Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 22, 2024

268 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $275.25/cwt -4.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,301/hd at 473 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 268 550 515
Feeder cattle 203 407 412
Slaughter cattle 50 64 84
Replacement cattle 15 79 19

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday - Feeder market traded steady on similar quality however more plain through average quality odds and ends today. Slaughter cows sold steady to 5.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–392 value added 380 3 320.00–323.00 $320.94 $1,220 -31.56
440 value added 440 1 309.00 $309.00 $1,360 -31.62
445 445 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,290 —
483 value added 483 3 312.00 $312.00 $1,507 -14.81
500–545 value added 524 9 290.00–320.00 $300.79 $1,576 -7.21
550–597 value added 580 9 286.00–291.00 $289.36 $1,678 -25.86
615 615 1 256.00 $256.00 $1,574 -10.00
665–685 value added 675 2 280.00–291.00 $285.42 $1,927 +9.42
711–743 value added 727 6 251.00–261.00 $255.89 $1,860 +3.89
753 value added 753 3 251.00 $251.00 $1,890 —
840 840 2 211.00 $211.00 $1,772 -23.00
850 850 2 214.00 $214.00 $1,819 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,652 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 250.00 $250.00 $538 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 value added 345 1 331.00 $331.00 $1,142 +10.85
387 value added 387 2 304.00 $304.00 $1,176 -13.00
390 390 1 286.00 $286.00 $1,115 -4.00
420 value added 420 2 292.00 $292.00 $1,226 -3.33
445 445 1 266.00 $266.00 $1,184 —
452–485 value added 472 10 275.00–284.00 $280.17 $1,322 -0.54
465–485 474 4 258.00–271.00 $262.96 $1,246 -1.83
500–535 value added 515 9 265.00–283.00 $276.19 $1,422 +5.85
555–585 565 6 256.00–262.00 $257.66 $1,456 -2.22
605 605 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,416 -4.32
610 value added 610 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,464 -4.00
637 thin fleshed 637 5 251.00 $251.00 $1,599 —
675–682 678 6 229.00–237.00 $231.85 $1,572 —
810–815 813 3 200.00–209.00 $202.99 $1,650 —
865 865 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,816 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 240.00 $240.00 $744 -17.39
475–485 482 3 221.00–250.00 $240.47 $1,159 -2.83
500–540 518 3 230.00–246.00 $238.45 $1,235 -2.76
550–565 555 3 236.00–250.00 $244.92 $1,359 +2.06
600 600 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,320 —
665–680 673 2 209.00–229.00 $218.89 $1,473 +6.79
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
670 670 1 227.00 $227.00 $1,521 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,160 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 value added 230 1 307.00 $307.00 $706 —
360 value added 360 2 340.00 $340.00 $1,224 -7.42
385–395 390 3 300.00–325.00 $315.09 $1,229 -19.91
425–445 fancy 431 5 315.00–317.00 $315.41 $1,359 —
450–485 470 4 250.00–276.00 $264.75 $1,244 -35.59
480 value added 480 1 309.00 $309.00 $1,483 -5.34
505 value added 505 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,439 -4.31
502–540 516 3 270.00–276.00 $273.69 $1,412 -0.31
555 value added 555 1 298.00 $298.00 $1,654 +17.28
565–570 568 2 257.00–266.00 $261.48 $1,485 -14.97
568 fancy 568 3 280.00 $280.00 $1,590 —
600–625 608 6 238.00–258.00 $251.51 $1,529 -17.51
672 672 2 229.00 $229.00 $1,539 —
727–735 730 3 221.00–224.00 $222.01 $1,621 —
785 785 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,719 —
950 fancy 950 1 208.00 $208.00 $1,976 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 200.00 $200.00 $780 —
440 440 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,188 —
515 515 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,249 +0.50
550–570 560 2 239.00–247.00 $243.07 $1,361 —
700–735 715 3 210.00–220.00 $213.26 $1,525 -2.74
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765–775 770 2 215.00–217.00 $216.01 $1,663 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1750 1413 75-80% 16 126.50–147.50 $137.10 $1,937 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1595 1254 80-85% 11 135.50–155.00 $143.09 $1,794 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–870 828 85-90% 2 101.00–102.00 $101.53 $841 —
875–995 935 85-90% 2 102.00–106.00 $103.87 $971 —
970–1010 985 85-90% 3 115.00–121.00 $117.38 $1,156 +12.38

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1595–2170 1814 4 159.00–191.50 $171.83 $3,117 —
1420–2220 1879 5 125.00–158.00 $148.85 $2,797 —

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1355 1355 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,960.00 $1,960.00

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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.