Cattle Market Pulse

Bluegrass Stockyard Market Report

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 26, 2026

169 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $346.14/cwt -33.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,642/hd at 474 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 169 221 628
Feeder cattle 131 177 544
Slaughter cattle 18 23 67
Replacement cattle 20 21 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: No trends in the market due to limited head to head comparisons, however both the feeder and slaughter markets appeared lower with a moderate supply and 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
440–445 443 2 380.00–385.00 $382.49 $1,694 -87.51
515–545 530 2 335.00–340.00 $337.43 $1,788 -97.73
580 580 1 342.50 $342.50 $1,986 -79.50
620 620 1 328.00 $328.00 $2,034 -42.84
911 911 3 275.00 $275.00 $2,505 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,444 -75.00
530–547 541 3 300.00–337.50 $325.26 $1,760 —
780 780 1 275.00 $275.00 $2,145 —
1010 1010 1 245.00 $245.00 $2,474 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 400.00 $400.00 $1,300 -35.40
374 fancy 374 5 437.00 $437.00 $1,634 —
385 385 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,463 -43.20
412 412 2 377.50 $377.50 $1,555 -59.63
462 fancy 462 2 389.00 $389.00 $1,797 —
469–487 476 14 330.00–343.00 $340.02 $1,618 -39.42
520 520 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,716 -36.30
560–595 578 2 312.50–320.00 $316.14 $1,827 -22.36
600 600 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,800 —
665 665 1 325.00 $325.00 $2,161 +13.00
690 690 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,932 -32.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,026 -65.00
340 340 1 362.50 $362.50 $1,232 -30.24
395 395 1 367.50 $367.50 $1,452 -22.50
425–435 430 2 342.50 $342.50 $1,473 -23.55
475 475 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,496 -32.50
595 595 4 280.00 $280.00 $1,666 -30.00
610 610 1 267.50 $267.50 $1,632 —
712–720 716 4 250.00–270.00 $264.97 $1,897 -15.03
840 840 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,016 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 437.50 $437.50 $1,291 -85.00
340 340 1 455.00 $455.00 $1,547 -35.78
396 396 5 460.00 $460.00 $1,822 -3.42
400–445 431 7 390.00–425.00 $395.43 $1,704 -59.41
457–467 464 9 372.50–397.00 $385.91 $1,791 -70.04
500–510 507 3 337.50–345.00 $342.15 $1,735 -69.40
560–575 565 7 326.00–330.00 $327.43 $1,850 -52.93
620–635 628 2 325.00–332.00 $328.46 $2,063 -20.03
700 700 1 312.50 $312.50 $2,188 -3.51
770 770 1 297.00 $297.00 $2,287 —
975 975 1 255.00 $255.00 $2,486 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,636 —
452–490 476 6 345.00–355.00 $350.02 $1,666 -66.91
585 585 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,770 -47.50
637 637 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,815 —
735 735 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,984 —
850 850 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,870 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 335.00 $335.00 $737 -40.00
315 315 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,024 -25.00
475 475 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,425 -60.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 282.50 $282.50 $1,554 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 85-90% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,200 -20.87
1020–1110 1065 85-90% 2 153.00–155.00 $154.04 $1,641 —
1035–1310 1181 85-90% 4 133.00–149.00 $138.49 $1,636 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 80-85% 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,332 —
1380 1380 80-85% 1 155.00 $155.00 $2,139 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1630 1568 75-80% 2 152.00–160.00 $155.84 $2,444 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245–1330 1288 2 178.00–181.00 $179.45 $2,311 —
1445–2020 1783 4 195.00–203.00 $198.04 $3,531 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1215–1495 1355 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 2 150.00–155.00 $152.24 $2,063

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
870 870 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,025.00 $2,025.00
1110 1110 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00
1360 1360 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,075.00 $2,075.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810 810 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00
955–1210 1083 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,275.00–1,685.00 $1,504.15

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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
1500–1635 1568 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 2 2,950.00–3,450.00 $3,210.77 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1280 1280 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 3,250.00 $3,250.00 —

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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.