Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 26, 2022

799 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.39/cwt -1.02 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 429 lb · 43 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $179.91/cwt -12.94 vs last sale · ≈ $832/hd at 462 lb · 37 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $172.95/cwt -9.49 vs last sale · ≈ $905/hd at 523 lb · 33 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 799 702 740
Feeder cattle 615 546 594
Slaughter cattle 145 106 126
Replacement cattle 39 50 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday steer calves sold steady on similar quality; some red-hided, off-colored and fleshy bawling calves facing deep discounts. Heifer calves sold steady to 2.00 higher with good demand. Yearlings lightly tested. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower 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
135 135 3 170.00–185.00 $178.33 $241 —
155–160 158 2 175.00–180.00 $177.54 $281 —
200 value added 200 6 170.00 $170.00 $340 —
358–385 value added 366 14 179.00–196.00 $190.49 $697 -2.25
400–445 423 6 167.50–172.50 $169.48 $717 +4.48
435–445 value added 440 4 176.00–185.00 $180.45 $794 -12.12
450–497 value added 462 35 164.00–185.00 $180.66 $835 -12.19
450–485 468 2 163.00–171.00 $166.85 $781 —
507–537 514 9 150.00–162.00 $158.55 $815 —
500–542 value added 527 24 164.00–181.00 $178.35 $940 -4.09
556–592 573 9 150.00–160.00 $156.70 $898 -1.30
579 value added 579 8 177.00 $177.00 $1,025 -0.98
610–647 625 11 144.00–150.00 $147.97 $925 —
616–640 value added 629 9 155.00–161.00 $157.30 $989 -1.57
685 685 1 145.00 $145.00 $993 ±0.00
700 value added 700 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,078 —
725 725 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,073 +9.00
1030 1030 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,246 —
1230 1230 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,451 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
175 175 1 150.00 $150.00 $262 —
235 235 1 154.00 $154.00 $362 +4.00
370–390 377 3 146.00–156.00 $150.58 $568 —
760–785 773 2 125.00–134.00 $129.57 $1,002 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 160.00 $160.00 $824 -1.00
610 610 1 151.00 $151.00 $921 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
190 190 1 132.50 $132.50 $252 —
225 225 1 137.00 $137.00 $308 -2.91
275 275 1 132.50 $132.50 $364 —
295 value added 295 1 155.00 $155.00 $457 —
322–325 323 3 137.50–149.00 $145.14 $469 +3.14
300–342 value added 328 3 155.00–157.00 $156.39 $513 +0.58
350–365 358 3 141.00–142.50 $142.00 $508 +3.47
357–364 value added 363 12 160.00–164.00 $163.34 $593 +11.57
400–440 416 13 135.00–148.00 $143.48 $597 —
400–445 value added 434 30 147.00–164.00 $159.12 $691 +3.71
460–495 474 5 141.00–150.00 $144.08 $683 +3.02
462–496 value added 477 18 148.00–149.00 $148.94 $710 -2.06
500–516 value added 508 16 144.00–147.00 $144.74 $735 -2.74
502–546 528 15 140.00–144.00 $142.87 $754 +2.32
550–575 value added 563 19 147.00–150.00 $148.37 $835 +5.47
557–590 569 11 139.00–143.00 $140.98 $802 +1.63
604 value added 604 5 142.50 $142.50 $861 -2.77
617–640 623 5 131.00–139.00 $134.19 $836 -1.77
605–649 636 7 136.00–138.00 $137.46 $874 +1.50
657–683 675 8 120.00–128.00 $122.26 $825 —
710–745 721 5 120.00–126.00 $122.82 $886 —
770–772 771 3 123.00–124.00 $123.67 $953 +3.67
805 805 1 119.00 $119.00 $958 +19.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 120.00 $120.00 $342 -14.00
365–385 375 6 122.00–137.50 $126.25 $473 -1.25
410–435 425 8 124.00–134.00 $127.65 $543 -0.85
461–495 472 10 117.00–131.00 $122.32 $577 -2.93
500–535 518 2 130.00–137.00 $133.38 $691 +2.71
635–645 638 3 121.00–126.00 $122.68 $783 -1.30
776 776 3 104.00 $104.00 $807 +11.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 362 2 102.50 $102.50 $371 —
405 405 1 100.00 $100.00 $405 -5.00
465 465 2 111.00 $111.00 $516 +1.00
557 557 2 107.00 $107.00 $596 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
167 167 2 152.50 $152.50 $255 —
215 215 1 152.50 $152.50 $328 —
315–325 320 2 151.00–160.00 $155.43 $497 -11.70
407–445 value added 419 10 165.00–173.00 $167.45 $702 —
455–495 value added 474 5 165.00–170.00 $167.14 $792 +6.34
495 495 1 148.00 $148.00 $733 +0.56
502–538 525 12 140.00–154.00 $144.96 $761 -2.16
552–595 580 15 141.00–150.00 $147.03 $853 +5.04
615–640 value added 626 8 140.00–151.00 $145.27 $909 —
667–691 value added 681 5 143.00–144.00 $143.61 $978 —
685 685 2 136.00 $136.00 $932 —
700–710 706 5 129.00–139.00 $131.79 $930 +16.79
755–783 772 6 119.00–128.00 $123.85 $956 —
800 800 1 121.00 $121.00 $968 +11.00
870–878 876 4 119.00–121.00 $119.50 $1,047 —
925 925 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,054 —
1085 1085 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,204 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 146.00 $146.00 $423 —
385 385 2 132.50–141.00 $136.75 $526 +1.85
445 445 1 130.00 $130.00 $578 —
450–495 477 5 126.00–145.00 $132.63 $633 +2.63
500–525 510 5 126.00–140.00 $131.34 $670 +0.53
630 630 1 130.00 $130.00 $819 +20.97
655–685 672 3 114.00–129.00 $123.58 $830 +4.01
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 3 121.00 $121.00 $563 —
680–690 685 2 130.00–138.00 $133.97 $918 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 130.00 $130.00 $514 +6.40
555–580 568 2 121.00 $121.00 $687 +12.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1465 1194 80-85% 25 63.00–70.50 $66.23 $791 —
940–1555 1277 80-85% 20 71.50–84.00 $76.01 $971 -0.70
1120–1495 1307 80-85% 5 58.00–62.00 $60.01 $784 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1630 1434 75-80% 10 70.50–85.50 $75.04 $1,076 —
1170–1970 1437 75-80% 20 62.50–69.50 $66.13 $950 —
1490–1495 1493 75-80% 2 56.00–58.00 $57.00 $851 -15.34
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–1375 977 85-90% 6 41.00–51.00 $44.48 $435 -11.52
885–1305 1110 85-90% 13 60.00–67.00 $62.99 $699 +1.33
935–1430 1146 85-90% 7 54.00–60.00 $57.06 $654 -4.60

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470 1470 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,338 —
1360–2155 1723 14 90.00–103.50 $97.98 $1,688 -2.78
1775–2040 1908 2 117.00 $117.00 $2,232 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090 1090 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1170–1355 1245 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 775.00–1,225.00 $948.72
1260–1340 1300 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 900.00–925.00 $912.12
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1070 1070 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 685.00 $685.00

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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
1270–1545 1343 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,000.00–1,225.00 $1,100.44 —
1580–1625 1603 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,225.00–1,325.00 $1,275.70 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1195–1290 1240 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 825.00–950.00 $884.41 —

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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.