Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 4, 2022

418 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $174.34/cwt -6.34 vs last sale · ≈ $815/hd at 467 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 418 644 417
Feeder cattle 319 492 336
Slaughter cattle 81 115 58
Replacement cattle 18 37 23

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality however lighter supplies and more average quality calves today compared to last week. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 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
275–280 278 2 170.00–175.00 $172.48 $479 —
372–395 value added 385 6 187.50–200.00 $195.72 $754 —
435 value added 435 1 190.00 $190.00 $826 +12.16
450–495 value added 466 12 172.50–184.00 $180.01 $839 -2.95
450–485 470 6 160.00–166.00 $163.00 $766 -5.73
517–525 value added 520 6 171.00–180.00 $174.48 $907 -3.51
565–567 566 3 153.00–161.00 $158.34 $896 +1.09
594 value added 594 5 165.00 $165.00 $980 -12.96
602–605 value added 604 8 161.00–169.00 $167.01 $1,009 +5.64
668 value added 668 3 164.00 $164.00 $1,096 —
755 value added 755 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,117 —
832 832 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,098 —
850 850 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,156 +1.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 150.00 $150.00 $382 —
585 585 1 131.00 $131.00 $766 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 value added 345 2 163.00 $163.00 $562 —
380 value added 380 2 163.00–165.00 $164.00 $623 -5.85
415–445 value added 430 3 156.00–160.00 $158.38 $681 -3.98
463–485 value added 473 7 157.00–159.00 $158.13 $748 -2.81
480–490 485 2 151.00 $151.00 $732 +2.75
520–527 value added 523 7 147.00–159.00 $153.31 $802 -1.82
530 530 1 144.00 $144.00 $763 -1.00
565 565 1 142.00 $142.00 $802 -0.72
607 value added 607 7 145.00 $145.00 $880 -3.27
620 620 1 136.00 $136.00 $843 —
661–670 663 5 130.00–134.00 $130.81 $867 —
705 value added 705 1 131.00 $131.00 $924 —
715–722 719 4 128.00–131.00 $129.49 $931 —
755 755 2 129.00 $129.00 $974 -4.50
805–825 818 3 117.00–130.50 $126.07 $1,031 -1.93
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 149.00 $149.00 $365 —
290 290 1 161.00 $161.00 $467 —
385 385 1 130.00 $130.00 $500 -1.00
455–485 465 3 130.00–131.00 $130.35 $606 -0.65
505 505 1 125.00 $125.00 $631 -13.00
615–645 630 2 116.00–117.00 $116.49 $734 -11.88
675–695 684 4 101.00–125.00 $112.01 $766 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 2 175.00–180.00 $177.50 $630 -7.50
375–390 value added 383 2 189.00–195.00 $192.06 $736 —
400–445 431 4 165.00–167.50 $165.64 $714 +7.64
465–470 466 4 153.00–167.50 $159.89 $745 -9.43
455–476 value added 471 4 171.00–172.50 $171.36 $807 -2.64
515–535 527 3 154.00–160.00 $156.03 $822 +1.03
525–540 value added 533 2 163.00–165.00 $163.99 $874 -10.82
555 555 1 156.00 $156.00 $866 +1.34
640 640 2 150.00 $150.00 $960 —
720–735 728 2 126.00–127.00 $126.49 $921 -4.51
762 762 2 125.00 $125.00 $952 -4.00
815 815 1 110.00 $110.00 $896 —
875 875 1 102.00 $102.00 $892 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 170.00 $170.00 $442 —
325 325 2 152.50 $152.50 $496 +9.50
365–385 375 2 148.00–152.50 $150.31 $564 —
475 475 1 145.00 $145.00 $689 +1.00
557 557 2 152.00 $152.00 $847 —
645 645 2 131.00 $131.00 $845 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 80-85% 1 59.00 $59.00 $667 —
1070–1390 1181 80-85% 9 75.50–81.00 $78.41 $926 -1.21
1105–1455 1213 80-85% 9 83.50–92.00 $86.25 $1,046 —
1075–1470 1257 80-85% 5 70.00–74.50 $72.14 $907 -16.47
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800 800 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $440 —
885–1165 1018 85-90% 8 59.00–69.00 $64.70 $659 +4.19
895–1145 1036 85-90% 4 78.00–80.00 $79.04 $819 +18.53
870–1225 1058 85-90% 8 69.00–75.00 $72.41 $766 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1545 1367 75-80% 6 79.50–83.00 $81.84 $1,119 —
1225–1720 1495 75-80% 12 83.50–88.50 $85.49 $1,278 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–2000 1680 3 102.50–106.50 $104.37 $1,753 —
1310–2260 1762 12 108.00–129.00 $119.02 $2,097 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
922–1275 1153 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 900.00–1,030.00 $991.68
1350 1350 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,210.00 $1,210.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1145–1230 1188 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 775.00–875.00 $826.79

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
667 667 2 86.00 $86.00 $574 —

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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.