Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 5, 2022

711 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.79/cwt +9.25 vs last sale · ≈ $738/hd at 517 lb · 41 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.93/cwt +11.92 vs last sale · ≈ $984/hd at 740 lb · 41 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.00/cwt ≈ $1,385/hd at 882 lb · 40 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 711 209 535
Feeder cattle 615 156 477
Slaughter cattle 80 42 41
Replacement cattle 16 11 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

No market comparisons with last week due to Holidays, however market opened strong this week. Market active for 400-600 lb weaned calf packages.

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
340 fancy 340 1 182.50 $182.50 $620 —
368 value added 368 3 182.50 $182.50 $672 —
365–385 373 6 160.00–175.00 $168.26 $628 —
415 415 1 155.00 $155.00 $643 -13.18
405–430 value added 419 4 161.00–176.00 $168.05 $704 —
450–490 467 5 152.50–160.00 $157.14 $734 -8.42
450–488 value added 474 5 167.00–178.00 $173.89 $824 —
510–542 value added 524 32 157.00–168.00 $163.77 $858 +0.77
530–540 533 3 154.00–155.00 $154.34 $823 —
555–577 value added 564 22 156.00–167.00 $162.11 $914 +2.11
581–592 585 5 147.00–153.00 $150.57 $881 -5.43
617–637 value added 626 5 144.00–150.00 $146.00 $914 -3.00
660–675 671 4 136.00–138.00 $136.49 $916 -5.51
650–690 value added 675 28 141.00–148.00 $145.92 $985 —
715 715 2 134.00 $134.00 $958 -2.00
700–745 value added 723 22 140.00–149.00 $145.72 $1,054 —
775 775 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,085 +3.00
882 fancy 882 40 157.00 $157.00 $1,385 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 143.00 $143.00 $729 —
565 565 1 131.00 $131.00 $740 —
625–630 627 3 131.00–136.00 $132.68 $832 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 1 137.00 $137.00 $884 —
730 730 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,000 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 285 2 132.50–146.00 $139.49 $398 -0.51
305–340 324 4 130.00–138.00 $134.36 $435 —
352–375 361 4 130.00–142.00 $136.04 $491 -0.39
368–395 value added 377 10 140.00–146.00 $143.25 $540 —
400–430 415 2 136.00–137.50 $136.72 $567 -6.71
400–445 value added 421 16 142.00–146.00 $143.70 $605 —
450–480 value added 465 15 142.00–145.00 $143.13 $666 —
467–495 485 9 138.00–139.00 $138.68 $673 +3.65
500–545 509 8 132.00–138.00 $134.97 $687 +8.17
501–543 value added 519 33 141.00–147.00 $144.69 $751 +3.05
550–596 574 19 132.00–139.00 $136.49 $783 +1.49
555–592 value added 577 19 140.00–145.00 $143.33 $827 —
605–645 value added 614 29 133.00–141.75 $138.42 $850 -0.17
617–647 630 5 121.00–130.00 $128.23 $808 -0.80
652–695 676 10 124.00–129.00 $126.68 $856 +3.68
677–698 value added 691 9 132.00–134.00 $133.11 $920 —
711–740 724 6 124.00–129.00 $128.15 $928 +7.14
743 value added 743 35 133.75 $133.75 $994 —
770 770 1 123.00 $123.00 $947 —
760–795 772 3 109.00–115.00 $112.94 $872 —
815 815 1 107.00 $107.00 $872 —
870 870 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,009 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 130.00 $130.00 $338 —
350 350 1 123.00 $123.00 $430 +3.00
450–495 479 5 121.00–135.00 $132.37 $634 —
515 515 1 122.00 $122.00 $628 —
675 675 1 120.00 $120.00 $810 +9.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 3 170.00 $170.00 $586 +8.03
352 fancy 352 4 184.00 $184.00 $648 —
382 382 4 167.50 $167.50 $640 +13.50
405 405 1 150.00 $150.00 $608 —
427 value added 427 2 160.00 $160.00 $683 —
460–490 480 3 150.00–155.00 $153.06 $735 -1.79
500–545 517 7 140.00–151.00 $147.20 $761 -0.21
566 fancy 566 3 152.50 $152.50 $863 —
570–592 583 5 142.00–150.00 $145.16 $846 -2.84
625–630 628 2 129.00–131.00 $130.00 $816 +8.00
640 fancy 640 2 137.00 $137.00 $877 —
655–691 680 7 122.00–129.00 $126.61 $861 —
700–722 711 6 120.00 $120.00 $853 —
880–895 888 2 101.00–105.00 $102.98 $914 +3.98
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 135.00 $135.00 $392 —
300–345 323 2 138.00–140.00 $138.93 $449 —
415–440 424 4 131.00–141.00 $135.43 $574 —
495 495 2 137.50–138.00 $137.75 $682 —
520 520 1 124.00 $124.00 $645 —
675–685 680 2 110.00–120.00 $114.96 $782 —
775 775 1 103.00 $103.00 $798 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561 561 4 102.00 $102.00 $572 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1415 1290 80-85% 10 56.00–60.50 $57.75 $745 —
1205–1525 1363 80-85% 14 63.00–70.50 $66.23 $903 +16.42
1435 1435 80-85% 1 51.50 $51.50 $739 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–1155 1001 85-90% 9 50.00–56.00 $53.06 $531 —
820–1350 1038 85-90% 7 41.00–50.00 $46.32 $481 —
890–1265 1137 85-90% 6 58.00–62.50 $60.37 $686 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1725 1458 75-80% 14 63.00–70.00 $66.08 $963 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–2370 1734 7 87.00–92.00 $89.82 $1,557 —
1790–2130 1960 2 94.50–102.00 $97.92 $1,919 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
970–1235 1133 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–750.00 $663.04
1315 1315 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1195 1195 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 980.00 $980.00
1085–1435 1260 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–830.00 $817.08

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1235 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 910.00 $910.00 —
1335 1335 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 960.00 $960.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1090 1090 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.