Cattle Market Pulse

Lake Cumberland Livestock Market Report

Somerset, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, December 17, 2022

800 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Lake Cumberland Livestock report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $180.27/cwt +16.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,228/hd at 681 lb · 80 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $200.48/cwt -1.37 vs last sale · ≈ $886/hd at 442 lb · 21 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $148.51/cwt +3.51 vs last sale · ≈ $925/hd at 623 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 800 795 695
Feeder cattle 720 681 531
Slaughter cattle 65 85 85
Replacement cattle 15 29 79

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher.

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
322 322 6 189.00 $189.00 $609 -3.00
435 435 10 200.00–202.00 $201.00 $874 -0.85
448 value added 448 11 200.00 $200.00 $896 —
454 454 6 198.00 $198.00 $899 +19.81
543 value added 543 5 169.00 $169.00 $918 —
555 value added 555 5 165.00 $165.00 $916 ±0.00
671–682 value added 681 80 173.00–180.75 $180.27 $1,228 +14.11
940 value added 940 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,288 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 5 156.00 $156.00 $608 —
407–413 409 14 149.00–160.00 $156.09 $638 +3.56
463–480 472 11 149.00–157.00 $153.44 $724 +10.46
535–545 540 11 149.00–155.00 $151.75 $819 -9.62
565 565 5 155.00 $155.00 $876 +3.90
645 645 5 135.00 $135.00 $871 —
662 value added 662 5 155.00 $155.00 $1,026 —
662–680 671 10 135.00–145.00 $140.07 $940 -0.02

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–245 230 10 165.00–185.00 $175.65 $404 —
325 325 14 184.00 $184.00 $598 —
370 370 5 208.00 $208.00 $770 +23.00
408 408 5 209.00 $209.00 $853 +22.84
455–475 462 15 185.00–198.00 $189.97 $878 +14.55
503–545 518 14 160.00–180.00 $173.41 $898 +14.32
550–590 568 15 146.00–165.00 $152.79 $868 +3.56
610–640 623 17 145.00–153.00 $148.51 $925 +3.51
681 681 6 151.00 $151.00 $1,028 +1.85
820–845 833 8 110.00 $110.00 $916 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–1100 1063 85-90% 8 49.00–54.00 $53.53 $569 —
1170–1185 1183 85-90% 9 73.00 $73.00 $864 —
900–1650 1217 85-90% 3 56.00–61.00 $59.16 $720 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1600 1441 75-80% 5 66.00–70.00 $67.99 $980 +0.63
1600–1650 1645 75-80% 10 70.00–79.00 $72.10 $1,186 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 80-85% 1 66.00 $66.00 $726 +3.00
1250–1450 1393 80-85% 7 79.00–82.00 $81.23 $1,132 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1650 1500 2 90.00–95.00 $92.75 $1,391 —
1650–1850 1800 4 109.00–116.00 $110.60 $1,991 +13.49
1700–1955 1852 3 102.00–105.00 $103.06 $1,909 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1335 1335 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 895.00 $895.00
1375 1375 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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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.