Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 31, 2023

420 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $208.65/cwt +0.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,104/hd at 529 lb · 31 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $218.89/cwt +11.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,046/hd at 478 lb · 23 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $188.17/cwt -4.05 vs last sale · ≈ $1,153/hd at 613 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 420 515 255
Feeder cattle 318 412 180
Slaughter cattle 89 84 47
Replacement cattle 13 19 28

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold steady to 2.00 higher with very good demand for weaned and yearling calf packages. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with very good demand for weaned and yearling packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower 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
307 307 2 215.00 $215.00 $660 +2.50
330 value added 330 1 240.00 $240.00 $792 -3.00
355–365 value added 360 2 220.00–230.00 $225.07 $810 +5.07
370 370 1 210.00 $210.00 $777 -12.50
410–440 value added 422 9 227.50–251.00 $244.20 $1,031 +4.96
450–480 value added 460 6 230.00–246.00 $239.13 $1,100 +4.22
500–540 value added 515 11 220.00–247.00 $233.03 $1,200 —
550 550 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,106 —
572 value added 572 4 224.00 $224.00 $1,281 -7.76
625–645 value added 635 2 210.00–225.00 $217.38 $1,380 -5.36
685 value added 685 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,507 -15.00
710 710 1 197.00 $197.00 $1,399 -2.00
721 value added 721 3 208.00 $208.00 $1,500 —
776 value added 776 3 213.00 $213.00 $1,653 —
860 860 1 184.00 $184.00 $1,582 —
920 fancy 920 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,831 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 170.00 $170.00 $366 —
300 300 1 200.00 $200.00 $600 —
400–420 413 3 175.00–180.00 $178.39 $737 —
585 585 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,082 -15.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,066 —
650 650 1 209.00 $209.00 $1,358 —
830 830 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,660 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 195.00 $195.00 $517 -5.00
315–335 value added 326 4 200.00–222.50 $212.58 $693 -8.17
370–392 value added 383 7 205.00–227.50 $217.45 $833 +5.01
400–445 value added 416 14 201.00–230.00 $218.70 $910 +5.32
450–495 value added 478 20 204.00–233.00 $222.79 $1,065 +8.84
465–490 478 3 190.00–199.00 $192.92 $922 -7.75
500 500 1 190.00 $190.00 $950 +0.05
505–543 value added 530 30 201.00–219.00 $209.27 $1,109 -2.50
550–590 value added 566 17 197.00–225.00 $210.88 $1,194 -21.83
600–640 606 12 179.00–183.00 $180.17 $1,092 —
600–638 value added 621 10 188.00–205.00 $197.76 $1,228 +5.54
655–668 value added 664 6 193.00–209.50 $204.07 $1,355 +19.07
675 675 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,222 +9.00
700–725 711 4 162.00–164.00 $163.49 $1,162 -8.51
750–755 753 2 150.00–160.00 $154.98 $1,167 —
793–795 value added 793 6 173.00–174.00 $173.83 $1,378 -23.42
830 830 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,336 —
1000 1000 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,250 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–330 315 2 162.50–186.00 $173.69 $547 +3.69
405–420 413 2 175.00–180.00 $177.55 $733 —
470–475 473 2 180.00–185.00 $182.49 $863 —
550 550 1 160.00 $160.00 $880 —
600–622 615 3 157.00–165.00 $162.40 $999 —
675 675 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,080 —
745 745 1 134.00 $134.00 $998 —
810 810 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,045 +2.00
865 865 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,038 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810 810 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,134 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,475 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 value added 328 5 221.00–236.00 $225.98 $741 -15.79
365–385 value added 375 2 202.50–255.00 $228.05 $855 -14.48
400–438 value added 425 11 229.00–250.00 $243.30 $1,034 +7.87
457–490 value added 467 9 220.00–231.00 $225.82 $1,055 -3.86
490 490 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,029 ±0.00
510–535 value added 515 6 220.00–227.00 $224.51 $1,156 +1.64
560 560 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,086 -15.00
575 value added 575 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,190 -14.51
607 value added 607 2 197.00 $197.00 $1,196 -1.10
635–640 638 2 190.00–194.00 $192.01 $1,225 —
665–695 675 3 176.00–179.00 $177.97 $1,201 -8.08
717–720 718 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,292 -1.06
775 775 2 177.00 $177.00 $1,372 —
830 830 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,386 —
960 960 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,190 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 162.50 $162.50 $358 —
370–375 373 2 187.50–189.00 $188.26 $702 —
400 400 1 182.50 $182.50 $730 —
520 520 1 175.00 $175.00 $910 +2.00
555–590 578 3 180.00–182.50 $180.80 $1,045 —
740 740 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,206 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1260–1810 1535 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 2 1,650.00–2,300.00 $2,033.22 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 185.00 $185.00 $712 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765–1080 873 85-90% 6 71.00–80.00 $76.61 $669 -5.35
730–975 896 85-90% 4 62.00–70.00 $66.50 $596 -15.46
825–1265 978 85-90% 11 83.00–91.00 $86.06 $842 -4.75
925–1330 1075 85-90% 12 95.00–105.00 $100.08 $1,076 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1235 1185 80-85% 2 89.00–97.00 $92.83 $1,100 —
955–1830 1266 80-85% 30 100.00–121.50 $110.20 $1,395 -5.39
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1430 1322 75-80% 7 104.50–114.00 $109.65 $1,450 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1315 1222 3 103.00–120.00 $112.28 $1,372 —
1525–1920 1773 9 124.00–152.00 $136.53 $2,421 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035–1245 1140 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,050.00–1,275.00 $1,172.86
1095–1220 1158 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,225.00 $1,225.00

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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
1595 1595 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,825.00 $1,825.00 —

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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.