Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 1, 2023

469 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $180.19/cwt +23.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,207/hd at 670 lb · 89 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $171.74/cwt +30.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,152/hd at 671 lb · 81 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $182.89/cwt -12.77 vs last sale · ≈ $971/hd at 531 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 469 441 519
Feeder cattle 351 378 427
Slaughter cattle 97 54 65
Replacement cattle 21 9 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers light test on similar quality. Very good demand for yearling heifers. Slaughter cows sold 10.00 to 15.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 higher with very 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
375 value added 375 1 214.00 $214.00 $802 +9.00
447 value added 447 2 193.00 $193.00 $863 -19.50
465 465 1 189.00 $189.00 $879 -3.50
511–538 value added 529 17 183.00–186.00 $183.74 $972 -11.92
537 537 5 180.00 $180.00 $967 —
601–610 value added 602 11 162.50–182.00 $179.48 $1,080 +13.50
605 605 3 154.00 $154.00 $932 -3.00
668–693 value added 670 89 162.00–183.60 $180.19 $1,207 —
703 value added 703 19 166.00 $166.00 $1,167 -2.25
782 value added 782 22 166.00 $166.00 $1,298 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
232 232 2 162.50 $162.50 $377 —
345 345 2 140.00 $140.00 $483 -27.50
500–545 527 3 146.00–167.00 $157.31 $829 —
580 580 1 157.50 $157.50 $914 —
600 600 1 142.50 $142.50 $855 —
705 705 1 132.50 $132.50 $934 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 164.00 $164.00 $935 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 value added 315 1 170.00 $170.00 $536 —
300–345 327 5 157.50–165.00 $162.25 $531 —
360 360 1 157.50 $157.50 $567 -0.70
415–445 435 3 157.00–160.00 $158.36 $689 +6.36
462–467 value added 464 6 163.00 $163.00 $756 -2.81
543 value added 543 3 161.00 $161.00 $874 -2.06
570 value added 570 2 159.00 $159.00 $906 -4.13
610 value added 610 7 155.00 $155.00 $946 —
665 665 2 134.00 $134.00 $891 —
671 value added 671 79 172.70 $172.70 $1,159 +31.41
894 894 7 130.00 $130.00 $1,162 +0.68
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 155.00 $155.00 $279 —
380 380 1 140.00 $140.00 $532 —
500–535 518 2 123.00–135.00 $129.20 $669 —
567–570 568 3 124.00–147.00 $131.69 $748 —
670 670 1 125.00 $125.00 $838 +0.29
735 735 1 110.00 $110.00 $808 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 107.50 $107.50 $236 —
260 260 1 102.50 $102.50 $266 —
320 320 1 100.00 $100.00 $320 -30.00
405 405 1 120.00 $120.00 $486 —
465 465 1 125.00 $125.00 $581 —
655 655 1 97.00 $97.00 $635 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
337 337 2 175.00 $175.00 $590 +2.00
372 372 2 172.50 $172.50 $642 -12.50
485 485 1 189.00 $189.00 $917 +12.00
540 540 4 167.00 $167.00 $902 -6.39
565 565 1 152.00 $152.00 $859 -7.09
885 885 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,071 +10.02
945 945 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,030 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 170.00 $170.00 $450 —
345 345 1 167.50 $167.50 $578 —
487 487 2 155.00 $155.00 $755 —
610 610 1 120.00 $120.00 $732 -6.00
797 797 2 120.00 $120.00 $956 -4.00
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 142.50 $142.50 $378 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1485 1263 80-85% 29 96.00–115.00 $105.03 $1,327 —
1170–1405 1272 80-85% 6 82.00–89.00 $85.33 $1,085 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1780 1458 75-80% 26 95.00–114.00 $102.89 $1,500 —
1455–1500 1473 75-80% 3 85.50–94.00 $89.13 $1,313 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1045 925 85-90% 5 63.00–72.00 $67.05 $620 —
925–1070 998 85-90% 6 90.00–103.00 $94.44 $943 —
770–1295 1059 85-90% 11 76.00–90.00 $81.99 $868 +4.76

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370–1620 1503 4 107.00–115.00 $111.08 $1,670 —
1615–2310 1811 7 121.50–130.00 $125.32 $2,270 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–1080 1003 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 95.00–97.00 $95.92 $962

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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
1320 1320 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,310.00 $1,310.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1335 1335 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,135.00 $1,135.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 130.00 $130.00 $370 —

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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.