.00 $979 +8.31
775 775 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,062 +12.64
836 836 3 144.50 $144.50 $1,208 +11.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 139.00 $139.00 $341 —
285 285 1 132.50 $132.50 $378 -27.50
350 350 1 116.00 $116.00 $406 —
410–445 428 2 144.00–145.00 $144.52 $619 —
495 495 1 149.00 $149.00 $738 +9.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–475 468 2 119.00–130.00 $124.41 $582 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175 1175 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,316 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 2 120.00–130.00 $125.00 $269 +0.52
295 295 1 140.00 $140.00 $413 +4.68
350–385 366 5 133.00–141.00 $136.43 $499 +0.85
417–435 424 7 130.00–147.00 $143.43 $608 +12.09
455–470 462 3 126.00–141.00 $135.03 $624 +4.60
500–540 517 6 121.00–131.00 $126.80 $656 -4.38
515–545 value added 536 5 139.00–143.00 $141.64 $759 +3.53
550 550 1 135.00 $135.00 $742 +5.09
600–625 617 8 120.00–134.00 $129.03 $796 —
600–637 value added 618 5 138.00–139.00 $138.59 $856 +3.12
655 655 1 123.00 $123.00 $806 +5.36
705–710 708 2 119.00–123.00 $121.01 $857 +1.01
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 120.00 $120.00 $456 -7.50
550 550 1 93.00 $93.00 $512 -27.00
620 620 1 113.00 $113.00 $701 +10.80
695 695 2 111.00 $111.00 $771 +12.46
727 727 2 108.00 $108.00 $785 +15.00
820 820 1 94.00 $94.00 $771 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345–348 347 4 158.00–174.00 $161.97 $562 -2.81
395 395 1 154.00 $154.00 $608 -6.63
445 445 1 140.00 $140.00 $623 -4.33
455–492 472 8 148.00–167.50 $154.85 $731 +4.52
515–535 525 6 138.00–153.00 $147.41 $774 +5.69
565 565 1 148.00 $148.00 $836 +5.78
640 640 1 122.00 $122.00 $781 +0.04
810 810 1 105.00 $105.00 $850 -12.81
865 865 1 99.00 $99.00 $856 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 2 129.00 $129.00 $742 +4.79
705 705 1 110.00 $110.00 $776 +13.00
970 970 3 80.00 $80.00 $776 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210 1210 80-85% 1 40.50 $40.50 $490 -16.33
1210–1425 1331 80-85% 11 58.50–69.50 $63.15 $841 —
1250–1470 1360 80-85% 2 49.00–50.50 $49.81 $677 -15.53
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1055 968 85-90% 4 41.00–46.00 $43.05 $417 —
995–1140 1064 85-90% 4 53.00–55.50 $54.71 $582 +9.12
985–1145 1097 85-90% 5 57.50–67.00 $62.45 $685 +16.86
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1555 1555 75-80% 1 48.00 $48.00 $746 —
1560–1795 1640 75-80% 3 70.00–73.50 $71.29 $1,169 +13.29

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1480 1460 2 92.00–94.50 $93.27 $1,362 —
1570–2085 1759 4 99.00–110.50 $101.86 $1,792 —
1780 1780 1 80.50 $80.50 $1,433 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
925 925 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 860.00 $860.00
1085–1125 1103 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 550.00–610.00 $580.23
1210 1210 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
1450 1450 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00

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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.