Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 16, 2022

836 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $166.74/cwt +23.55 vs last sale · ≈ $1,109/hd at 665 lb · 156 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $170.21/cwt +4.01 vs last sale · ≈ $953/hd at 560 lb · 42 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.24/cwt -1.86 vs last sale · ≈ $773/hd at 529 lb · 36 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 836 936 782
Feeder cattle 719 788 685
Slaughter cattle 67 117 70
Replacement cattle 50 31 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday steer calves sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with good demand for good quality weaned packages; off-color, fleshy and bawling calves facing discounts. Heifer calves sold steady to 2.00 higher with good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 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
345 345 1 177.50 $177.50 $612 +3.03
370 370 1 170.00 $170.00 $629 -8.38
397 value added 397 2 200.00 $200.00 $794 +13.61
410–432 value added 418 13 187.50–198.00 $194.15 $812 +7.60
410–442 431 3 160.00–161.00 $160.32 $691 +1.56
455–487 value added 466 17 170.00–187.00 $181.04 $844 +5.35
450–492 482 15 152.00–167.50 $165.19 $796 +3.84
523–535 value added 526 7 166.00–178.00 $170.57 $897 -10.26
530–540 535 2 155.00–161.00 $157.97 $845 -0.90
552–585 value added 560 35 164.00–175.00 $171.40 $960 +3.11
559–562 560 7 160.00–166.00 $164.28 $920 +5.85
600–641 616 8 148.00–155.00 $151.29 $932 +6.83
610–633 value added 626 26 156.00–166.00 $159.46 $998 -1.01
650–698 value added 673 22 159.00–165.00 $162.01 $1,090 +2.12
700–710 706 4 142.00–149.00 $146.51 $1,034 —
800 800 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,128 —
890 890 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,290 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
286 286 4 140.00 $140.00 $400 —
345 345 3 148.00 $148.00 $511 —
405 405 2 136.00 $136.00 $551 —
455 455 1 145.00 $145.00 $660 —
500–535 517 3 130.00–137.50 $134.84 $697 —
557 557 2 141.00 $141.00 $785 -7.71
675 675 2 146.00 $146.00 $986 —
765 765 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,002 —
895 895 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,101 —
910 910 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,001 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
541 541 3 140.00 $140.00 $757 —
565–585 568 7 155.00–159.00 $158.41 $900 +8.41
686–690 687 6 142.00–144.00 $142.33 $978 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 117.50 $117.50 $523 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
145 145 1 140.00 $140.00 $203 —
200–220 210 2 130.00–155.00 $141.90 $298 +5.40
295 295 1 137.50 $137.50 $406 +7.50
321 value added 321 4 160.00 $160.00 $514 —
310–345 334 9 140.00–150.00 $144.18 $482 +3.28
358–392 375 7 140.00–145.00 $142.21 $533 -1.15
406–415 value added 408 17 150.00–155.00 $153.88 $628 -2.94
430–435 432 4 140.00–145.00 $141.74 $612 +2.11
455–465 value added 457 9 151.00–152.00 $151.89 $694 +3.93
452–495 476 23 140.00–148.00 $142.78 $680 -0.71
508–542 526 21 138.00–146.00 $144.20 $758 +2.19
517–537 value added 533 15 146.00–150.00 $149.09 $795 -0.67
558–590 568 14 137.00–145.00 $142.49 $809 +3.21
561–595 value added 585 10 147.00–151.00 $149.85 $877 +2.55
600–632 616 10 130.00–137.00 $132.78 $818 -1.57
606–645 value added 625 14 139.50–141.00 $140.37 $877 -6.26
656–674 value added 665 155 166.85–167.00 $166.93 $1,110 +18.79
695 695 1 137.00 $137.00 $952 +0.61
700 700 3 124.00 $124.00 $868 —
753 value added 753 9 141.00 $141.00 $1,062 —
827 827 2 95.00 $95.00 $786 -28.50
850–880 865 2 105.00–108.00 $106.47 $921 +5.47
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 124.00 $124.00 $403 —
411 411 3 138.00 $138.00 $567 +10.59
455–493 484 11 130.00–135.00 $133.47 $646 +4.12
500–510 507 3 132.00–137.00 $135.36 $686 +10.41
573–577 575 5 136.00–137.00 $136.60 $785 +11.69
611 611 3 120.00 $120.00 $733 -0.82
672 672 2 118.00 $118.00 $793 +6.96
745 745 2 105.00 $105.00 $782 —
955 955 2 89.00 $89.00 $850 -7.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600–626 620 4 128.00–129.00 $128.24 $795 +4.24
691 691 4 125.00 $125.00 $864 —
720 720 1 120.00 $120.00 $864 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 110.00 $110.00 $363 +2.00
415 415 1 101.00 $101.00 $419 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 3 156.00–167.50 $161.50 $323 +1.91
265–295 287 6 150.00–165.00 $158.81 $456 -3.23
305–335 320 2 152.50–168.00 $160.61 $514 -1.68
365–390 382 4 150.50–162.50 $155.84 $595 -4.45
405 405 1 156.00 $156.00 $632 +0.73
460–490 480 3 150.00–165.00 $155.47 $746 -7.26
502–512 value added 507 4 155.00–160.00 $157.52 $799 —
505–530 523 9 141.00–151.00 $146.45 $766 -2.87
555–583 576 7 138.00–150.00 $140.79 $811 +0.79
625 625 1 136.00 $136.00 $850 -5.69
655–685 675 4 130.00–136.00 $131.96 $891 -0.04
705–745 724 7 131.00–138.00 $134.86 $976 +9.86
990 990 1 91.00 $91.00 $901 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 138.00 $138.00 $421 —
390 390 1 139.00 $139.00 $542 —
475–495 485 2 129.00–139.00 $133.90 $649 +0.94
500–525 506 4 133.00–135.00 $134.01 $678 +7.09
550–590 576 4 125.00–138.00 $132.92 $766 +1.28
631 631 8 120.00 $120.00 $757 -8.00
655–660 658 2 108.00–119.00 $113.48 $747 -5.50
700–720 710 4 109.00–117.00 $113.06 $803 +3.06
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 3 122.50 $122.50 $594 -1.15
500–530 518 5 115.00–126.00 $121.75 $631 +10.75
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 1 122.00 $122.00 $762 -5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
875 875 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 725.00 $725.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–1160 970 85-90% 5 32.00–51.00 $42.74 $415 —
925–1320 1052 85-90% 7 56.00–60.00 $58.28 $613 +5.32
945–1320 1070 85-90% 9 60.50–68.00 $64.23 $687 +11.27
1155 1155 85-90% 1 72.00 $72.00 $832 -1.00
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1515 1225 80-85% 9 65.00–70.00 $66.87 $819 —
990–1695 1335 80-85% 9 73.00–92.50 $81.69 $1,091 +5.32
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1650 1422 75-80% 10 66.00–73.50 $69.76 $992 +2.79
1350–1740 1505 75-80% 7 73.50–83.00 $76.32 $1,149 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1970 1503 6 70.00–87.00 $80.35 $1,208 —
1335–2160 1760 6 94.00–104.50 $98.37 $1,731 -9.28
1655–1905 1780 2 109.00–113.50 $111.41 $1,983 +3.76

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060–1425 1282 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 9 950.00–1,025.00 $994.44
1205–1380 1322 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 900.00–1,050.00 $1,004.41
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1085 1085 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
935–1195 1108 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 650.00–800.00 $746.85
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
630–920 775 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 550.00 $550.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1005–1225 1115 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 800.00–850.00 $827.47 -104.07

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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.