Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 24, 2024

578 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $311.98/cwt +15.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,610/hd at 516 lb · 35 head

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $270.59/cwt +10.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,416/hd at 523 lb · 30 head

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $296.22/cwt +44.72 vs last sale · ≈ $1,804/hd at 609 lb · 24 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	578	634	537
Feeder cattle	442	478	447
Slaughter cattle	110	117	48
Replacement cattle	26	39	42

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher with very 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
325	325	2	317.00	$317.00	$1,030	—
385	385	2	317.00	$317.00	$1,220	+24.50
370–395 value added	389	11	312.00–330.00	$323.08	$1,257	—
405 value added	405	2	320.00	$320.00	$1,296	+15.88
445	445	6	305.00	$305.00	$1,357	—
500 thin fleshed	500	14	321.00	$321.00	$1,605	—
525	525	1	282.00	$282.00	$1,480	±0.00
515–531 value added	527	20	303.00–317.00	$307.17	$1,619	+8.92
570–580 value added	577	3	290.00–314.00	$306.09	$1,766	+13.64
580–592	590	6	278.00–288.00	$286.36	$1,690	—
600–631 thin fleshed	605	19	296.00–302.00	$301.01	$1,821	—
620 value added	620	4	268.00–297.00	$282.50	$1,752	+26.50
640	640	1	260.00	$260.00	$1,664	+17.50
651–667 value added	659	7	271.00–294.00	$287.68	$1,896	—
707	707	2	240.00	$240.00	$1,697	—
715–730 value added	727	13	247.00–275.00	$258.18	$1,877	+8.18
815 value added	815	1	220.00	$220.00	$1,793	—
845	845	1	235.00	$235.00	$1,986	—
875	875	1	223.00	$223.00	$1,951	—
927	927	5	200.00	$200.00	$1,854	—
980	980	1	194.00	$194.00	$1,901	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
585	585	4	270.00–276.00	$273.00	$1,597	—
606	606	4	259.00	$259.00	$1,570	—
660	660	2	250.00	$250.00	$1,650	—
795	795	1	229.00	$229.00	$1,821	—
845	845	2	219.00	$219.00	$1,851	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
435	435	1	260.00	$260.00	$1,131	—
450	450	1	270.00	$270.00	$1,215	—
520	520	2	260.00	$260.00	$1,352	+3.00
570–590	580	4	250.00–271.00	$257.38	$1,493	—
747	747	2	234.00	$234.00	$1,748	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1085	1085	1	181.00	$181.00	$1,964	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
225–235	230	2	270.00–302.50	$285.90	$658	+25.58
340	340	1	280.00	$280.00	$952	-21.00
385–395	390	2	279.00–280.00	$279.49	$1,090	+5.53
407–435 value added	418	10	281.00–296.00	$293.27	$1,226	+11.61
410–445	423	11	250.00–270.00	$264.34	$1,118	+10.32
450–458 value added	457	13	270.00–280.00	$277.55	$1,268	+4.42
457–495	471	6	258.00–270.00	$265.88	$1,252	+15.52
511–534 value added	521	24	268.50–279.00	$274.14	$1,428	+6.54
500–545	532	6	250.00–260.00	$256.39	$1,364	+12.77
550–580	567	5	256.00–260.00	$258.37	$1,465	+12.20
600–633 value added	619	17	240.00–252.00	$249.69	$1,546	+0.78
628	628	4	229.00	$229.00	$1,438	-3.00
660–670 value added	665	2	241.00–242.00	$241.50	$1,606	—
700–735	704	9	199.00–208.00	$206.96	$1,457	-2.56
715–731 value added	725	5	220.00–230.00	$223.95	$1,624	—
752	752	2	206.00	$206.00	$1,549	—
812–820	812	17	176.00–195.00	$193.87	$1,574	—
965–995	978	3	141.00–169.00	$154.08	$1,507	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
240	240	1	260.00	$260.00	$624	—
290	290	1	260.00	$260.00	$754	—
360–395	376	4	240.00–253.00	$245.99	$925	+6.91
430–445	438	2	246.00–250.00	$248.03	$1,086	+26.70
495	495	1	240.00	$240.00	$1,188	—
525–535	530	3	220.00–244.00	$235.40	$1,248	-0.41
565–580	575	8	227.00–249.00	$242.77	$1,396	+18.77
685	685	1	228.00	$228.00	$1,562	+30.75
700	700	1	162.50	$162.50	$1,138	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
549	549	5	268.00	$268.00	$1,471	—
660–672	666	4	220.00–228.00	$223.96	$1,492	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
470	470	1	220.00	$220.00	$1,034	±0.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
210 fancy	210	1	350.00	$350.00	$735	—
215	215	1	315.00	$315.00	$677	—
275–290	283	2	300.00–327.50	$314.12	$889	—
315–345	328	6	310.00–315.00	$312.50	$1,025	—
410–445	431	7	288.00–305.00	$301.35	$1,299	+17.28
453–480	466	6	280.00–304.00	$287.71	$1,341	+10.97
500–530	515	2	270.00–274.00	$272.06	$1,401	+7.08
530–540 value added	534	5	276.00–297.00	$290.56	$1,552	+15.35
565–580	573	2	260.00–277.00	$268.61	$1,539	+1.66
600 value added	600	3	252.00–257.00	$255.33	$1,532	+8.33
610	610	1	249.00	$249.00	$1,519	+12.00
650–665	658	2	243.00–244.00	$243.51	$1,602	+11.51
670 value added	670	1	244.00	$244.00	$1,635	—
700 value added	700	4	237.50–244.00	$242.38	$1,697	—
765–787	776	4	224.00–234.00	$229.07	$1,778	+6.36
782 value added	782	2	239.00	$239.00	$1,869	—
845 value added	845	7	229.00	$229.00	$1,935	—
1055	1055	1	136.00	$136.00	$1,435	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
255–295	273	3	199.00–285.00	$240.07	$655	-24.93
300–335	323	3	280.00–327.00	$312.46	$1,009	—
460–482	475	3	240.00	$240.00	$1,140	±0.00
540–545	543	2	250.00–259.00	$254.52	$1,382	—
565–595	580	2	247.00–250.00	$248.46	$1,441	+30.46
625	625	1	221.00	$221.00	$1,381	-4.00
675–690	683	2	209.00–227.00	$218.10	$1,490	+5.57

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
453	453	3	300.00	$300.00	$1,359	—
570	570	1	262.50	$262.50	$1,496	—
600–605	603	3	250.00	$250.00	$1,508	—
755	755	1	226.00	$226.00	$1,706	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
375	375	1	228.00	$228.00	$855	—
465	465	1	202.00	$202.00	$939	—
515–535	525	2	220.00–230.00	$225.10	$1,182	+4.10

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1245–1420	1319	75-80%	4	104.00–109.50	$106.97	$1,411	—
1235–1740	1426	75-80%	22	113.00–123.50	$118.15	$1,685	—
1235–2015	1478	75-80%	7	125.00–143.50	$133.02	$1,966	+3.70

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
760–1250	1011	85-90%	4	94.00–101.00	$98.24	$993	—
915–1165	1040	85-90%	2	83.00–88.00	$85.80	$892	—
845–1250	1088	85-90%	17	115.00–132.00	$122.04	$1,328	—
895–1170	1096	85-90%	8	103.00–114.00	$109.27	$1,198	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1055–1300	1178	80-85%	2	109.00	$109.00	$1,284	—
1020–1460	1198	80-85%	12	113.00–123.50	$120.35	$1,442	—
1030–1435	1255	80-85%	13	125.00–141.50	$130.12	$1,633	+13.23

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1175–1310	1243	2	128.00–129.00	$128.53	$1,598	+11.78
1515–1945	1726	5	145.00–149.00	$147.43	$2,545	—
1340–2110	1753	7	155.00–165.00	$158.71	$2,782	—

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1015	1015	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,500.00	$1,500.00
1085–1255	1178	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	6	1,400.00–1,575.00	$1,463.83
1205	1205	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	1,385.00	$1,385.00

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
765–1185	1018	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	1,275.00–1,350.00	$1,307.74
1135	1135	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,310.00	$1,310.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1485	1485	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	2,350.00	$2,350.00	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1175	1175	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	1	1,560.00	$1,560.00	—

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Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
595	595	2	213.00	$213.00	$1,267	—

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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.