Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 9, 2022

564 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $166.37/cwt +7.03 vs last sale · ≈ $956/hd at 575 lb · 24 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $196.83/cwt +31.83 vs last sale · ≈ $838/hd at 426 lb · 22 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.81/cwt +10.65 vs last sale · ≈ $652/hd at 435 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 564 519 231
Feeder cattle 449 427 200
Slaughter cattle 101 65 28
Replacement cattle 14 27 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher; 400-500 lb weaned steers sharply higher and 500-600 lb weaned heifer packages 10.00 higher. Calf market very active. Slaughter cows sold 3.00 higher and slaughter bulls steady with very 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
300–325 319 4 165.00–187.50 $182.21 $581 —
365–380 373 3 155.00–177.50 $169.12 $631 —
410–435 423 2 168.00–177.50 $172.89 $731 +12.89
405–446 value added 426 20 192.50–210.00 $199.22 $849 +31.22
460–485 476 7 164.00–175.00 $171.67 $817 +16.44
453–493 value added 477 12 180.00–195.00 $185.57 $885 +18.78
510–540 528 4 154.00–164.00 $159.60 $843 +3.60
505–548 value added 530 11 170.00–182.00 $176.97 $938 +4.12
550–575 value added 565 13 176.00–181.00 $178.15 $1,007 +14.15
570–588 586 11 152.00–157.00 $152.44 $893 +2.44
610 610 2 143.00 $143.00 $872 +2.00
600–645 value added 614 11 155.00–163.00 $161.03 $989 +5.79
650 value added 650 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,014 +3.97
720 720 1 147.00 $147.00 $1,058 +11.14
748 value added 748 13 160.00 $160.00 $1,197 —
752–775 value added 763 13 150.00–159.50 $156.54 $1,194 —
805–840 817 3 137.00–140.00 $138.03 $1,128 -3.97
850 850 1 142.00 $142.00 $1,207 —
931 931 14 138.00 $138.00 $1,285 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 157.50 $157.50 $780 +12.50
570 570 1 155.00 $155.00 $884 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–272 value added 268 3 157.50–160.00 $159.19 $427 —
300–305 value added 302 8 157.50–170.00 $164.03 $495 —
330–345 338 2 150.00 $150.00 $507 +11.50
372 value added 372 5 160.00 $160.00 $595 —
375–385 378 3 142.50–148.00 $146.13 $552 +7.99
415–445 value added 434 17 147.00–155.00 $151.54 $658 +3.54
440–445 442 3 140.00 $140.00 $619 +2.31
463–495 470 5 142.50–147.00 $143.71 $675 +6.71
450–487 value added 471 13 144.00–154.00 $149.10 $702 +0.99
513–545 value added 531 17 147.00–153.50 $151.61 $805 +10.38
547 547 2 143.00 $143.00 $782 +10.02
573–590 value added 580 14 147.00–154.00 $151.59 $879 +12.59
580–585 583 2 135.00–136.00 $135.50 $790 +0.93
615–616 616 4 129.00–130.00 $129.75 $799 +4.23
600–635 value added 617 13 134.00–140.00 $137.77 $850 +6.01
663 value added 663 3 134.50 $134.50 $892 —
665–690 682 3 121.00–132.00 $124.58 $850 +1.59
738 value added 738 11 149.00 $149.00 $1,100 +14.68
746 746 3 120.00 $120.00 $895 —
835 835 1 105.00 $105.00 $877 —
862 862 6 119.50 $119.50 $1,030 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 4 120.00–133.00 $125.50 $483 +5.50
525 525 1 121.00 $121.00 $635 -2.94
560–565 563 2 126.00–128.00 $127.00 $715 +3.96
645 645 1 118.00 $118.00 $761 +2.30
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 117.00 $117.00 $819 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 100.00 $100.00 $225 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 160.00 $160.00 $456 —
345 345 1 167.50 $167.50 $578 —
355–375 370 4 162.50–175.00 $170.73 $632 +9.73
405–440 426 5 153.00–157.00 $154.52 $658 +0.69
455–490 value added 473 2 160.00–169.00 $164.33 $777 —
475 475 1 154.00 $154.00 $732 -1.51
515–535 525 4 142.50–151.00 $147.85 $776 -4.60
527 value added 527 2 176.00 $176.00 $928 +18.65
570–595 581 5 141.00–155.00 $144.98 $842 -6.65
607 607 2 139.00 $139.00 $844 +8.66
635 value added 635 1 143.00 $143.00 $908 +7.17
655–685 670 4 132.00–140.00 $136.09 $912 +6.09
725 725 1 129.00 $129.00 $935 —
810 810 1 114.00 $114.00 $923 -8.37
960 960 1 97.00 $97.00 $931 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 145.00 $145.00 $384 +15.00
410 410 1 140.00 $140.00 $574 +2.57
490 490 1 139.00 $139.00 $681 —
560 560 1 132.00 $132.00 $739 +2.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775 775 1 111.00 $111.00 $860 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1370 1216 80-85% 7 70.00–76.50 $73.93 $899 +2.98
1280–1305 1293 80-85% 2 61.00–63.00 $61.99 $802 —
1080–1915 1366 80-85% 19 77.00–85.00 $81.26 $1,110 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825 825 85-90% 1 36.00 $36.00 $297 —
925–1360 1076 85-90% 8 47.00–57.00 $52.70 $567 —
1175–1240 1209 85-90% 4 71.00–78.50 $74.37 $899 —
1135–1415 1249 85-90% 4 58.00–67.00 $63.65 $795 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1705 1705 75-80% 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,415 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370–1830 1600 2 91.00 $91.00 $1,456 —
1410–1995 1705 5 98.00–113.00 $105.23 $1,794 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1075 1075 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1055–1340 1209 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 910.00–1,060.00 $973.80
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1045 1045 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 770.00 $770.00

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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
1160 1160 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 710.00 $710.00 —

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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.