Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 24, 2024

467 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $215.25/cwt ≈ $1,558/hd at 724 lb · 28 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $217.45/cwt +13.70 vs last sale · ≈ $1,255/hd at 577 lb · 27 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $222.06/cwt +14.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,061/hd at 478 lb · 25 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 467 70 441
Feeder cattle 380 54 378
Slaughter cattle 64 16 54
Replacement cattle 23 — 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Limited comparison with last week's lite test (weather) however very good demand for good quality weaned calf packages with good buyer participation for all classes. Thawing out from a winter storm with very wet muddy conditions restricted cattle movement today.

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
395 value added 395 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,146 —
400–443 value added 416 10 260.00–289.00 $273.85 $1,139 —
450–488 value added 470 14 272.50–292.50 $285.49 $1,342 —
477 477 2 260.00 $260.00 $1,240 —
500 500 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,250 +5.22
515–542 value added 524 21 272.00–280.50 $277.90 $1,456 —
550–592 value added 565 13 257.00–268.00 $261.65 $1,478 —
585 585 2 253.00 $253.00 $1,480 —
616–635 620 5 225.00–231.00 $229.77 $1,425 —
607–640 value added 625 14 239.00–257.00 $243.00 $1,519 —
670 value added 670 10 234.50 $234.50 $1,571 —
717–724 value added 721 20 218.50–219.50 $218.95 $1,579 —
730–732 731 8 200.00–208.00 $206.00 $1,506 —
780 780 2 213.00 $213.00 $1,661 —
815–835 822 3 188.00–200.00 $192.06 $1,579 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
469 469 7 240.00 $240.00 $1,126 —
515–545 535 3 230.00 $230.00 $1,230 —
579 579 6 237.00 $237.00 $1,372 +11.00
600–635 609 4 220.00–223.00 $222.22 $1,353 —
662–670 666 4 214.00–223.00 $219.98 $1,465 —
760 760 1 184.00 $184.00 $1,398 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285 1285 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,863 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 200.00 $200.00 $680 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–325 value added 317 4 210.00–226.00 $220.93 $700 —
350–390 value added 368 4 210.00–230.00 $216.79 $798 —
380 380 1 200.00 $200.00 $760 -18.00
400–425 value added 418 11 218.00–237.50 $226.33 $946 —
420 420 6 204.00 $204.00 $857 -14.00
450–490 477 9 208.00–214.00 $209.87 $1,001 +1.87
450–492 value added 478 16 217.00–239.00 $228.91 $1,094 —
500–545 522 6 192.00–207.00 $200.08 $1,044 -13.92
520–542 value added 530 14 216.00–227.00 $224.76 $1,191 —
550–590 565 5 190.00–201.00 $195.78 $1,106 -7.97
555–595 value added 580 22 215.00–228.50 $222.38 $1,290 —
602–630 value added 613 9 207.00–219.50 $216.00 $1,324 —
605–640 628 11 195.00–205.00 $198.15 $1,244 -1.85
660 660 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,195 —
662–687 value added 674 13 196.50–206.00 $200.17 $1,349 —
713–734 value added 726 11 194.00–196.50 $195.61 $1,420 —
805 805 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,216 +20.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 2 172.50–180.00 $176.42 $582 —
350–375 358 3 181.00 $181.00 $648 —
400 400 1 183.00 $183.00 $732 —
465 465 1 180.00 $180.00 $837 —
505 505 1 170.00 $170.00 $858 —
615–620 618 2 151.00–152.50 $151.75 $938 —
675–695 685 2 170.00–180.00 $175.07 $1,199 —
850 850 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,148 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600–630 615 2 180.00–182.00 $181.02 $1,113 -18.98
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 156.00 $156.00 $819 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–485 value added 463 3 265.00–272.00 $267.44 $1,238 —
460–490 475 2 233.00–256.00 $244.86 $1,163 —
520 value added 520 2 251.00 $251.00 $1,305 —
630–645 638 5 184.00–205.00 $195.86 $1,250 -7.14
1075 1075 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,204 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 230.00 $230.00 $575 —
340 340 1 222.50 $222.50 $756 -0.25
375 375 1 240.00 $240.00 $900 +10.00
455–485 468 3 220.00–225.00 $221.62 $1,037 —
550 550 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,210 —
601–615 607 5 155.00–176.00 $169.51 $1,029 —
805 805 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,191 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 197.50 $197.50 $770 -5.50
420 420 1 202.50 $202.50 $850 —
530 530 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,073 +22.58

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1555 1297 75-80% 9 101.00–111.00 $108.63 $1,409 —
1055–1780 1479 75-80% 19 111.00–127.00 $118.64 $1,755 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1255 1142 80-85% 8 98.00–113.00 $106.66 $1,218 —
1015–1470 1268 80-85% 10 115.00–128.00 $120.04 $1,522 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930 930 85-90% 1 105.00 $105.00 $976 —
855–1065 960 85-90% 2 95.00 $95.00 $912 —
875–1120 993 85-90% 6 71.00–83.00 $78.23 $777 —
905–1085 995 85-90% 2 84.00–86.00 $84.91 $845 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1630–1830 1730 2 120.00–124.00 $122.12 $2,113 -7.88
1660–2220 1915 4 129.00–133.00 $130.48 $2,499 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
960–1296 1166 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 13 1,100.00–1,500.00 $1,348.90
1095–1290 1181 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,100.00–1,275.00 $1,185.40
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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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.