Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report, Mt. Sterling, KY

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 14, 2023

726 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $223.60/cwt -8.48 vs last sale · ≈ $1,193/hd at 534 lb · 87 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $228.64/cwt +1.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,075/hd at 470 lb · 58 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $237.01/cwt -2.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,127/hd at 476 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 726 799 177
Feeder cattle 546 650 131
Slaughter cattle 131 110 28
Replacement cattle 49 39 18

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality. More average quality calves and fleshy bawlers beginning to show up creating a slightly softer undertone in the calf market. Slaughter cows sold steady to 3.00 lower with moderate to good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 lower with moderate to 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
340 value added 340 1 232.50 $232.50 $790 -7.50
391–393 value added 392 10 252.50 $252.50 $990 —
420–445 value added 440 15 221.00–250.00 $243.26 $1,070 -0.78
450–495 value added 475 26 222.50–247.00 $238.97 $1,135 -3.26
481 481 3 220.00 $220.00 $1,058 +1.00
507–545 value added 529 22 225.00–246.00 $239.62 $1,268 -14.60
535 535 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,177 —
557–573 value added 566 11 221.00–232.00 $226.48 $1,282 -19.80
577–595 583 3 208.00–213.00 $211.30 $1,232 —
605–642 value added 624 4 220.00–227.00 $223.60 $1,395 -15.77
665 thin fleshed 665 6 228.50 $228.50 $1,520 —
656–685 value added 670 7 216.00–226.00 $221.93 $1,487 -11.17
690 690 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,311 —
710–722 719 4 191.00–200.00 $195.77 $1,408 —
805–845 835 5 193.00–208.00 $204.90 $1,711 -5.10
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 2 200.00 $200.00 $964 —
520 520 1 185.00 $185.00 $962 —
572 572 4 170.00 $170.00 $972 -44.00
720 720 2 184.00 $184.00 $1,325 -6.00
825 825 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,493 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–297 value added 291 3 231.00–238.00 $233.24 $679 —
320–340 value added 333 5 220.00–228.00 $225.07 $749 +5.01
340 340 1 210.00 $210.00 $714 +2.50
356–365 358 4 201.00–210.00 $207.71 $744 -3.29
385 value added 385 1 229.00 $229.00 $882 +4.38
405 fancy 405 6 240.00 $240.00 $972 —
410–440 419 4 205.00–217.50 $209.11 $876 —
410–447 value added 431 12 224.00–239.00 $230.28 $993 +0.56
450–495 value added 470 53 220.00–239.00 $230.24 $1,082 +1.29
465–480 471 5 202.50–217.00 $211.72 $997 +4.33
510–542 527 4 200.00–210.00 $204.62 $1,078 +6.31
512–535 value added 534 83 215.00–225.00 $224.51 $1,199 -11.18
550–595 value added 564 14 210.00–229.00 $217.08 $1,224 -16.39
560–595 577 13 190.00–210.00 $194.54 $1,122 -8.80
605–617 610 5 170.00–177.00 $174.17 $1,062 -11.16
600–642 value added 616 17 184.00–208.00 $188.77 $1,163 -32.37
662–677 value added 670 4 178.00–184.00 $180.97 $1,212 —
681–695 685 4 180.00–197.00 $184.32 $1,263 -8.32
737 value added 737 2 193.00 $193.00 $1,422 —
752–762 757 5 160.00–172.00 $167.22 $1,266 —
850–870 865 4 146.00–150.00 $149.02 $1,289 -29.98
942 942 2 116.00 $116.00 $1,093 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 185.00 $185.00 $500 -2.50
320–347 338 3 180.00–187.50 $185.13 $626 —
360–385 369 4 150.00–202.50 $180.76 $667 —
420–445 433 2 155.00–182.50 $168.35 $729 —
485 485 1 137.50 $137.50 $667 —
515–530 520 3 180.00–190.00 $185.05 $962 —
630–635 633 2 148.00–170.00 $159.04 $1,007 +11.04
655–671 667 4 151.00–163.00 $153.95 $1,027 +5.53
725 725 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,095 —
925 925 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,045 -18.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
605 605 1 152.00 $152.00 $920 —
670 670 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,099 —
710 710 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,186 —
825 825 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,262 —
905 905 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,023 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560 560 3 150.00 $150.00 $840 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 220.00 $220.00 $550 +4.33
327–335 330 3 210.00–230.00 $223.23 $737 -0.46
350–386 value added 379 11 225.00–254.00 $241.33 $915 +3.88
407–415 value added 410 3 222.50–244.00 $229.76 $942 -4.91
450–480 value added 465 9 222.00–244.00 $233.99 $1,088 -2.75
466–490 472 4 217.50 $217.50 $1,027 -6.00
500–530 value added 514 7 221.00–236.00 $231.07 $1,188 +0.07
510–540 530 9 191.00–209.00 $200.84 $1,064 -22.18
565 565 2 195.00–210.00 $202.50 $1,144 -11.50
572–580 value added 578 10 214.00–219.00 $215.09 $1,243 -5.46
615–630 623 2 191.00–203.00 $197.07 $1,228 -12.60
660–667 665 3 185.00–189.00 $186.32 $1,239 —
725 725 2 184.00–200.00 $192.00 $1,392 +11.00
811 811 3 183.00 $183.00 $1,484 +31.00
860–865 863 2 141.00–168.00 $154.54 $1,334 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–545 515 11 165.00–189.00 $179.46 $924 —
550–580 567 5 175.00–194.00 $181.40 $1,029 —
620 620 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,147 —
665–685 675 2 152.00–180.00 $165.79 $1,119 —
715 715 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,208 —
760 760 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,292 —
835 835 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,269 —
875 875 1 103.00 $103.00 $901 —
975 975 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,053 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 157.50 $157.50 $772 +5.00
580 580 1 150.00 $150.00 $870 -10.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,220 -2.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1420 1257 80-85% 15 86.00–96.00 $91.46 $1,150 —
1280 1280 80-85% 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,011 —
1040–1705 1321 80-85% 34 96.00–112.00 $103.22 $1,364 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–945 887 85-90% 3 68.50–73.00 $71.22 $632 —
805–1125 997 85-90% 8 75.00–82.50 $79.67 $794 +2.69
895–1240 1054 85-90% 7 83.00–91.00 $86.71 $914 —
970–1215 1133 85-90% 13 92.00–108.00 $96.62 $1,095 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275–1565 1383 75-80% 11 97.00–110.00 $103.94 $1,437 —
1180–1525 1398 75-80% 10 91.00–95.00 $93.24 $1,303 —
1570 1570 75-80% 1 86.50 $86.50 $1,358 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1820 1525 11 107.00–119.00 $113.07 $1,724 —
1585 1585 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,648 —
1385–2365 1816 13 121.00–137.00 $127.48 $2,315 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885–1185 1010 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,025.00–1,225.00 $1,117.57
1045–1310 1167 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 1,050.00–1,395.00 $1,144.63
1150–1525 1313 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,160.00–1,335.00 $1,243.86
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1030–1045 1038 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 950.00 $950.00

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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
1220–1700 1411 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,400.00–1,775.00 $1,534.54 —
1475–1640 1588 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 1,600.00–1,800.00 $1,731.40 -20.40

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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.