Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 19, 2023

597 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $185.50/cwt +12.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,384/hd at 746 lb · 76 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $173.72/cwt -9.98 vs last sale · ≈ $1,171/hd at 674 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $222.89/cwt -43.02 vs last sale · ≈ $1,156/hd at 519 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 597 1,152 1,143
Feeder cattle 498 1,030 1,039
Slaughter cattle 78 89 80
Replacement cattle 21 33 24

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday the calf market had a much softer feel at the onset; however by mid-morning you could find the buyers still showing strong support for good quality weaned thin-fleshed calves. Not a real good comparison to last week's very good calf quality as there were more thin upgrader type cattle on offer today compared to last week. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady 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 1 216.00 $216.00 $745 —
365 fancy 365 1 210.00 $210.00 $766 —
380–390 value added 386 4 227.50–235.00 $232.89 $899 -5.21
405 405 1 203.00 $203.00 $822 -9.00
420–425 value added 422 3 231.00–240.00 $236.98 $1,000 -11.33
450–485 value added 462 10 225.00–242.00 $236.92 $1,095 -18.50
505–530 517 3 200.00–206.00 $202.97 $1,049 —
500–548 value added 519 26 215.00–230.00 $225.19 $1,169 -11.70
550–565 value added 559 7 207.50–225.00 $215.49 $1,205 -17.60
578–595 588 7 194.00–204.00 $200.87 $1,181 —
607–635 616 3 188.00–196.00 $193.25 $1,190 —
615–643 value added 633 18 204.00–228.00 $218.96 $1,386 -6.78
685 685 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,308 —
800 800 2 183.00 $183.00 $1,464 —
896 896 4 160.00 $160.00 $1,434 —
1045 1045 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,672 —
1108 1108 3 152.00 $152.00 $1,684 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 200.00 $200.00 $610 +24.00
405–435 420 3 170.00–192.00 $181.35 $762 —
615 615 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,015 —
700–740 720 2 165.00–173.00 $169.11 $1,218 —
802 802 2 146.00 $146.00 $1,171 —
890 890 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,380 —
977 977 2 138.00 $138.00 $1,348 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 value added 405 1 212.50 $212.50 $861 —
485 485 1 201.00 $201.00 $975 +4.00
635 635 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,080 —
685 685 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,240 —
860 860 1 178.00 $178.00 $1,531 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 160.00 $160.00 $768 +40.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276 276 3 182.50 $182.50 $504 —
320–335 value added 328 2 209.00–220.00 $214.37 $703 -8.37
325–335 330 2 185.00–190.00 $187.46 $619 -2.54
355–397 376 4 195.00–204.00 $199.75 $751 -0.43
370–395 fancy 383 4 207.00–212.50 $210.43 $806 —
410–420 value added 416 6 200.00–208.00 $204.27 $850 -6.30
415–440 424 8 191.00–200.00 $192.47 $816 +3.91
450–490 value added 459 21 195.00–206.00 $199.23 $914 -2.26
465–490 482 3 190.00–194.00 $192.71 $929 -1.24
500–538 value added 529 26 189.00–198.00 $193.18 $1,022 -13.75
540 540 2 180.00 $180.00 $972 +0.33
552–590 value added 560 24 185.00–197.00 $191.23 $1,071 -13.30
580–590 587 3 180.00–184.00 $181.32 $1,064 +5.32
605 605 4 186.00 $186.00 $1,125 +19.01
625–635 632 3 165.00–170.00 $166.68 $1,053 -0.31
650–690 666 10 157.00–167.00 $164.57 $1,096 —
664–683 value added 678 21 175.00–179.00 $178.07 $1,207 -1.01
746 value added 746 76 185.50 $185.50 $1,384 —
863 863 4 152.00 $152.00 $1,312 —
975 975 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,082 —
1015 1015 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,167 —
1170 1170 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,193 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–240 227 3 152.50–170.00 $162.72 $369 +1.72
265–275 268 3 162.50–165.00 $163.35 $438 +8.73
300–305 303 2 157.50–167.00 $162.21 $491 —
430 430 1 158.00 $158.00 $679 +7.48
450–491 484 8 160.00–185.00 $175.71 $850 +8.50
520–535 528 3 150.00–160.00 $154.16 $814 -3.23
565–596 584 6 140.00–155.00 $145.72 $851 -9.44
600–605 602 3 150.00–156.00 $152.01 $915 +4.51
655 655 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,002 —
725–742 736 3 130.00 $130.00 $957 —
760 760 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,026 +5.00
825 825 1 101.00 $101.00 $833 -24.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 191.00 $191.00 $745 —
431 431 3 167.50 $167.50 $722 -2.50
545 545 1 142.50 $142.50 $777 -37.50
727 727 2 155.00 $155.00 $1,127 —
840 840 2 122.00 $122.00 $1,025 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 156.00 $156.00 $320 —
260 260 1 150.00 $150.00 $390 —
350 350 1 147.50 $147.50 $516 —
420 420 1 142.50 $142.50 $598 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260 1260 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,424 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 200.00 $200.00 $590 —
302–340 value added 308 9 220.00–240.00 $232.76 $717 +6.62
325–335 330 2 193.00–207.00 $200.11 $660 —
353 353 4 222.50 $222.50 $785 +12.50
355–387 value added 376 9 220.00–240.00 $229.78 $864 -16.34
400–425 value added 408 3 222.00–239.00 $233.10 $951 -1.88
415 415 1 201.00 $201.00 $834 -10.54
455 455 1 206.00 $206.00 $937 +5.93
462–465 value added 464 4 228.00–232.50 $230.26 $1,068 +10.87
518 fancy 518 3 215.00 $215.00 $1,114 —
515–520 value added 519 4 218.00–222.50 $221.38 $1,149 +1.38
505–540 529 5 202.50–210.00 $206.97 $1,095 +16.90
555–585 575 3 191.00–201.00 $196.25 $1,128 -1.24
610–630 615 5 172.50–185.00 $176.45 $1,085 -18.69
665 665 2 184.00 $184.00 $1,224 +5.50
715 715 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,216 +9.00
995 995 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,085 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 180.00 $180.00 $396 +0.09
250–265 258 2 167.50–191.00 $178.91 $462 -12.09
355 355 2 191.00 $191.00 $678 -9.00
425–435 430 2 160.00–180.00 $169.88 $730 +8.22
455–492 474 4 177.50–182.00 $178.58 $846 +15.19
505 505 1 170.00 $170.00 $858 -2.00
625–630 628 2 162.00–166.00 $164.01 $1,030 +14.01
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 value added 375 3 217.50 $217.50 $816 —
520 520 1 193.00 $193.00 $1,004 +22.00
635 635 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,149 —
782 782 2 151.00 $151.00 $1,181 -7.00
810 810 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,158 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 140.00 $140.00 $532 —
525 525 1 156.00 $156.00 $819 +36.00
585 585 1 151.00 $151.00 $883 +21.00
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1225 1225 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1325 1217 80-85% 5 83.00–92.00 $87.81 $1,069 -15.47
1160–1300 1235 80-85% 3 71.00–81.00 $76.70 $947 -26.58
1100–1565 1236 80-85% 19 93.00–112.00 $101.57 $1,255 -1.71
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625–1235 885 85-90% 5 50.00–67.00 $63.40 $561 —
800–1170 988 85-90% 5 68.00–74.00 $70.57 $697 -10.59
740–1240 1051 85-90% 6 87.00–97.00 $91.52 $962 —
935–1315 1098 85-90% 6 74.00–82.50 $78.20 $859 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1510 1438 75-80% 3 85.00–90.00 $87.57 $1,259 —
1215–1785 1480 75-80% 10 93.00–108.00 $100.07 $1,481 -1.86

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1465 1435 2 95.00–96.00 $95.49 $1,370 —
1275–1525 1440 3 109.00–118.00 $113.42 $1,633 —
1505–2005 1844 7 121.00–139.50 $130.42 $2,405 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
835 835 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 97.00 $97.00 $810

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015–1145 1061 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,225.00–1,375.00 $1,259.29
1092–1407 1230 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 960.00–1,430.00 $1,207.09
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–955 953 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 840.00 $840.00

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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.