Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 4, 2023

458 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $172.73/cwt +39.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,014/hd at 587 lb · 98 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $168.97/cwt ≈ $1,053/hd at 623 lb · 25 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $158.11/cwt ≈ $980/hd at 620 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 458 206 711
Feeder cattle 324 85 615
Slaughter cattle 109 53 80
Replacement cattle 25 68 16

Market comments — USDA reporter

No market comparisons due to Holidays.

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
340 340 1 185.00 $185.00 $629 —
350 350 1 187.50 $187.50 $656 —
405 value added 405 1 212.50 $212.50 $861 —
450–487 value added 466 9 180.00–185.00 $182.53 $851 +7.53
490 490 1 175.00 $175.00 $858 —
515–540 523 3 170.00–172.00 $171.31 $896 +4.31
500–535 value added 530 7 175.50–181.00 $176.24 $934 —
575 575 1 169.00 $169.00 $972 —
600–644 value added 623 25 160.00–174.50 $168.97 $1,053 —
652–695 value added 665 7 160.00–168.00 $165.64 $1,102 +10.64
725–737 value added 736 8 154.00–163.50 $162.33 $1,195 —
775–780 value added 778 6 154.00–162.00 $159.34 $1,240 —
845 845 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,251 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 165.00 $165.00 $553 —
385 385 1 147.50 $147.50 $568 —
440 440 1 142.50 $142.50 $627 —
490 490 1 147.00 $147.00 $720 —
715 715 1 135.00 $135.00 $965 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
695 695 1 157.00 $157.00 $1,091 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 125.00 $125.00 $500 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–245 223 2 130.00–132.50 $131.12 $292 —
305 305 1 135.00 $135.00 $412 —
365 value added 365 3 161.00 $161.00 $588 +8.40
385 385 1 131.00 $131.00 $504 —
410 410 1 149.00 $149.00 $611 +9.21
406–445 value added 420 7 160.00–177.00 $169.35 $711 —
452–492 value added 468 11 160.00–175.00 $168.01 $786 —
462–495 473 3 141.00–152.00 $148.16 $701 +3.16
506–540 value added 518 10 157.00–165.00 $162.19 $840 +15.19
520–535 528 3 151.00–157.00 $153.97 $813 +20.79
553–588 value added 587 98 166.00–173.00 $172.73 $1,014 +25.73
600–638 value added 620 19 145.00–162.00 $158.11 $980 —
680–690 687 3 138.00–139.00 $138.67 $953 —
700 value added 700 6 143.00 $143.00 $1,001 —
810 810 3 141.50 $141.50 $1,146 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–440 423 2 122.00–125.00 $123.44 $522 -8.09
525–545 535 2 110.00–111.00 $110.51 $591 -18.98
575 575 1 131.00 $131.00 $753 —
600 600 2 134.00 $134.00 $804 —
780 780 1 101.00 $101.00 $788 -1.00
810 810 1 103.00 $103.00 $834 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 1 95.00 $95.00 $917 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 169.00 $169.00 $617 —
400–440 value added 415 9 172.50–181.00 $178.72 $742 +1.41
480–490 485 2 159.00–160.00 $159.49 $774 —
490 value added 490 4 175.00 $175.00 $858 +9.00
515–530 525 3 160.00–170.00 $163.27 $857 +22.27
510–533 value added 527 4 174.00–177.00 $176.27 $929 —
587 587 2 160.00 $160.00 $939 —
625 value added 625 1 143.00 $143.00 $894 -1.00
600–645 628 5 132.00–137.00 $134.04 $842 -0.96
747 747 4 125.00 $125.00 $934 —
810 810 1 120.00 $120.00 $972 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 132.50 $132.50 $417 —
610–615 613 2 111.00–125.00 $118.03 $724 —
675 675 1 115.00 $115.00 $776 -11.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517 517 4 129.00 $129.00 $667 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905 905 1 95.00 $95.00 $860 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
755–1155 894 85-90% 15 29.00–54.00 $46.26 $414 —
850–1235 974 85-90% 8 56.00–59.00 $58.00 $565 —
845–1250 1044 85-90% 24 62.00–70.00 $64.95 $678 +8.94
955–1250 1093 85-90% 4 71.00–75.50 $73.05 $798 +6.63
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1560 1247 80-85% 15 68.00–76.00 $72.42 $903 +11.91
980–1625 1295 80-85% 4 63.00–68.00 $65.33 $846 -15.02
1035–1450 1321 80-85% 6 78.50–84.00 $80.88 $1,068 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1470 1258 75-80% 2 59.00–68.00 $64.26 $808 —
1305–1590 1438 75-80% 3 73.00–74.00 $73.37 $1,055 —
1360–1860 1547 75-80% 9 76.50–85.00 $80.05 $1,238 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1170 1158 2 75.00–87.00 $81.06 $939 —
1645–2140 1900 4 103.00–106.00 $104.70 $1,989 —
1815–2075 1946 4 112.00–125.00 $116.20 $2,261 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1070–1180 1132 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 74.50–88.50 $80.15 $907

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1110 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
995–1490 1219 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 875.00–1,375.00 $1,025.42
1015–1430 1223 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 985.00–1,350.00 $1,198.48
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
975–980 978 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 685.00–825.00 $754.82
1075–1115 1095 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 835.00 $835.00
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
775 775 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 560.00 $560.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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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.