Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 15, 2026

645 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $430.59/cwt +9.24 vs last sale · ≈ $2,450/hd at 569 lb · 73 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $484.98/cwt +17.48 vs last sale · ≈ $2,880/hd at 594 lb · 44 head

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $489.30/cwt +20.89 vs last sale · ≈ $2,104/hd at 430 lb · 43 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	645	397	585
Feeder cattle	536	291	478
Slaughter cattle	70	48	79
Replacement cattle	39	58	28

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday the feeder market was mixed with a good quality offering. Feeder steers 450 lbs and under appeared sharply higher, while the 500-650 lbs steers were 4.00 to 6.00 higher with a good supply and good demand for weaned and harder conditioned calves. Feeder heifers 350 lbs and under were sharply lower with a lite test, while the 400-600 lbs heifers were mostly steady with a good supply and good demand. Slaughter cows were 4.00 to 6.00 lower with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 lower with moderate demand for slaughter cattle.

▼ Feeder heifers: Feeder heifers 350 lbs and under were sharply lower with a lite test
▲ Feeder steers: while the 500-650 lbs steers were 4.00 to 6.00 higher with a good supply and good demand for weaned and harder conditioned calves
▼ Slaughter bulls: Slaughter cows were 4.00 to 6.00 lower with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 lower with moderate demand for slaughter cattle
▼ Slaughter cattle: Slaughter cows were 4.00 to 6.00 lower with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 lower with moderate demand for slaughter cattle
▼ Slaughter cows: Slaughter cows were 4.00 to 6.00 lower with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 lower with moderate demand for slaughter cattle

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
330	330	1	590.00	$590.00	$1,947	+41.00
365 fancy	365	2	645.00	$645.00	$2,354	—
390	390	2	570.00–572.50	$571.25	$2,228	—
400–432 fancy	413	7	550.00–585.00	$569.29	$2,351	+16.79
400–441	427	6	512.50–537.50	$524.17	$2,238	-2.29
435 thin fleshed	435	1	602.50	$602.50	$2,621	—
460–495	475	3	485.00–487.50	$485.87	$2,308	-31.63
451–495 fancy	489	31	540.00–557.50	$543.68	$2,659	-23.82
503–530 value added	512	18	512.00–543.00	$527.55	$2,701	+25.01
520–547	537	7	470.00–502.00	$484.31	$2,601	+11.87
570	570	2	475.00	$475.00	$2,708	+7.50
550–596 value added	595	42	485.25–495.00	$485.46	$2,888	—
624–638 value added	628	14	430.00–444.00	$437.89	$2,750	—
645	645	1	400.00	$400.00	$2,580	-12.03
657–660 value added	659	8	420.00–430.00	$422.49	$2,784	—
660–697	685	3	400.00–413.00	$404.18	$2,769	—
712–742	732	8	382.00–395.00	$386.12	$2,826	—
755–769	764	8	381.00–382.00	$381.63	$2,916	—
878	878	3	340.00	$340.00	$2,985	—
980	980	1	285.00	$285.00	$2,793	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
495	495	1	467.50	$467.50	$2,314	—
526	526	4	457.50	$457.50	$2,406	—
555	555	1	425.00	$425.00	$2,359	—
605–615	610	2	347.50–350.00	$348.74	$2,127	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
440	440	1	425.00	$425.00	$1,870	-55.00
475	475	1	430.00	$430.00	$2,042	—
505–515	508	3	415.00	$415.00	$2,108	-50.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
270	270	1	505.00	$505.00	$1,364	-15.57
310–330	320	2	477.50–500.00	$488.40	$1,563	-75.44
320–345 fancy	328	3	530.00–550.00	$538.63	$1,767	—
353–395	377	11	482.50–492.50	$486.04	$1,832	-74.67
350–397 fancy	387	12	505.00–522.00	$516.64	$1,999	-56.27
410–435	421	4	447.50–470.00	$462.62	$1,948	-0.40
410–440 fancy	431	39	485.00–510.00	$492.04	$2,121	+2.04
450–487 fancy	476	16	470.00–492.50	$472.09	$2,247	—
470–498	492	15	435.00–450.00	$444.60	$2,187	-7.29
500–540 value added	527	9	427.50–447.50	$437.26	$2,304	—
550	550	1	355.00	$355.00	$1,952	-59.40
551–585	560	21	397.50–420.00	$411.79	$2,306	-2.61
555–586 value added	573	51	430.00–440.50	$439.82	$2,520	+2.25
610–615	613	2	390.00–397.50	$393.73	$2,414	—
657–696	684	12	342.00–365.00	$353.95	$2,421	-6.39
724	724	18	349.00	$349.00	$2,527	—
805	805	1	342.00	$342.00	$2,753	+19.00
865	865	1	341.00	$341.00	$2,950	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
345	345	1	472.50	$472.50	$1,630	—
385–390	388	2	477.50	$477.50	$1,853	-21.50
440	440	1	425.00	$425.00	$1,870	—
515	515	1	385.00	$385.00	$1,983	—
560–575	568	2	365.00–385.00	$374.87	$2,129	—
635–645	640	2	341.00–360.00	$350.57	$2,244	—
665	665	1	327.00	$327.00	$2,175	—
785	785	1	300.00	$300.00	$2,355	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
685	685	1	310.00	$310.00	$2,124	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
330	330	1	402.50	$402.50	$1,328	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
215	215	1	530.00	$530.00	$1,140	-65.00
315 fancy	315	1	700.00	$700.00	$2,205	—
320–340	330	5	592.50–610.00	$603.48	$1,991	+33.73
355 fancy	355	1	617.50	$617.50	$2,192	—
362–397	384	12	545.00–592.50	$579.59	$2,226	-39.89
410–435	424	5	510.00–527.50	$518.54	$2,199	+36.02
457 fancy	457	2	517.00	$517.00	$2,363	-3.00
483	483	3	480.00	$480.00	$2,318	-20.95
512–540	520	4	462.50–472.50	$468.66	$2,437	-12.46
550–560 fancy	555	11	458.00–474.00	$463.47	$2,572	-11.53
565–590	583	4	425.00–445.00	$431.29	$2,514	-9.33
600 fancy	600	1	432.50	$432.50	$2,595	—
602–630	615	5	355.00–395.00	$375.83	$2,311	-16.14
655–695	666	4	360.00–385.00	$377.25	$2,512	+8.13
703–730	708	6	355.00–370.00	$367.42	$2,601	-7.58
760–762	761	4	370.00–372.50	$371.25	$2,825	+74.25
831	831	3	320.00	$320.00	$2,659	-11.00
855–880	868	2	305.00–320.00	$312.39	$2,712	—
940	940	3	282.50	$282.50	$2,656	—
1045	1045	1	245.00	$245.00	$2,560	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
450–470	462	3	432.50–450.00	$440.96	$2,037	—
505	505	1	430.00	$430.00	$2,172	—
565	565	1	400.00	$400.00	$2,260	—
620	620	1	340.00	$340.00	$2,108	—
680	680	1	320.00	$320.00	$2,176	—
800	800	1	265.00	$265.00	$2,120	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1005	1005	(<2 yrs)	N/A	2	2,700.00	$2,700.00	—
1395	1395	Young (2-4 yrs)	N/A	1	6,125.00	$6,125.00	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
455	455	1	400.00	$400.00	$1,820	—
630	630	1	347.50	$347.50	$2,189	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
770–925	860	85-90%	4	134.00–148.00	$141.17	$1,214	—
860	860	85-90%	1	104.00	$104.00	$894	—
815–925	870	85-90%	2	124.00–128.00	$125.87	$1,095	—
810–1185	1001	85-90%	9	157.50–173.00	$164.35	$1,645	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1020–1285	1153	80-85%	13	166.00–185.00	$175.86	$2,028	—
1370–1425	1398	80-85%	2	160.00	$160.00	$2,237	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1360	1360	75-80%	1	157.00	$157.00	$2,135	—
1110–1685	1450	75-80%	13	166.00–182.00	$173.09	$2,510	—
1625	1625	75-80%	1	189.00	$189.00	$3,071	-13.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1160–1785	1475	3	208.00–217.00	$211.53	$3,120	—
1350–1640	1492	3	186.00–200.00	$195.44	$2,916	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
830–1060	952	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	220.00–247.50	$234.41	$2,232
905–1030	985	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	3	173.00–192.50	$180.02	$1,773

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1185	1185	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	2,625.00	$2,625.00
1150–1250	1200	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	3,025.00–3,200.00	$3,108.85
1300	1300	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	3,150.00	$3,150.00

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
925	925	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,900.00	$1,900.00
1275	1275	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	2,250.00	$2,250.00

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
865	865	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,850.00	$1,850.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
685–740	713	(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	1,875.00–1,950.00	$1,913.95

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1120–1560	1238	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	5	3,725.00–4,500.00	$4,149.72	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1065–1162	1130	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	3	3,050.00–3,700.00	$3,495.74	—

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
765	765	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	2,925.00	$2,925.00	—

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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.