Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 17, 2026

335 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $403.69/cwt +18.69 vs last sale · ≈ $2,777/hd at 688 lb · 35 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $413.20/cwt +38.20 vs last sale · ≈ $2,571/hd at 622 lb · 27 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $531.38/cwt +61.55 vs last sale · ≈ $2,490/hd at 469 lb · 21 head
Mt. Sterling 6-weight steers sold at $408/cwt, near the bottom of the state and $17/cwt below the KY average ($425). The class is down $23/cwt from its mid-May peak of $434. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 335 164 300
Feeder cattle 293 135 201
Slaughter cattle 33 21 83
Replacement cattle 9 8 16

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday the feeder market was stronger with a good quality offering. Feeder steers and heifers 600 lbs and under were 4.00 to 8.00 higher or greater in spots with a good supply and good demand for weaned packages and groups. Slaughter cows were mostly steady with a limited supply and slaughter bulls were 3.00 to 4.00 higher 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
375–385 380 3 500.00–522.50 $512.43 $1,947 —
430–435 433 5 480.00–502.00 $488.74 $2,116 +6.24
413–448 fancy 435 8 510.00–524.00 $519.01 $2,258 —
462 fancy 462 16 539.00 $539.00 $2,490 —
490 490 5 507.00 $507.00 $2,484 +37.17
535 value added 535 12 500.00 $500.00 $2,675 +30.80
555–570 558 6 402.50–420.00 $414.53 $2,313 -25.47
585 value added 585 3 444.00 $444.00 $2,597 —
605–625 value added 615 12 420.00–435.00 $422.90 $2,601 —
615–645 630 3 390.00–400.00 $393.33 $2,478 —
686–691 value added 688 35 401.50–405.00 $403.69 $2,777 —
715–747 734 11 340.00–358.00 $349.93 $2,568 —
810–820 817 3 325.00–339.00 $334.37 $2,732 —
893 893 3 317.00 $317.00 $2,831 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 447.50 $447.50 $1,969 —
516–517 516 5 362.50–390.00 $373.51 $1,927 —
585 585 1 390.00 $390.00 $2,282 —
602 602 9 359.00 $359.00 $2,161 -13.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 362 2 400.00 $400.00 $1,448 —
445 445 1 400.00 $400.00 $1,780 —
462 462 2 410.00 $410.00 $1,894 —
540 540 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,782 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–380 374 6 470.00–490.00 $485.56 $1,816 +13.06
415–422 fancy 419 5 465.00–477.50 $470.48 $1,971 +10.48
437 437 2 440.00 $440.00 $1,923 +5.04
467–495 fancy 480 6 445.00–455.00 $449.94 $2,160 -2.90
465–499 485 9 422.50–432.50 $429.02 $2,081 -4.79
530 value added 530 1 420.00 $420.00 $2,226 —
505–545 534 7 387.50–400.00 $393.56 $2,102 -11.44
550–592 571 4 404.00–410.00 $406.89 $2,323 +34.32
581 value added 581 3 420.00 $420.00 $2,440 +10.00
614–635 value added 621 22 403.00–429.50 $420.87 $2,614 —
610–637 627 5 375.00–387.50 $379.46 $2,379 +4.46
655 655 1 365.00 $365.00 $2,391 -42.50
665 665 2 399.00 $399.00 $2,653 -8.50
700–727 716 4 345.00–352.50 $350.27 $2,508 +30.27
820 820 1 307.00 $307.00 $2,517 —
980 980 1 250.00 $250.00 $2,450 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 445.00 $445.00 $1,402 —
370 370 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,572 —
410–442 426 4 390.00–410.00 $400.38 $1,706 —
480 480 1 407.50 $407.50 $1,956 +15.00
590 590 1 365.00 $365.00 $2,154 +17.50
695 695 1 325.00 $325.00 $2,259 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 370.00 $370.00 $832 —
445 445 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,669 +5.00
547 547 2 312.00 $312.00 $1,707 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 530.00 $530.00 $1,298 —
415–437 427 5 472.50–492.50 $485.54 $2,073 -6.96
450 fancy 450 1 495.00 $495.00 $2,228 ±0.00
455–474 471 8 470.00–477.50 $474.72 $2,236 +19.72
520 520 1 437.50 $437.50 $2,275 -0.05
575–590 583 2 392.50–395.00 $393.73 $2,295 +21.73
605–638 628 5 357.50–384.00 $377.03 $2,368 +17.03
650 650 2 340.00 $340.00 $2,210 —
700 700 1 332.50 $332.50 $2,328 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 422.50 $422.50 $2,070 —
515 515 1 400.00 $400.00 $2,060 —
635 635 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,032 —
760 760 2 285.00 $285.00 $2,166 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,170 —
510 510 1 297.50 $297.50 $1,517 -45.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1510 1510 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 4,000.00 $4,000.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1230 1170 80-85% 2 187.00–190.00 $188.58 $2,206 —
1100–1285 1208 80-85% 5 172.50–183.00 $178.33 $2,154 -10.67
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 85-90% 1 140.00 $140.00 $630 —
940–1090 1030 85-90% 3 166.00–176.00 $169.98 $1,751 —
965–1110 1038 85-90% 2 149.00–156.00 $152.74 $1,585 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1810 1505 75-80% 6 168.00–182.50 $175.39 $2,640 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225 1225 1 197.00 $197.00 $2,413 —
1915–1970 1935 3 229.00–240.50 $234.66 $4,541 —
1710–2030 1936 4 206.00–220.50 $212.02 $4,105 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
905 905 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,825.00 $2,825.00
990 990 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,825.00 $2,825.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115 1115 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,875.00 $1,875.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 3,150.00 $3,150.00

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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.