Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 26, 2023

537 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $188.74/cwt +28.74 vs last sale · ≈ $1,670/hd at 885 lb · 68 head

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $205.00/cwt +22.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,673/hd at 816 lb · 65 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $200.42/cwt +2.01 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 472 lb · 38 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	537	597	644
Feeder cattle	447	498	492
Slaughter cattle	48	78	115
Replacement cattle	42	21	37

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold steady with good demand for thin-fleshed calves suitable for grass; fleshy, off-colored and bawling calves facing discounts. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher with very good demand for 400-600 lb weaned packages. Very good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 lower and 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
420–440 value added	430	2	240.00–245.00	$242.44	$1,042	+5.46
460–465 value added	462	7	200.00–237.50	$228.07	$1,054	-8.85
505 value added	505	1	204.00	$204.00	$1,030	-21.19
590–598 value added	595	6	199.00–200.00	$199.67	$1,188	—
630 value added	630	3	211.00	$211.00	$1,329	-7.96
685 value added	685	2	207.00	$207.00	$1,418	—
735–740 value added	737	3	190.00–191.00	$190.67	$1,405	—
816 fancy	816	65	205.00	$205.00	$1,673	—
880	880	1	188.00	$188.00	$1,654	+28.00
885 fancy	885	67	188.75	$188.75	$1,670	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315	315	1	200.00	$200.00	$630	±0.00
465	465	1	190.00	$190.00	$884	—
745	745	1	156.00	$156.00	$1,162	-13.11

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
260	260	1	172.50	$172.50	$448	-10.00
335 value added	335	1	200.00	$200.00	$670	-14.37
350–385 value added	365	5	196.00–208.00	$201.97	$737	—
380–385	383	2	190.00–197.50	$193.77	$742	-5.98
400–435	417	3	192.00–200.00	$195.74	$816	+3.27
405–442 value added	424	20	204.00–213.00	$208.63	$885	+4.36
463–470	467	10	191.00–194.00	$192.19	$898	-0.52
450–498 value added	474	28	198.00–209.00	$203.36	$964	+4.13
500–545 value added	521	10	185.00–216.00	$198.91	$1,036	+5.73
530	530	1	181.00	$181.00	$959	+1.00
575–585 value added	582	5	186.00–199.00	$191.23	$1,113	±0.00
605	605	3	167.00	$167.00	$1,010	-19.00
655	655	3	175.00	$175.00	$1,146	+10.43
670 value added	670	1	174.00	$174.00	$1,166	-4.07
700 value added	700	2	175.00	$175.00	$1,225	—
720	720	1	154.00	$154.00	$1,109	—
755 value added	755	1	169.00	$169.00	$1,276	—
805–845 value added	825	2	148.00–152.00	$149.95	$1,237	—
892 value added	892	2	154.00	$154.00	$1,374	—
895	895	2	144.00	$144.00	$1,289	-8.00
1055	1055	1	120.00	$120.00	$1,266	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
235	235	1	140.00	$140.00	$329	-22.72
280	280	1	160.00	$160.00	$448	-3.35
310–345	324	4	150.00–172.50	$159.58	$517	-2.63
405–440	423	2	152.50–183.00	$168.38	$712	+10.38
475–485	482	3	170.00–180.00	$173.36	$836	-2.35
505–545	521	7	158.00–170.00	$166.50	$867	+12.34
555–575	565	2	147.00–157.00	$152.09	$859	+6.37
625	625	3	160.00	$160.00	$1,000	+7.99
656	656	3	151.00	$151.00	$991	-2.00
915	915	1	107.00	$107.00	$979	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
480	480	1	191.00	$191.00	$917	—
523	523	3	184.00	$184.00	$962	+41.50
680	680	2	166.00	$166.00	$1,129	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
370	370	3	125.00–132.50	$130.00	$481	-17.50
530	530	1	107.50	$107.50	$570	—
680	680	1	110.00	$110.00	$748	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
265–275	270	2	162.50–182.50	$172.69	$466	-27.31
300	300	1	182.50	$182.50	$548	-17.61
342 value added	342	2	220.00	$220.00	$752	-12.76
355–380	368	2	197.50–202.50	$199.91	$736	-22.59
380–395 value added	388	2	240.00	$240.00	$931	+10.22
412–445 value added	427	9	200.00–227.50	$218.53	$933	-14.57
415–448	440	4	197.50–200.00	$199.41	$877	-1.59
455–490 value added	469	20	209.00–232.50	$219.72	$1,030	-10.54
490	490	1	198.00	$198.00	$970	-8.00
500–545 value added	518	8	201.00–221.00	$210.33	$1,090	-11.05
570	570	1	194.00	$194.00	$1,106	-2.25
550–595 value added	575	14	207.00–219.00	$213.08	$1,225	—
607–620 value added	614	4	198.00–202.00	$200.02	$1,228	—
640	640	1	183.00	$183.00	$1,171	+6.55
683	683	3	171.00	$171.00	$1,168	-13.00
730	730	1	162.00	$162.00	$1,183	-8.00
755	755	1	168.00	$168.00	$1,268	—
800–820	810	3	156.00–171.00	$162.65	$1,317	—
850–885	860	4	140.00–165.00	$156.25	$1,344	—
1195	1195	1	109.00	$109.00	$1,303	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355	355	4	157.50–165.00	$160.63	$570	-30.37
400	400	1	177.50	$177.50	$710	+7.62
540	540	1	187.00	$187.00	$1,010	+17.00
595	595	1	172.00	$172.00	$1,023	—
845	845	1	110.00	$110.00	$930	—
980	980	1	125.00	$125.00	$1,225	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355	355	1	210.00	$210.00	$746	—
405–440	428	3	195.00–200.00	$196.58	$841	—
535	535	1	181.00	$181.00	$968	-12.00
735	735	1	157.00	$157.00	$1,154	—
970	970	1	110.00	$110.00	$1,067	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
340	340	2	135.00	$135.00	$459	—
375	375	1	135.00	$135.00	$506	-5.00
460	460	1	122.50	$122.50	$564	—
505	505	1	120.00	$120.00	$606	-36.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
900–1140	1050	80-85%	3	75.00–80.00	$77.95	$818	—
1005–1390	1153	80-85%	13	83.00–88.50	$85.05	$981	—
925–1375	1162	80-85%	9	90.50–102.00	$94.94	$1,103	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1110–1650	1320	75-80%	5	83.50–89.00	$87.30	$1,152	—
1300–1590	1401	75-80%	7	90.00–108.00	$97.66	$1,368	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
885–1110	998	85-90%	2	70.00–71.00	$70.56	$704	-0.01
875–1220	1021	85-90%	5	74.00–84.00	$79.43	$811	—
1080–1180	1130	85-90%	2	89.00–92.00	$90.43	$1,022	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1525	1525	1	114.00	$114.00	$1,738	—
1360–2080	1738	4	124.00–133.00	$127.92	$2,223	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
805	805	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	103.00	$103.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
880–895	888	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	960.00–1,075.00	$1,017.01
840–1165	1000	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	4	1,000.00–1,175.00	$1,088.59
935–1135	1035	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	1,035.00–1,150.00	$1,098.06

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
765–920	823	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	725.00–935.00	$836.59
910	910	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	885.00	$885.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
710	710	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	825.00	$825.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
975–1210	1088	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	5	1,050.00–1,325.00	$1,186.51	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1380	1380	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	2	1,385.00–1,735.00	$1,560.00	—

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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.