Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report, Mt. Sterling, KY

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 12, 2024

282 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $268.36/cwt -3.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,536/hd at 572 lb · 47 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $308.98/cwt +7.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,743/hd at 564 lb · 22 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $271.67/cwt -4.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,290/hd at 475 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 282 580 726
Feeder cattle 238 475 546
Slaughter cattle 33 77 131
Replacement cattle 11 28 49

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers not fully established due to lite receipts. Quality was plain through average. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 4.00 lower with moderate demand; except lean cows sharply lower with light demand. Many farmers working in hay this week restricting cattle movement.

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
402 value added 402 2 334.00 $334.00 $1,343 —
485 value added 485 1 296.00 $296.00 $1,436 —
520–532 value added 527 4 280.00–286.00 $283.50 $1,494 -40.13
550–590 value added 564 22 280.00–311.50 $308.98 $1,743 —
605 value added 605 1 278.00 $278.00 $1,682 -27.96
632–648 642 6 264.00–270.00 $265.33 $1,703 -19.00
650 value added 650 1 302.00 $302.00 $1,963 +10.00
675 675 1 254.00 $254.00 $1,714 -27.71
720–735 725 3 242.00–243.00 $242.34 $1,757 -18.07
725 value added 725 1 252.00 $252.00 $1,827 —
762–773 771 10 240.00–240.50 $240.40 $1,853 -2.60
815 815 1 224.00 $224.00 $1,826 -9.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
571–595 574 7 270.00 $270.00 $1,550 —
950 950 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,948 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 261.00 $261.00 $1,161 +1.64
555 555 2 250.00–260.00 $255.00 $1,415 -12.83
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,138 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 280.00 $280.00 $658 —
260 260 1 290.00 $290.00 $754 +47.00
355 355 1 298.00 $298.00 $1,058 -6.84
401–425 value added 406 5 275.00–277.00 $275.42 $1,118 —
415 fancy 415 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,307 +8.00
445 445 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,168 -19.82
454–483 value added 463 11 272.00–286.00 $279.17 $1,293 —
486–493 488 10 260.00–268.00 $263.42 $1,285 -12.64
500–545 value added 518 9 262.00–270.00 $267.16 $1,384 —
510–525 521 6 257.00–260.00 $257.83 $1,343 -14.04
565–570 568 6 250.00–260.00 $257.16 $1,461 -14.43
573 value added 573 41 270.00 $270.00 $1,547 —
625 value added 625 2 247.00–250.00 $248.50 $1,553 —
675 value added 675 1 249.00 $249.00 $1,681 —
755 755 3 176.00 $176.00 $1,329 -36.00
752–763 value added 760 7 220.00–221.50 $221.08 $1,680 —
815–821 820 7 176.00–186.00 $178.00 $1,460 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 220.00 $220.00 $616 —
340 340 1 223.00 $223.00 $758 -38.00
405–445 425 2 227.00–247.00 $237.47 $1,009 -22.53
477–490 481 3 222.00–240.00 $233.89 $1,125 -17.64
500 500 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,110 -23.78
550 550 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,265 -5.37
665 665 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,476 +8.67
790 790 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,272 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,320 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 216.00 $216.00 $972 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 280.00 $280.00 $588 —
280 280 1 340.00 $340.00 $952 —
430 value added 430 1 311.00 $311.00 $1,337 —
475 value added 475 1 294.00 $294.00 $1,396 —
485–495 492 6 271.00–280.00 $277.00 $1,363 +4.04
540 540 1 272.00 $272.00 $1,469 -8.00
580 580 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,566 -7.00
650 650 1 236.00 $236.00 $1,534 -1.67
710 710 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,661 -9.00
830 830 1 214.00 $214.00 $1,776 —
995 995 1 204.00 $204.00 $2,030 -5.00
1035 1035 1 197.00 $197.00 $2,039 -13.58
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480–483 482 4 260.00–275.00 $271.27 $1,308 +25.27
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 2 300.00 $300.00 $996 —
390 390 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,170 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190 1190 75-80% 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,559 —
1265–1670 1386 75-80% 6 141.50–156.50 $145.13 $2,012 —
1415–1475 1445 75-80% 2 138.50–139.00 $138.76 $2,005 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 85-90% 1 100.00 $100.00 $835 —
850–1205 1037 85-90% 6 124.50–138.00 $130.58 $1,354 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 80-85% 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,438 —
1055–1295 1138 80-85% 4 140.00–154.50 $147.86 $1,683 —
1150 1150 80-85% 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,460 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1380 1220 2 138.00–146.00 $142.52 $1,739 —
1160–2015 1556 4 149.50–158.00 $154.04 $2,397 —
1720–1990 1821 5 167.00–187.00 $175.49 $3,196 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1240 1240 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00
1270 1270 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,075.00 $2,075.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1175–1505 1340 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 2,300.00–2,550.00 $2,409.61 —

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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.