Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 28, 2023

631 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $247.20/cwt +38.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,810/hd at 732 lb · 87 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $218.23/cwt +43.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,581/hd at 724 lb · 86 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2-3 heifers $177.16/cwt ≈ $840/hd at 474 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 631 518 660
Feeder cattle 489 394 440
Slaughter cattle 107 95 206
Replacement cattle 35 29 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages and yearlings. Feeder heifers sold steady to 5.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages and yearlings. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher 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
445 value added 445 3 245.00 $245.00 $1,090 +0.76
460–485 value added 474 5 227.00–234.00 $231.04 $1,095 -14.93
490 490 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,029 -7.10
510 510 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,122 +15.00
500–547 value added 530 7 226.00–240.00 $232.88 $1,234 +9.58
555–590 value added 580 11 222.00–248.00 $242.36 $1,406 +19.86
600–636 value added 618 6 220.00–238.00 $226.51 $1,400 +0.59
640 640 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,402 +6.12
655–687 value added 665 11 224.00–235.00 $231.57 $1,540 +9.07
680–690 687 3 206.00–218.00 $214.04 $1,470 +7.14
731–732 thin fleshed 732 76 242.00–250.00 $249.37 $1,825 —
715–741 value added 734 11 228.00–234.00 $232.17 $1,704 +12.17
755 755 2 218.00 $218.00 $1,646 —
830–840 833 3 193.00–196.00 $194.99 $1,624 —
900 900 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,755 +2.00
1015 1015 1 193.00 $193.00 $1,959 —
1130 1130 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,492 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 195.00 $195.00 $760 —
460 460 1 200.00 $200.00 $920 —
605 605 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,162 —
670 670 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,139 -16.76

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 206.00 $206.00 $577 —
340 340 1 217.50 $217.50 $740 +27.50
350–395 373 2 202.00–215.00 $208.11 $776 +6.29
410 value added 410 1 222.50 $222.50 $912 -8.66
400–425 416 5 210.00–217.50 $214.18 $891 +0.66
450–451 value added 451 4 218.00–224.00 $222.50 $1,003 -13.47
482–483 483 5 207.00–212.50 $210.30 $1,016 -0.30
500–515 504 9 203.00–210.00 $206.22 $1,039 +3.87
565–595 577 6 200.00–205.00 $202.83 $1,170 +11.68
596 value added 596 3 216.00 $216.00 $1,287 +1.58
602–640 615 3 182.00–186.00 $184.61 $1,135 +2.65
600–645 value added 619 9 196.00–226.00 $216.01 $1,337 +8.63
652–655 653 3 174.00–181.00 $178.66 $1,167 +5.27
670–680 value added 673 3 190.00–198.00 $192.69 $1,297 +6.69
724 thin fleshed 724 82 219.75 $219.75 $1,591 —
725 725 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,283 +2.00
737–740 value added 738 3 187.00–192.00 $190.33 $1,405 —
817–830 821 3 178.00 $178.00 $1,461 +13.00
955–985 970 2 131.00–136.00 $133.46 $1,295 —
1050 1050 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,312 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 175.00 $175.00 $499 -1.15
330–335 333 2 161.00–172.00 $166.54 $555 -5.96
395 395 2 167.50–182.50 $175.00 $691 -10.75
400–435 425 6 180.00–202.50 $189.09 $804 -10.91
465–485 474 15 160.00–201.00 $177.16 $840 —
505–535 520 5 166.00–185.00 $178.11 $926 +27.15
550–567 559 4 160.00–165.00 $162.54 $909 -1.46
605–630 621 4 149.00–164.00 $155.69 $967 +2.68
650 650 2 161.00 $161.00 $1,046 -1.18
700–725 714 4 140.00–165.00 $154.56 $1,104 -2.45
800 800 1 122.00 $122.00 $976 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 2 195.00 $195.00 $956 —
515–530 524 4 180.00–191.00 $183.46 $961 -20.02
860 860 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,453 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 165.00 $165.00 $701 —
455 455 1 160.00 $160.00 $728 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,663 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–341 331 8 215.00–220.00 $216.18 $716 —
365 value added 365 2 220.00–232.50 $226.25 $826 -1.25
375–386 381 6 208.00–220.00 $214.40 $817 -3.10
400–446 435 8 204.00–217.50 $214.87 $935 -5.13
455–460 458 3 210.00–215.00 $213.35 $977 -3.85
475–490 value added 485 3 220.00–223.00 $221.82 $1,076 -3.97
502 value added 502 2 228.00 $228.00 $1,145 —
520–545 532 3 209.00–217.50 $212.23 $1,129 -3.28
550 value added 550 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,210 —
590 590 1 197.50 $197.50 $1,165 -8.84
600 600 3 186.00–206.00 $192.67 $1,156 -10.33
620–642 value added 638 6 215.00–217.00 $215.32 $1,374 +0.32
700–717 711 3 171.00–182.50 $178.73 $1,271 -7.76
755–775 763 3 177.00–189.00 $184.37 $1,407 —
850–870 860 2 165.00–177.00 $170.93 $1,470 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–245 223 2 193.00–200.00 $196.85 $439 +34.35
320–330 325 2 177.00–202.50 $189.55 $616 —
395 395 1 181.00 $181.00 $715 +11.00
415–420 418 2 172.50–190.00 $181.30 $758 —
460–473 471 6 182.50–189.00 $183.56 $865 -0.24
500–545 521 14 177.50–200.00 $191.71 $999 +21.71
605–642 634 9 160.00–201.00 $176.90 $1,122 —
657 657 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,117 ±0.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 195.00 $195.00 $556 —
545 545 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,090 —
560–590 575 2 184.00–195.00 $189.36 $1,089 —
613 613 3 189.00 $189.00 $1,159 —
655 655 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,244 +3.48
750–787 775 3 170.00–173.00 $170.97 $1,325 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 167.00 $167.00 $576 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1535 1262 80-85% 11 92.50–99.00 $96.28 $1,215 -7.32
1045–1530 1300 80-85% 30 99.00–116.50 $106.87 $1,389 —
1460–2025 1743 80-85% 2 87.00 $87.00 $1,516 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
670–1140 882 85-90% 6 71.00–80.00 $74.98 $661 —
900–910 905 85-90% 2 68.00–70.00 $69.01 $625 —
830–1190 996 85-90% 9 85.00–90.00 $87.74 $874 +3.43
840–1180 1028 85-90% 8 92.00–102.00 $96.36 $991 +19.70
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230 1230 75-80% 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,070 —
1240–1860 1423 75-80% 10 92.00–99.00 $96.06 $1,367 —
1195–1945 1493 75-80% 13 100.50–110.00 $105.10 $1,569 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1495–2170 1751 8 114.00–123.00 $117.33 $2,054 —
1695–1820 1758 2 127.00–128.50 $127.72 $2,245 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1225 1225 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
1155–1452 1318 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,160.00–1,500.00 $1,391.44
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
890–1205 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 910.00–1,075.00 $1,009.82
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
690 690 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 675.00 $675.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810–1075 943 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 925.00–1,200.00 $1,081.83
965 965 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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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.