Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, July 16, 2025

340 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $326.42/cwt -13.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,885/hd at 577 lb · 26 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $306.32/cwt -0.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,867/hd at 609 lb · 15 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $321.07/cwt -16.68 vs last sale · ≈ $2,530/hd at 788 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 340 532 303
Feeder cattle 281 376 260
Slaughter cattle 45 56 36
Replacement cattle 14 100 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week 400-550 lb feeder steers sold steady to 5.00 higher with good demand; over 600 lbs limited comparison with last week. Feeder heifers mixed with calves under 500 lbs 5.00 to 10.00 higher with good demand; over 500 lbs sold 5.00 to 7.00 lower with moderate demand in a lite test. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 5.00 to 7.00 lower with moderate 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
375 375 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,425 ±0.00
383 value added 383 8 395.00 $395.00 $1,513 —
400 value added 400 1 392.50 $392.50 $1,570 —
445 445 1 358.00 $358.00 $1,593 —
493 value added 493 7 383.00 $383.00 $1,888 —
534 value added 534 12 389.00 $389.00 $2,077 +15.89
612–632 value added 620 12 341.00–378.00 $362.29 $2,246 +9.79
660–688 value added 685 11 348.00–351.00 $348.26 $2,386 -10.74
770 770 2 322.00 $322.00 $2,479 —
760–797 value added 791 12 310.00–323.00 $320.92 $2,538 —
930 930 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,511 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 327.00 $327.00 $1,880 -10.00
765 765 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,066 —
850 850 10 280.00 $280.00 $2,380 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 340.00 $340.00 $901 +15.00
500–502 501 5 330.00–332.50 $331.00 $1,658 -4.00
605–615 608 3 313.00–327.00 $317.72 $1,932 —
735 735 1 267.00 $267.00 $1,962 —
750 750 1 282.50 $282.50 $2,119 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–445 425 4 350.00–355.00 $353.69 $1,503 +18.65
430–435 value added 433 3 377.50–387.50 $383.33 $1,660 +12.69
460 fancy 460 2 367.50 $367.50 $1,690 —
465–480 473 2 347.50–351.00 $349.22 $1,652 +9.83
480–495 value added 488 2 350.00–352.50 $351.27 $1,714 -0.67
500–540 value added 523 3 335.00–350.00 $343.50 $1,797 +2.60
532 fancy 532 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,862 —
550–581 574 17 232.50–336.00 $322.36 $1,850 -6.36
555–599 value added 584 9 330.00–336.00 $334.10 $1,951 -8.05
600–640 613 9 265.00–320.00 $302.37 $1,854 -20.44
670 670 10 310.00 $310.00 $2,077 -7.94
708 value added 708 3 300.00 $300.00 $2,124 -21.63
710–720 713 3 282.50–297.00 $287.38 $2,049 -23.62
780 780 1 260.00 $260.00 $2,028 -23.06
815 fancy 815 2 282.50 $282.50 $2,302 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 370.00 $370.00 $870 —
435 435 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,436 +25.00
490 490 1 327.00 $327.00 $1,602 —
532 532 2 292.00 $292.00 $1,553 -17.78
552–580 561 3 286.00–299.00 $290.48 $1,630 -21.52
670–695 687 3 245.00–265.00 $251.50 $1,728 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258–275 262 4 302.50–315.00 $305.78 $801 —
525 value added 525 2 277.50 $277.50 $1,457 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 1 310.00 $310.00 $2,092 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 415.00 $415.00 $747 —
285 285 1 350.00 $350.00 $998 -15.00
310 310 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,116 —
352–395 366 7 350.00–400.00 $370.31 $1,355 +11.11
400–430 414 5 285.00–360.00 $343.81 $1,423 +2.95
470 470 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,645 +15.00
515–540 520 5 335.00–338.00 $337.20 $1,753 +5.14
550–581 571 6 287.00–335.00 $310.32 $1,772 -23.72
600 fancy 600 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,860 —
601 value added 601 5 315.00 $315.00 $1,893 —
610–625 615 9 292.00–310.00 $301.09 $1,852 -5.42
675 675 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,856 -31.51
710–737 731 7 235.00–277.50 $250.11 $1,828 -52.51
751 fancy 751 5 310.00 $310.00 $2,328 —
855 855 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,770 —
965–995 980 2 210.00–212.50 $211.23 $2,070 +24.23
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 350.00 $350.00 $998 —
370 370 1 362.50 $362.50 $1,341 +47.50
410–420 415 2 295.00–335.00 $315.24 $1,308 +4.24
450–465 458 2 335.00–340.00 $337.46 $1,546 +19.75
530 530 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,696 +1.80
595 595 2 317.00 $317.00 $1,886 —
620 620 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,705 +25.00
690 690 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,622 —
755 755 2 210.00 $210.00 $1,586 -7.52
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–370 360 2 250.00–312.00 $280.14 $1,009 +25.14
460–480 473 3 308.00–317.00 $310.92 $1,471 —
500–505 503 2 300.00–302.50 $301.24 $1,515 —
575 575 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,524 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,695 —
620 620 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,674 -41.00
810 810 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,701 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1410 1044 85-90% 4 125.00–135.00 $131.04 $1,368 +4.15
1010–1240 1125 85-90% 2 162.50–166.50 $164.30 $1,848 —
1005–1235 1129 85-90% 6 136.00–143.00 $139.71 $1,577 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1295 1188 80-85% 5 136.00–149.00 $145.18 $1,725 -17.63
1125–1340 1242 80-85% 5 153.00–159.00 $156.12 $1,939 +0.19
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1430 1314 75-80% 4 158.00–161.00 $159.06 $2,090 —
1335–1535 1435 75-80% 2 165.50–169.00 $167.13 $2,398 —
1630 1630 75-80% 1 145.00 $145.00 $2,364 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1390 1260 3 152.00–180.00 $162.14 $2,043 —
1127–2200 1587 6 183.50–197.00 $189.06 $3,000 —
1720 1720 1 213.50 $213.50 $3,672 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1025–1170 1098 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 165.00–175.00 $170.33 $1,870

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1180–1190 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 2,275.00–2,450.00 $2,362.87
1735 fancy 1735 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 3,100.00 $3,100.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015 1015 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,600.00 $2,600.00

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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
1310 1310 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 3,000.00 $3,000.00 -900.00
1485–1750 fancy 1618 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 3,400.00–3,900.00 $3,670.48 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1755 1755 75-80% 1 142.00 $142.00 $2,492 —

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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.