Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 22, 2025

239 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $269.89/cwt -19.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,517/hd at 562 lb · 28 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $267.62/cwt -12.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,841/hd at 688 lb · 21 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $276.14/cwt -22.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,439/hd at 521 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 239 452 467
Feeder cattle 225 388 380
Slaughter cattle 10 51 64
Replacement cattle 4 13 23

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday market not fully established due to lite receipts and some plainer odds and ends due to extremely cold weather overnight; however a few good quality weaned 400-500 lb steers 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls lite test.

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
325 325 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,072 —
360–390 375 2 337.50–345.00 $341.10 $1,279 —
405–420 value added 413 2 360.00–395.00 $377.82 $1,560 -14.56
460 460 2 322.50 $322.50 $1,484 -32.00
465–488 value added 480 6 382.50–385.00 $383.31 $1,840 +13.22
510 value added 510 2 315.00–325.00 $320.00 $1,632 -12.06
525 525 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,470 —
552–581 value added 575 10 312.00–312.50 $312.10 $1,795 -8.56
610 610 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,662 -11.50
610–635 value added 631 14 298.00–300.00 $298.28 $1,882 -23.14
650 650 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,625 —
690 value added 690 20 268.50 $268.50 $1,853 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–265 260 2 265.00–325.00 $294.42 $765 —
352 352 2 312.50 $312.50 $1,100 —
430 430 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,301 —
570–585 575 4 255.00–265.00 $260.58 $1,498 -1.92
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,075 -45.00
450–490 470 2 237.50–250.00 $244.02 $1,147 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317 value added 317 2 315.00 $315.00 $999 -8.61
315–337 330 3 290.00–297.50 $295.11 $974 -6.28
355 value added 355 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,074 -18.04
375–391 388 11 282.50–285.00 $284.56 $1,104 —
405–445 value added 421 5 280.00–302.50 $289.51 $1,219 -32.83
455–490 472 3 250.00–272.50 $261.56 $1,235 -23.44
450–497 value added 488 9 277.50–297.50 $289.82 $1,414 -8.23
514 value added 514 10 286.00 $286.00 $1,470 -12.44
515–540 530 8 260.00–270.00 $263.81 $1,398 —
555–568 value added 562 26 262.50–274.50 $271.61 $1,526 -17.55
562 562 2 247.50 $247.50 $1,391 —
610–635 value added 625 5 260.00 $260.00 $1,625 -9.06
635 635 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,572 -12.50
664 value added 664 5 257.00 $257.00 $1,706 -18.28
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 285 2 232.50–275.00 $253.00 $721 -12.11
325–340 336 4 247.50–272.50 $260.14 $874 -31.86
465 465 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,093 —
505 505 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,237 -12.50
550–590 565 4 225.00–242.50 $231.89 $1,310 —
650–657 655 3 225.00–230.00 $226.65 $1,485 —
785 785 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,570 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 335.00 $335.00 $1,038 —
371 371 4 355.00 $355.00 $1,317 —
417 value added 417 2 322.50 $322.50 $1,345 -52.50
440 440 2 305.00–310.00 $307.50 $1,353 -12.76
485 485 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,406 -34.69
535 value added 535 4 278.00 $278.00 $1,487 -38.23
606 value added 606 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,576 —
872 872 2 188.00 $188.00 $1,639 -17.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–445 435 3 230.00–232.50 $231.70 $1,008 -18.30
485 485 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,140 —
570 570 1 207.50 $207.50 $1,183 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770 770 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,482 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1240 1163 80-85% 4 120.00–129.00 $123.49 $1,436 -13.11
1150–1355 1253 80-85% 2 133.00–135.00 $133.92 $1,678 -10.01
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–1110 958 85-90% 2 96.00–103.00 $100.06 $959 —
980 980 85-90% 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,088 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355 1355 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,490 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00

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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.