Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 28, 2022

1,082 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $186.36/cwt +12.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,328/hd at 713 lb · 167 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $174.55/cwt -1.97 vs last sale · ≈ $901/hd at 516 lb · 56 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $179.60/cwt +6.02 vs last sale · ≈ $1,038/hd at 578 lb · 50 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,082 850 854
Feeder cattle 907 750 745
Slaughter cattle 155 53 86
Replacement cattle 20 47 23

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold unevenly steady with plain offering; un-weaned cattle in lower demand. Feeder heifers sold 1.00-2.00 higher with good offering; un-weaned cattle in lower demand. Slaughter cows sold steady, Slaughter bulls sold steady. There was moderate demand for all feeder cattle, with good offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in weaned steers and heifers with favorable condition.

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
355 fancy 355 1 190.00 $190.00 $674 —
350–387 368 9 162.00–184.00 $179.29 $660 -8.75
405–415 value added 413 5 192.00–195.00 $194.41 $803 -18.84
405–440 428 11 160.00–189.00 $176.99 $758 -11.04
452–496 477 30 162.00–181.00 $175.89 $839 -9.54
497 value added 497 6 200.00 $200.00 $994 +3.89
501–545 514 47 156.00–181.00 $171.84 $883 +1.52
520–540 value added 527 9 185.00–191.00 $188.73 $995 -2.27
558–586 573 24 160.00–181.00 $171.32 $982 +4.23
582 value added 582 26 187.25 $187.25 $1,090 +8.25
610 value added 610 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,037 -2.39
600–645 629 20 155.00–169.00 $162.06 $1,019 +11.57
657–692 668 8 152.00–161.00 $154.54 $1,032 —
700–707 705 3 157.00–159.00 $157.66 $1,112 —
711–748 value added 713 164 170.50–188.00 $186.88 $1,332 +12.88
750 750 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,012 —
805–835 815 4 125.50–150.00 $134.75 $1,098 -31.68
1050 1050 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,312 -8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 120.00 $120.00 $330 -42.50
360–391 385 5 122.00–161.00 $129.30 $498 -42.70
465 465 1 148.00 $148.00 $688 -3.00
510–525 520 3 117.00–131.00 $121.58 $632 -30.15
610–645 633 3 119.00–147.00 $138.01 $874 +7.01
675 675 1 118.00 $118.00 $796 -27.26
842 842 2 101.00 $101.00 $850 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332–348 343 6 155.00–157.50 $155.81 $534 +5.81
383–390 385 8 152.50–165.00 $159.03 $612 +5.49
405–448 431 23 145.00–158.00 $152.81 $659 +1.65
452–495 481 40 143.00–154.50 $150.66 $725 +0.88
500–547 521 49 140.00–157.00 $151.30 $788 +5.37
551–597 572 31 146.00–163.00 $154.06 $881 +8.22
605–640 618 14 130.00–153.00 $143.14 $885 +9.13
650–695 678 7 124.00–153.00 $137.93 $935 +4.44
720 720 1 127.00 $127.00 $914 -6.50
760 760 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,003 ±0.00
815–833 825 9 115.00–139.00 $125.54 $1,036 +2.54
945 945 1 91.00 $91.00 $860 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 132.50 $132.50 $358 +0.11
310–325 318 2 100.00–140.00 $119.53 $380 -22.47
362–365 363 3 132.50–139.00 $134.68 $489 -5.01
470 470 1 131.00 $131.00 $616 -4.84
505–530 517 4 131.00–137.00 $132.78 $686 +2.44
555 555 1 134.00 $134.00 $744 +3.32
605 605 1 80.00 $80.00 $484 -49.93
665–670 667 3 115.00–119.00 $116.34 $776 —
725–735 730 2 92.00–92.50 $92.25 $673 -9.61
790 790 2 104.00 $104.00 $822 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–320 313 2 145.00–150.00 $147.56 $462 -23.46
360–395 378 2 171.00–187.00 $178.63 $675 +1.13
405–440 424 13 147.50–173.00 $161.45 $685 +1.45
457–485 471 7 152.00–165.00 $157.11 $740 -5.64
500–535 519 15 130.00–157.00 $141.15 $733 -11.41
560–593 580 11 130.00–145.00 $137.03 $795 -17.56
603–645 606 19 136.00–148.50 $145.59 $882 +7.62
656–690 676 11 127.00–134.00 $130.59 $883 -5.91
710–748 733 5 116.50–122.00 $118.63 $870 -21.87
760 760 2 122.00 $122.00 $927 -13.00
805–840 823 2 114.00–120.00 $116.94 $962 —
855 855 1 114.00 $114.00 $975 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 2 119.00 $119.00 $524 -16.00
500–545 522 6 102.50–121.00 $117.39 $613 -19.36
555–575 559 6 105.00–125.00 $117.23 $655 -19.73
600 600 2 111.00 $111.00 $666 —
690 690 1 111.00 $111.00 $766 -11.00
750 750 1 101.00 $101.00 $758 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1300 1135 80-85% 10 66.50–79.50 $75.28 $854 —
1040–1340 1211 80-85% 7 80.00–85.50 $82.44 $998 —
1095–1340 1245 80-85% 10 86.50–100.50 $90.64 $1,128 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1590 1481 75-80% 4 74.00–78.00 $75.29 $1,115 —
1330–1805 1499 75-80% 12 81.00–86.00 $83.64 $1,254 —
1455–1570 1509 75-80% 5 88.00–94.00 $91.31 $1,378 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1145 1038 85-90% 3 70.50–74.00 $72.41 $752 +7.73
885–1145 1042 85-90% 3 77.00–78.00 $77.37 $806 +12.69

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–2095 1660 8 105.00–119.50 $116.19 $1,929 —
1440–1900 1666 6 92.00–101.00 $96.93 $1,615 —
1480–2090 1765 16 104.00–112.00 $109.34 $1,930 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
865–1195 1006 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 875.00–950.00 $921.96
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00

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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
1025–1100 1063 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 975.00–1,110.00 $1,044.88 —
1600 1600 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —

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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.