Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 14, 2025

413 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $362.40/cwt +34.60 vs last sale · ≈ $2,044/hd at 564 lb · 88 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $365.79/cwt -11.89 vs last sale · ≈ $1,556/hd at 425 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $334.49/cwt +5.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,746/hd at 522 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 413 289 550
Feeder cattle 313 217 407
Slaughter cattle 81 46 64
Replacement cattle 19 26 79

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality offerings in a limited comparison with last week's lite test. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher; lean cows 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 to 10.00 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
200 200 1 405.00 $405.00 $810 —
395 fancy 395 1 430.00 $430.00 $1,698 —
430 430 1 427.50 $427.50 $1,838 —
460 460 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,748 -12.45
500–540 518 5 355.00–380.00 $370.87 $1,921 —
562–567 565 5 365.00–370.00 $368.00 $2,079 —
600–630 614 5 320.00–332.50 $327.94 $2,014 —
630 fancy 630 1 370.00 $370.00 $2,331 —
655 655 1 327.50 $327.50 $2,145 +5.50
720 720 1 291.00 $291.00 $2,095 —
720 fancy 720 2 311.00 $311.00 $2,239 —
1100 1100 1 236.00 $236.00 $2,596 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 3 362.50–377.50 $372.50 $1,397 —
430 430 1 347.50 $347.50 $1,494 -18.46
475 475 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,710 +27.00
530 530 1 353.00 $353.00 $1,871 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135 1135 1 190.00 $190.00 $2,156 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 312.00 $312.00 $1,638 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
190 190 1 405.00 $405.00 $770 —
235 235 1 415.00 $415.00 $975 +29.65
250 250 1 417.00 $417.00 $1,042 +59.50
340 value added 340 3 430.00 $430.00 $1,462 —
355–380 value added 363 3 400.00–417.00 $411.07 $1,492 —
380 380 1 387.50 $387.50 $1,472 +14.76
400–428 value added 414 11 362.50–392.50 $376.90 $1,560 —
405–448 439 9 340.00–360.00 $352.22 $1,546 -17.46
467–470 468 3 350.00–355.00 $353.33 $1,654 -2.52
500–540 522 3 320.00 $320.00 $1,670 +14.75
500–545 value added 522 16 325.00–340.00 $337.21 $1,760 +0.80
555–580 value added 564 88 325.00–368.00 $362.40 $2,044 +24.05
600–637 value added 612 10 324.00–330.00 $326.18 $1,996 -4.98
640–648 644 9 285.00–300.00 $294.80 $1,899 —
650–690 676 6 280.00–297.50 $285.35 $1,929 —
715 fancy 715 2 297.00 $297.00 $2,124 —
730 730 2 267.00–275.00 $271.00 $1,978 -1.35
790 790 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,133 —
805 805 1 275.00 $275.00 $2,214 +34.20
850 850 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,295 —
1010 1010 2 210.00 $210.00 $2,121 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 342.50 $342.50 $754 +17.50
260–265 263 3 287.50–375.00 $316.30 $832 —
330 330 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,072 —
400–430 420 7 313.00–335.00 $321.77 $1,351 +4.32
450–485 473 6 325.00–340.00 $330.37 $1,563 +28.04
600–620 610 2 235.00–267.50 $251.52 $1,534 —
660–675 668 2 240.00–252.50 $246.32 $1,645 -12.50
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–470 460 2 255.00–290.00 $272.12 $1,252 —
555 555 1 257.50 $257.50 $1,429 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775 775 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,957 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 2 395.00–427.50 $411.99 $1,360 —
398 398 3 410.00 $410.00 $1,632 +5.16
415–445 425 3 360.00–380.00 $373.02 $1,585 -22.69
455–470 463 2 362.50–380.00 $371.11 $1,718 +8.35
500–520 508 12 350.00–375.00 $360.43 $1,831 +16.69
557 557 2 347.50 $347.50 $1,936 -12.50
600–635 608 5 307.00–315.00 $311.74 $1,895 -1.77
650–690 678 13 280.00–320.00 $301.24 $2,042 +1.24
712–720 714 5 317.50–318.00 $317.90 $2,270 +32.90
780 780 1 302.50 $302.50 $2,360 +62.50
850 850 1 280.00 $280.00 $2,380 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 350.00 $350.00 $928 —
305 305 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,068 —
380 380 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,425 —
475 475 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,603 +17.50
540 540 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,863 +7.50
565–595 584 7 315.00–337.50 $330.04 $1,927 +11.55
736 736 4 290.00 $290.00 $2,134 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 315.00 $315.00 $914 —
335 335 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,022 —
380 380 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,197 —
480 480 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,512 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 370.00 $370.00 $1,276 —
720 720 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,944 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1560 1349 75-80% 24 156.50–173.00 $164.45 $2,218 —
1100–1795 1425 75-80% 7 148.50–156.00 $153.45 $2,187 -2.48
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1555 1233 80-85% 27 157.50–183.00 $171.26 $2,112 +10.61
1270 1270 80-85% 1 147.00 $147.00 $1,867 +6.00
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1025 938 85-90% 4 118.00–127.00 $123.50 $1,158 —
840–1140 991 85-90% 6 133.00–138.00 $135.76 $1,345 —
930–1355 1110 85-90% 3 155.50–164.50 $158.53 $1,760 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370–1745 1532 3 179.00–190.00 $183.44 $2,810 —
1415–2105 1772 6 200.00–226.00 $211.75 $3,752 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090–1170 1137 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,800.00–2,300.00 $2,037.02
1260 1260 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00
1575 1575 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,550.00 $2,550.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00

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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
1330–1640 1495 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 3,175.00–3,500.00 $3,352.55 —

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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.