Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 29, 2023

856 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $202.06/cwt -6.72 vs last sale · ≈ $1,059/hd at 524 lb · 45 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $207.13/cwt +1.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,208/hd at 583 lb · 45 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $212.01/cwt +1.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,345/hd at 634 lb · 38 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 856 810 1,122
Feeder cattle 727 677 892
Slaughter cattle 100 111 185
Replacement cattle 29 22 45

Market comments — USDA reporter

No comparison with last week due to Holiday.

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
366–390 value added 377 7 274.00–300.00 $288.19 $1,086 —
389–390 389 6 270.00–274.00 $273.33 $1,063 —
415 415 1 244.00 $244.00 $1,013 +12.34
435 value added 435 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,153 —
458–475 465 15 234.00–240.00 $238.04 $1,107 +3.00
452–495 value added 489 14 241.00–249.00 $242.06 $1,184 —
502–526 value added 521 14 235.00–247.50 $241.32 $1,257 —
521 521 3 233.00 $233.00 $1,214 +3.83
568–579 576 13 232.00–233.00 $232.77 $1,341 +6.10
593 value added 593 9 232.00 $232.00 $1,376 -4.09
622–638 value added 633 11 219.00–223.00 $221.37 $1,401 —
600–649 635 27 203.00–215.00 $208.19 $1,322 -2.53
665 value added 665 5 220.00 $220.00 $1,463 —
677 677 2 208.00 $208.00 $1,408 -3.07
700 700 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,365 -2.97
750–765 value added 762 22 210.00–220.50 $216.23 $1,648 —
822–848 839 10 193.00–216.00 $205.48 $1,724 —
901 901 3 211.00 $211.00 $1,901 —
990 990 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,980 +17.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 227.50 $227.50 $819 -0.50
400 400 1 220.00 $220.00 $880 -7.75
450–495 471 9 200.00–232.50 $225.62 $1,063 —
500–530 516 4 220.00–226.00 $224.20 $1,157 +0.20
553–585 567 13 199.00–230.00 $224.89 $1,275 +20.88
625–640 633 2 194.00–198.00 $196.02 $1,241 +3.66
707 707 2 193.00 $193.00 $1,365 +29.00
760 760 2 193.00 $193.00 $1,467 +35.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,117 —
645 645 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,251 —
675–687 681 4 190.00–198.00 $194.04 $1,321 —
706–745 715 16 178.00–206.50 $200.07 $1,431 +49.07
770 770 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,478 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–335 318 3 190.00–202.50 $194.69 $619 -7.92
370–385 375 3 192.00–208.00 $200.00 $750 -0.22
390–398 value added 395 6 222.50–232.50 $230.01 $909 —
402–445 431 14 192.00–209.00 $200.44 $864 -1.34
400–447 value added 434 16 209.00–236.00 $221.65 $962 —
457–473 value added 466 14 200.00–229.00 $206.98 $965 —
472–490 480 7 188.00–199.00 $192.09 $922 -1.82
507–545 522 24 190.00–199.00 $193.74 $1,011 -2.71
504–545 value added 527 21 203.00–214.00 $211.56 $1,115 -0.92
562–595 578 7 188.00–200.00 $196.47 $1,136 -4.54
555–596 value added 584 38 202.00–213.00 $209.09 $1,221 -3.05
615–630 623 2 170.00–181.00 $175.43 $1,093 -14.88
633–638 value added 636 7 195.00–220.00 $209.33 $1,331 —
651–685 658 12 177.00–195.00 $190.53 $1,254 +6.45
720–747 732 9 156.00–172.00 $162.94 $1,193 +5.94
826 826 4 160.00 $160.00 $1,322 +29.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 167.50 $167.50 $377 —
255 255 1 165.00 $165.00 $421 -27.65
345 345 1 181.00 $181.00 $624 +8.50
350–380 369 4 160.00–171.00 $167.76 $619 -11.57
405–447 420 12 172.50–185.00 $179.17 $753 +4.74
465–490 478 11 171.00–187.00 $180.87 $865 -1.74
515–540 528 2 184.00–187.00 $185.54 $980 +6.82
555–570 559 4 170.00–185.00 $180.28 $1,008 -5.31
605–615 610 3 135.00–160.00 $145.07 $885 -30.45
685 685 1 135.00 $135.00 $925 -19.18
700–710 705 2 140.00–152.00 $146.04 $1,030 +11.04
830–840 835 2 121.00–134.00 $127.54 $1,065 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
591 591 8 190.00 $190.00 $1,123 +27.19
645 645 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,238 —
665–685 675 8 155.00–192.00 $173.23 $1,169 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 152.50 $152.50 $381 -10.00
360–395 380 3 124.00–158.00 $144.31 $548 -1.91
480 480 2 105.00–149.00 $127.00 $610 —
570 570 1 130.00 $130.00 $741 -10.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 245.00 $245.00 $821 +10.83
365 value added 365 2 270.00 $270.00 $986 —
350–395 385 14 225.00–250.00 $232.47 $895 -6.78
425–440 438 6 230.00–234.00 $232.01 $1,016 +5.72
450–490 474 8 222.50–230.00 $226.52 $1,074 -2.89
500–547 520 13 215.00–226.00 $220.46 $1,146 +2.96
560–587 572 28 202.00–229.00 $224.92 $1,287 +2.92
600 value added 600 3 208.00 $208.00 $1,248 —
600–645 622 6 181.00–211.00 $196.91 $1,225 +10.80
650–665 661 4 173.00–194.00 $185.95 $1,229 -5.40
717–747 731 5 171.00–175.00 $172.83 $1,263 -1.42
786 786 3 164.00 $164.00 $1,289 +5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 200.00 $200.00 $490 —
285–295 290 3 190.00–217.50 $202.34 $587 -21.42
330 330 1 231.00 $231.00 $762 +19.08
350–385 364 8 190.00–227.50 $217.59 $792 -8.66
410–435 427 3 202.00–215.00 $210.84 $900 +8.98
452–485 464 10 210.00–220.00 $216.26 $1,003 +9.29
505–535 517 11 189.00–210.00 $203.51 $1,052 +13.61
550–582 571 3 190.00–200.00 $193.21 $1,103 +6.56
645 645 2 151.00–170.00 $160.50 $1,035 -9.50
855 855 1 142.00 $142.00 $1,214 +25.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 2 125.00 $125.00 $428 -57.57
410 410 1 132.50 $132.50 $543 -30.00
540 540 1 174.00 $174.00 $940 +31.50
565 565 1 160.00 $160.00 $904 +10.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,102 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1510 1332 75-80% 5 88.00–92.00 $89.87 $1,197 —
1035–1685 1413 75-80% 15 93.50–98.00 $95.57 $1,350 +5.94
1280–1785 1495 75-80% 14 98.00–113.00 $104.61 $1,564 +9.89
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1285 991 85-90% 9 64.00–73.00 $68.52 $679 —
940–1195 1050 85-90% 7 74.50–81.00 $77.88 $818 +1.54
1010–1255 1161 85-90% 9 82.50–87.00 $84.67 $983 +0.61
1165–1235 1200 85-90% 3 91.00–92.50 $91.84 $1,102 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1295 1138 80-85% 6 85.00–92.00 $89.29 $1,016 —
945–1455 1194 80-85% 11 93.00–98.50 $95.72 $1,143 —
1015–1520 1252 80-85% 8 99.00–111.00 $104.59 $1,309 +5.53

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1440 1328 2 113.00–119.50 $116.53 $1,548 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
955 955 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 810.00 $810.00
855–1150 982 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 800.00–960.00 $884.25
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020–1045 1033 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,050.00 $1,050.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
865 865 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810 810 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 510.00 $510.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
855 855 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.