Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 28, 2024

467 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $234.86/cwt -7.17 vs last sale · ≈ $1,458/hd at 621 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $252.36/cwt +5.74 vs last sale · ≈ $1,203/hd at 477 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $243.31/cwt -9.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,266/hd at 520 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 467 525 934
Feeder cattle 310 435 815
Slaughter cattle 119 68 92
Replacement cattle 38 22 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday 400-500 steer and heifer calves 5.00 higher; 500-700 lbs fleshy steer calves 5.00-8.00 lower in a lite test. Heifer calves 500-700 lbs 2.00 lower. Buyers continue showing preference for weaned calves in light supply. Fleshy bawling calves facing discounts over health concerns due to extreme heat. Yearlings lightly tested. Slaughter cows sold 5.00 to 8.00 lower with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with 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
411–432 418 6 274.00–280.00 $276.07 $1,154 +10.63
514 514 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,259 -15.66
560 560 1 244.00 $244.00 $1,366 -18.00
665 665 1 248.00 $248.00 $1,649 +7.00
668 value added 668 5 265.00 $265.00 $1,770 —
770 770 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,771 —
855 855 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,796 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,296 +8.97
580–583 582 4 235.00–237.00 $236.50 $1,376 —
622 622 4 235.00 $235.00 $1,462 —
725 725 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,588 —
770 770 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,771 +12.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
638 638 3 230.00 $230.00 $1,467 +10.00
705 705 1 224.00 $224.00 $1,579 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 250.00 $250.00 $612 +2.09
300 300 1 245.00 $245.00 $735 —
390 390 1 228.00 $228.00 $889 -16.96
400–410 value added 406 5 258.00–266.00 $261.15 $1,060 +9.32
400–425 410 3 240.00–245.00 $241.65 $991 -1.11
450–472 value added 463 7 250.00–273.00 $262.68 $1,216 +11.19
450–499 485 12 240.00–253.00 $246.34 $1,195 +1.34
517 value added 517 4 256.00 $256.00 $1,324 -1.28
500–545 521 15 236.00–243.00 $239.93 $1,250 -2.07
563 value added 563 4 250.50 $250.50 $1,410 —
568–598 580 10 230.00–240.00 $236.10 $1,369 -2.33
601–642 value added 616 20 230.50–239.50 $235.83 $1,453 -10.49
646 646 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,486 +10.50
677 value added 677 5 230.00 $230.00 $1,557 —
705–730 723 4 187.00–207.00 $199.86 $1,445 -0.14
820 820 1 187.50 $187.50 $1,538 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 235.00 $235.00 $576 —
315 315 2 220.00 $220.00 $693 -9.50
360–380 370 2 192.50–220.00 $205.88 $762 -8.16
510–523 519 7 200.00–225.00 $209.77 $1,089 -10.23
615–626 624 5 220.00 $220.00 $1,373 +25.09
670–680 672 7 175.00–192.50 $186.00 $1,250 -9.40
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 222.50 $222.50 $567 —
400 400 2 200.00 $200.00 $800 —
580 580 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,270 -5.54
662–690 671 3 175.00–190.00 $180.14 $1,209 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140 1140 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,881 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 240.00 $240.00 $636 -24.91
315 315 1 280.00 $280.00 $882 +15.00
375–390 383 2 270.00 $270.00 $1,034 +8.13
425–445 value added 432 3 270.00–275.00 $271.72 $1,174 —
435 435 7 242.50–246.00 $245.50 $1,068 -5.14
497 497 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,242 -0.63
600–640 618 18 211.00–227.00 $217.48 $1,344 -6.90
660 660 3 214.00 $214.00 $1,412 -8.83
672 value added 672 8 220.00 $220.00 $1,478 —
735 735 4 214.00 $214.00 $1,573 +7.64
775–785 778 3 209.00–211.00 $209.67 $1,631 +6.19
800–845 814 5 196.00–203.00 $201.35 $1,639 +5.35
1060–1070 1065 2 160.00–162.50 $161.24 $1,717 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242 242 2 232.50 $232.50 $563 —
340 340 1 220.00 $220.00 $748 -18.35
460–480 470 2 220.00–230.00 $225.11 $1,058 +5.11
510–540 530 7 220.00–233.00 $228.26 $1,210 +8.26
555–585 560 7 220.00–232.50 $228.02 $1,277 —
620–632 627 5 181.00–211.00 $194.69 $1,221 -13.31
665–677 673 3 197.50–210.00 $205.88 $1,386 -2.36
865 865 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,557 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 2 207.00 $207.00 $569 —
500–525 510 3 200.00–217.00 $211.39 $1,078 +1.39
575 575 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,092 -26.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 240.00 $240.00 $888 —
600–627 618 3 200.00–211.00 $207.44 $1,282 -5.56
650 650 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,268 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1660 1380 75-80% 7 127.00–133.50 $131.05 $1,808 —
1210–1790 1446 75-80% 30 133.50–142.00 $137.75 $1,992 -16.79
1240–1725 1451 75-80% 16 142.00–149.50 $144.95 $2,103 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1400 1241 80-85% 8 134.50–142.00 $137.45 $1,706 —
1055–1535 1286 80-85% 16 142.00–169.00 $152.28 $1,958 -12.19
1170–1430 1287 80-85% 3 126.00–133.00 $129.97 $1,673 -34.50
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765–945 883 85-90% 3 108.00–109.50 $108.89 $961 —
1040 1040 85-90% 1 94.00 $94.00 $978 —
960–1195 1067 85-90% 7 111.50–123.00 $115.26 $1,230 -22.12
895–1335 1095 85-90% 14 123.00–150.00 $133.55 $1,462 -3.83

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1280 1123 2 136.00–146.00 $141.70 $1,591 —
1285–1915 1603 6 168.50–196.00 $182.26 $2,922 —
1410–2180 1880 3 160.00–165.00 $163.02 $3,065 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1135–1345 1260 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,500.00–2,100.00 $1,747.67
1535 1535 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995–1160 1065 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,300.00–1,350.00 $1,318.15

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,325.00 $1,325.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1320 1320 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,000.00 $2,000.00 —
1295–1415 1356 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,850.00–2,125.00 $1,981.41 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1310–1675 1446 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 2,200.00–3,000.00 $2,641.56 —

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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.