Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 26, 2022

441 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.98/cwt -3.33 vs last sale · ≈ $848/hd at 628 lb · 30 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.40/cwt +3.82 vs last sale · ≈ $932/hd at 574 lb · 28 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.68/cwt +2.41 vs last sale · ≈ $681/hd at 468 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 441 469 783
Feeder cattle 389 405 733
Slaughter cattle 44 42 35
Replacement cattle 8 22 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers and heifers under 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 3.00 higher with good demand.

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
403–440 value added 420 14 167.50–197.50 $179.93 $756 +10.62
450–470 460 2 150.00–161.00 $155.38 $715 —
453–495 value added 469 8 171.00–188.00 $178.86 $839 +8.15
515 515 2 158.00–159.00 $158.50 $816 —
503–543 value added 524 13 162.00–185.00 $174.33 $913 +9.25
554 554 6 152.00 $152.00 $842 —
557–596 value added 579 22 162.00–173.50 $165.24 $957 +6.66
605–632 value added 619 11 153.00–159.50 $155.45 $962 +0.36
653–697 value added 679 13 146.00–155.00 $149.58 $1,016 -0.25
730 730 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,000 +2.00
750–778 771 4 137.00–139.00 $138.51 $1,068 —
815 815 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,100 -5.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 145.00 $145.00 $493 —
550 550 3 143.00 $143.00 $786 +2.00
770–785 778 2 101.00–123.00 $111.89 $871 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 142.00 $142.00 $774 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295–297 value added 296 3 147.50–148.00 $147.83 $438 —
310–330 315 4 135.00–140.00 $136.88 $431 —
335 value added 335 2 140.00 $140.00 $469 ±0.00
365–385 value added 377 6 146.00–152.50 $149.81 $565 —
370–398 390 6 138.00–140.00 $139.52 $544 —
417–440 value added 426 9 140.00–154.50 $150.13 $640 +6.74
420–435 428 2 130.00–138.00 $134.07 $574 +3.07
450–490 value added 467 20 143.00–152.00 $149.20 $697 +3.27
450–490 469 7 130.00–140.00 $135.63 $636 +1.98
505–543 value added 515 17 142.00–146.00 $144.45 $744 +1.00
550–580 558 4 130.00–137.00 $135.18 $754 —
555–595 value added 573 23 138.00–145.00 $142.39 $816 -2.82
625–636 value added 627 28 135.25–136.50 $135.48 $849 -2.83
642 642 2 128.00 $128.00 $822 —
650 value added 650 3 134.50 $134.50 $874 —
665 665 2 121.00 $121.00 $805 —
773 773 5 124.00 $124.00 $959 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–220 210 3 117.00–126.00 $122.86 $258 +7.86
300 300 1 122.50 $122.50 $368 —
400–435 416 6 122.50–130.00 $128.37 $534 +13.37
450–460 458 4 125.00–130.00 $128.25 $587 +7.65
500–545 523 2 121.00–130.00 $125.69 $657 -3.31
570–595 587 3 115.00–125.00 $118.24 $694 +3.24
600–645 623 2 117.00–118.00 $117.48 $732 —
744 744 8 112.00 $112.00 $833 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
512 512 5 130.00 $130.00 $666 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 110.00 $110.00 $336 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 326 5 150.00–155.00 $153.25 $500 —
357–395 370 3 160.00 $160.00 $592 —
470 value added 470 1 164.00 $164.00 $771 +4.50
450–497 485 7 149.00–155.00 $150.58 $730 +6.58
507 507 2 150.00 $150.00 $760 —
550 value added 550 1 160.00 $160.00 $880 —
570 570 1 144.00 $144.00 $821 -2.00
605–618 value added 613 5 140.00–142.00 $141.21 $866 +11.21
655–685 673 3 126.00–133.00 $128.95 $868 —
700 value added 700 2 124.00 $124.00 $868 -3.00
785 785 1 113.00 $113.00 $887 -5.34
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 152.50–157.50 $155.00 $450 +17.50
305–345 325 3 147.50–149.00 $148.00 $481 +11.87
360–385 373 2 130.00–140.00 $134.83 $503 —
420 420 1 130.00 $130.00 $546 —
500 500 1 130.00 $130.00 $650 —
744 744 8 112.00 $112.00 $833 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 4 147.50 $147.50 $760 —
617 617 4 122.00 $122.00 $753 -6.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1225 1133 80-85% 2 59.00–61.50 $60.35 $684 —
1150–1280 1225 80-85% 6 62.50–70.50 $66.57 $815 —
1180–1395 1249 80-85% 5 75.00–78.00 $76.05 $950 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1235 1035 85-90% 7 34.00–52.00 $44.90 $465 -9.90
1015–1095 1055 85-90% 2 53.00–58.00 $55.41 $585 +5.85
1000–1160 1092 85-90% 3 61.00–62.00 $61.35 $670 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1715 1525 75-80% 3 71.50–81.00 $76.74 $1,170 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590–2065 1798 7 100.00–113.00 $106.43 $1,914 —
1670–2025 1808 3 94.00–95.00 $94.68 $1,712 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1265 1265 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
1275 1275 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1045 1045 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 840.00 $840.00

↑ Back to top

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.