Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 17, 2023

664 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $217.37/cwt +21.92 vs last sale · ≈ $1,248/hd at 574 lb · 108 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $205.01/cwt +21.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,311/hd at 640 lb · 93 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $209.56/cwt +28.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,459/hd at 696 lb · 71 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 664 593 824
Feeder cattle 611 476 619
Slaughter cattle 49 70 112
Replacement cattle 4 47 93

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold steady to 3.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages and yearlings. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for 500-600 lbs weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 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
310–346 value added 337 4 230.00–232.50 $231.93 $782 —
350–387 value added 377 8 220.00–252.50 $236.08 $890 +1.08
405–430 value added 414 7 227.50–243.00 $233.80 $968 -6.30
440 440 1 202.00 $202.00 $889 —
450–495 value added 486 5 230.00–235.00 $232.76 $1,131 -1.14
495 495 1 201.00 $201.00 $995 -14.00
500 500 1 203.00 $203.00 $1,015 +11.00
508–544 value added 529 22 228.00–244.00 $237.55 $1,257 -2.00
560 560 2 217.00–219.00 $218.00 $1,221 +5.00
552–595 value added 567 11 222.00–246.00 $236.35 $1,340 -3.22
605 605 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,180 —
605–640 value added 618 5 210.00–235.00 $225.05 $1,391 +19.05
695 695 1 196.00 $196.00 $1,362 —
700–742 value added 715 18 197.00–212.00 $207.04 $1,480 +0.04
760 value added 760 6 198.00 $198.00 $1,505 +2.51
765 765 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,484 —
801 801 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,522 —
872 value added 872 5 207.00 $207.00 $1,805 —
875 875 8 186.50 $186.50 $1,632 —
914 thin fleshed 914 6 192.50 $192.50 $1,759 —
945 945 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,767 —
1125 1125 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,564 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–447 431 3 162.50–170.00 $167.68 $723 —
475 475 1 179.00 $179.00 $850 -2.00
660 660 2 189.00 $189.00 $1,247 —
855 855 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,539 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–385 380 2 190.00–207.50 $198.63 $755 —
1105 1105 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,448 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 value added 180 1 205.00 $205.00 $369 —
295 value added 295 1 227.50 $227.50 $671 —
315 315 1 197.00 $197.00 $621 +3.80
366–396 value added 383 11 215.00–224.00 $221.09 $847 +5.41
405–433 value added 418 12 204.00–217.00 $212.46 $888 +4.81
440 440 3 183.00–189.00 $187.00 $823 —
455–495 value added 465 28 195.00–215.50 $210.62 $979 +6.92
475–485 480 3 182.00–193.00 $188.37 $904 -1.63
500–540 value added 508 13 198.00–210.00 $206.07 $1,047 +6.56
530–535 532 3 180.00–184.00 $181.34 $965 -7.19
550–590 value added 574 107 193.00–221.25 $217.63 $1,249 +20.30
575 575 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,092 +2.96
610 610 1 178.00 $178.00 $1,086 +3.00
615–644 value added 640 92 195.00–207.00 $205.30 $1,314 +19.39
682–696 value added 696 71 194.00–210.00 $209.56 $1,459 +25.77
731 value added 731 10 189.00 $189.00 $1,382 -3.35
808 value added 808 3 154.00 $154.00 $1,244 —
800–825 813 2 141.00–144.00 $142.48 $1,158 -18.52
922 value added 922 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,438 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
145 145 1 180.00 $180.00 $261 —
290 290 1 165.00 $165.00 $478 —
310 310 1 177.50 $177.50 $550 +3.32
380–390 385 3 152.50–180.00 $165.78 $638 +0.31
470 470 1 165.00 $165.00 $776 -15.13
500–535 511 5 158.00–170.00 $166.09 $849 +1.01
595 595 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,012 —
620 620 1 150.00 $150.00 $930 —
700–710 705 2 140.00–144.00 $142.01 $1,001 —
790 790 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,304 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 2 165.00 $165.00 $639 —
515 515 1 155.00 $155.00 $798 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 150.00 $150.00 $690 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 228 2 202.50–220.00 $211.92 $483 —
310–340 value added 333 5 220.00–230.00 $224.93 $749 +0.89
345 345 2 212.50 $212.50 $733 -3.67
360–363 362 4 210.00–212.50 $210.62 $762 +5.62
365–390 value added 377 3 221.00–252.00 $235.50 $888 +0.70
405 value added 405 2 232.50–237.00 $234.75 $951 +2.75
465 465 1 210.00 $210.00 $976 +1.04
465–495 value added 480 6 225.00–235.00 $229.53 $1,102 +3.63
510–535 value added 528 13 215.00–230.00 $223.17 $1,178 -1.00
560–590 value added 571 5 213.00–220.00 $216.77 $1,238 -0.23
600–630 value added 608 7 190.00–214.00 $207.32 $1,261 +14.32
610–625 618 2 183.00–186.00 $184.48 $1,140 -1.52
660 value added 660 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,313 +4.31
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–435 425 4 162.50–177.50 $169.11 $719 -0.85
460–495 478 2 162.50–175.00 $168.98 $808 -11.52
525 525 1 175.00 $175.00 $919 —
565–585 578 3 177.00–186.00 $183.07 $1,058 —
745 745 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,162 —
760 760 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,269 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 2 205.00 $205.00 $1,230 —
695 695 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,223 —
752 752 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,271 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 167.50 $167.50 $452 —
370 370 1 152.50 $152.50 $564 —
530 530 1 155.00 $155.00 $822 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1600 1364 80-85% 17 100.50–116.00 $108.86 $1,485 —
1485 1485 80-85% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,381 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1560 1430 75-80% 2 91.50–95.50 $93.32 $1,334 —
1270–1745 1498 75-80% 12 96.00–117.50 $108.10 $1,619 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865–1175 1033 85-90% 3 80.00–86.00 $82.96 $857 —
820–1175 1054 85-90% 4 90.00–103.00 $96.41 $1,016 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1355 1293 2 113.00 $113.00 $1,461 —
1745–2390 2000 4 123.50–138.50 $132.12 $2,642 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1120 1120 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

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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.