Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, July 27, 2022

376 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $164.23/cwt +26.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,095/hd at 667 lb · 74 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $175.16/cwt +6.12 vs last sale · ≈ $918/hd at 524 lb · 25 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $158.11/cwt +0.88 vs last sale · ≈ $692/hd at 438 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 376 808 446
Feeder cattle 336 697 383
Slaughter cattle 31 64 46
Replacement cattle 9 47 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold steady to 5.00 higher with advance on 500-600 lb weaned packages. Yearling steers lightly tested. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher with good demand. Yearling heifers sold steady with very good demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher with moderate 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
335 value added 335 4 172.50 $172.50 $578 —
400–427 value added 409 6 170.00–175.00 $171.74 $702 -1.68
470–491 486 15 166.00–171.00 $166.97 $811 +7.97
521 value added 521 16 180.00 $180.00 $938 +10.37
505–535 529 9 164.00–169.00 $166.55 $881 +10.55
555–585 569 4 161.00–169.50 $167.04 $950 +6.04
611–647 value added 636 10 156.00–169.00 $165.25 $1,051 -0.49
716–730 value added 720 4 150.00–153.00 $150.76 $1,085 -15.48
905 905 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,267 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 3 145.00 $145.00 $428 —
500 500 1 145.00 $145.00 $725 -14.00
580 580 1 155.00 $155.00 $899 +5.00
616 616 3 144.00 $144.00 $887 —
657 657 4 141.00 $141.00 $926 +7.00
745 745 1 130.00 $130.00 $968 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
227 value added 227 2 170.00 $170.00 $386 —
300–337 value added 316 8 174.00–179.00 $176.29 $557 +8.25
315–335 328 3 150.00–155.00 $151.60 $497 +3.12
350–387 370 10 145.00–157.50 $151.84 $562 +0.51
400–435 418 5 141.00–150.00 $143.36 $599 -7.64
441–448 value added 443 18 155.00–166.00 $162.21 $719 +4.61
470–475 value added 471 4 155.00–156.00 $155.25 $731 -3.42
465–495 480 5 142.50–148.00 $145.93 $700 +0.54
505 505 1 140.00 $140.00 $707 —
502–540 value added 529 14 152.00–162.50 $160.85 $851 +7.82
550–590 559 8 140.00–141.00 $140.87 $787 -3.64
550–585 value added 571 4 148.00–152.00 $150.49 $859 -0.98
627–630 value added 628 3 149.00–150.00 $149.33 $938 -3.67
635 635 1 131.00 $131.00 $832 —
665 665 2 136.00 $136.00 $904 -1.84
667 thin fleshed 667 70 165.70 $165.70 $1,105 —
667 value added 667 2 141.00 $141.00 $940 —
722–730 725 3 129.00–135.00 $132.99 $964 +4.63
915 915 1 106.00 $106.00 $970 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–295 273 2 127.50–147.50 $136.67 $373 +16.67
305 305 1 140.00 $140.00 $427 —
365 365 1 136.00 $136.00 $496 —
420 420 1 139.00 $139.00 $584 —
460–476 473 5 140.00 $140.00 $662 —
500–545 528 3 121.00–130.00 $126.93 $670 -3.07
575 575 1 135.00 $135.00 $776 +14.00
660 660 1 120.00 $120.00 $792 -5.50
730 730 1 102.50 $102.50 $748 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 107.50 $107.50 $457 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 160.00 $160.00 $496 -7.50
370–390 380 2 165.00–167.00 $166.03 $631 -2.06
417–435 value added 423 3 172.50–175.00 $173.36 $733 +0.79
405–445 425 4 167.50 $167.50 $712 +5.00
468–470 value added 469 5 169.00–174.00 $171.99 $807 —
470 470 1 155.00 $155.00 $728 -5.60
505 fancy 505 2 160.00 $160.00 $808 —
510–545 528 2 145.00–154.00 $149.35 $789 +3.36
553–595 564 7 146.00–150.00 $148.73 $839 +2.80
630 value added 630 1 152.00 $152.00 $958 -0.96
640 640 1 139.00 $139.00 $890 -2.26
650–665 658 2 134.00 $134.00 $882 -3.41
670 value added 670 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,032 —
715–725 722 3 138.00–142.00 $140.68 $1,016 +7.10
750–775 763 2 127.00–140.00 $133.61 $1,019 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
267 267 2 157.50 $157.50 $421 +7.50
380 380 1 143.00 $143.00 $543 —
430–445 440 3 150.00 $150.00 $660 +15.00
460 460 1 145.00 $145.00 $667 -6.00
512–545 523 3 132.00–140.00 $137.22 $718 +2.94
550–585 568 4 134.00–140.00 $136.75 $777 +1.75
600 600 1 133.00 $133.00 $798 +0.32
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357 357 2 155.00 $155.00 $553 —
620 620 1 133.00 $133.00 $825 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1570 1425 75-80% 5 75.00–78.50 $76.16 $1,085 -0.14
1195–1700 1435 75-80% 5 80.50–85.50 $83.37 $1,196 +7.07
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1520 1310 80-85% 3 76.50–77.00 $76.85 $1,007 -4.93
1035–1575 1338 80-85% 6 82.00–87.00 $83.82 $1,122 +2.04
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950 950 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $589 —
940–1260 1085 85-90% 3 49.50–58.00 $53.44 $580 -22.56
1050–1140 1103 85-90% 4 66.00–69.00 $67.39 $743 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600–1605 1603 2 116.00–127.50 $121.76 $1,952 -2.77
1455–1910 1646 4 104.50–113.50 $108.90 $1,792 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
1220–1250 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,010.00–1,050.00 $1,030.24

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1085–1445 1265 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,200.00–1,375.00 $1,299.95 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630 630 1 74.00 $74.00 $466 —

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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.