Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 9, 2022

615 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $148.40/cwt -5.19 vs last sale · ≈ $941/hd at 634 lb · 101 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $164.80/cwt +10.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,020/hd at 619 lb · 57 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $152.08/cwt -12.61 vs last sale · ≈ $719/hd at 473 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 615 1,161 1,488
Feeder cattle 517 1,033 1,335
Slaughter cattle 77 112 117
Replacement cattle 21 16 36

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday market mixed with steer and heifer calves under 600 lbs trading 5.00 lower; some fleshy offerings 10.00 lower on a plain through average quality offering. Buyers showing preference for hard thin-fleshed weaned calves. Yearlings steady in a light test. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher 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
356 356 3 167.00 $167.00 $595 -13.00
425 425 1 165.00 $165.00 $701 -7.14
435 value added 435 3 163.00 $163.00 $709 -26.84
457 457 2 159.00 $159.00 $727 -10.48
450–469 value added 461 15 160.00–172.00 $163.40 $753 -24.99
505 505 3 159.00 $159.00 $803 -2.57
500–517 value added 512 15 164.00–172.50 $170.43 $873 -9.95
565 565 1 155.00 $155.00 $876 -1.52
605–641 value added 618 50 151.00–170.50 $167.73 $1,037 +7.93
612–648 627 7 143.00–145.00 $143.89 $902 -1.50
650–663 value added 661 9 151.00–158.00 $156.46 $1,034 -3.42
700 value added 700 1 141.00 $141.00 $987 -6.26
769 value added 769 17 142.00 $142.00 $1,092 -13.43
785 785 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,060 —
1125 1125 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,249 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 147.50 $147.50 $708 +9.50
510–535 524 9 140.00–145.00 $144.43 $757 -0.57

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285–295 291 4 155.00–161.00 $158.50 $461 —
312–345 324 4 152.00–156.00 $153.82 $498 -1.36
340 value added 340 1 162.50 $162.50 $552 -10.40
355–385 value added 380 11 157.00–166.00 $161.17 $612 -6.52
385 385 2 140.00–150.00 $145.00 $558 -2.01
405–435 value added 419 17 150.00–161.00 $155.11 $650 -9.72
405–437 426 7 139.00–145.00 $143.04 $609 -5.64
450–495 value added 467 17 150.00–157.00 $154.31 $721 -14.27
475–483 482 11 145.00–149.00 $148.64 $716 +0.48
500–545 value added 513 15 146.00–153.00 $149.97 $769 -5.97
505–545 526 13 139.00–145.00 $141.71 $745 -1.29
565–580 571 4 141.00–143.00 $142.00 $811 -1.25
618–635 625 7 131.00–136.00 $134.12 $838 +0.13
600–640 value added 635 94 137.00–150.25 $149.46 $949 -7.33
685–693 691 4 124.00–125.00 $124.25 $859 —
880 880 1 108.00 $108.00 $950 -0.99
920 920 1 106.00 $106.00 $975 -22.00
1005 1005 1 94.00 $94.00 $945 —
1110 1110 3 81.00 $81.00 $899 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–330 318 4 135.00–145.00 $139.55 $444 —
410 410 2 121.00 $121.00 $496 -8.27
480 480 1 132.00 $132.00 $634 -1.11
515–535 526 5 120.00–135.00 $128.38 $675 -6.03
550–590 560 6 119.00–127.00 $122.61 $687 -1.41
665–697 687 4 115.00–117.00 $115.50 $793 -9.50
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 650 1 125.00 $125.00 $812 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–347 331 4 142.50–162.50 $156.91 $519 -15.91
355–360 358 2 161.00–171.00 $165.97 $594 -4.18
400–445 426 10 142.50–156.00 $151.16 $644 -1.24
453–455 value added 453 6 158.00–170.00 $167.99 $761 +4.59
480 fancy 480 2 162.00 $162.00 $778 —
483–495 487 7 143.00–155.00 $148.71 $724 -4.83
500–537 518 9 146.00–158.00 $154.53 $800 +4.98
555–590 567 11 140.00–155.00 $148.99 $845 -1.97
620 620 1 140.00 $140.00 $868 +4.00
673–690 677 4 134.00–137.00 $134.76 $912 -1.08
705–740 720 3 113.00–125.00 $119.31 $859 -8.85
805 805 1 118.00 $118.00 $950 —
875 875 1 114.00 $114.00 $998 -0.63
1030 1030 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,030 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 143.00 $143.00 $329 —
275 275 1 147.00 $147.00 $404 —
340 340 1 141.00 $141.00 $479 -5.00
475–485 480 2 144.00–147.00 $145.48 $698 +0.48
520–535 525 3 132.00–135.00 $133.98 $703 +2.35
582 582 2 131.00 $131.00 $762 —
600 600 1 140.00 $140.00 $840 +14.90
750 750 1 108.00 $108.00 $810 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 132.50 $132.50 $265 —
350 350 1 121.00 $121.00 $424 ±0.00
490–495 493 2 121.00–131.00 $126.03 $621 —
580 580 1 124.00 $124.00 $719 -8.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1385 1046 85-90% 7 38.00–50.00 $45.82 $479 -14.61
975–1210 1088 85-90% 4 75.00–86.00 $81.04 $882 +4.77
845–1450 1099 85-90% 14 65.00–71.00 $68.04 $748 -8.23
890–1430 1120 85-90% 7 56.00–64.00 $59.23 $663 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1470 1234 80-85% 9 73.00–81.00 $77.73 $959 —
1085–1545 1290 80-85% 4 83.00–89.00 $86.68 $1,118 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1595 1429 75-80% 6 78.50–81.00 $79.43 $1,135 —
1340–1730 1523 75-80% 3 84.00–86.50 $84.95 $1,294 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240 1240 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,215 —
1430–1970 1732 16 107.00–127.00 $116.96 $2,026 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1040–1460 1227 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 900.00–1,075.00 $964.05
1140–1330 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 975.00–985.00 $979.62
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
820 820 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
960 960 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00
1065–1085 1075 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 730.00–740.00 $734.95
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
795 795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 630.00 $630.00

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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.