Cattle Market Pulse

Mid-Kentucky Livestock Market Report

Upton, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 15, 2020

470 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Mid-Kentucky Livestock Market report →

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $115.62/cwt +1.62 vs last sale · ≈ $724/hd at 626 lb · 32 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $125.00/cwt +0.08 vs last sale · ≈ $709/hd at 567 lb · 21 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $122.00/cwt -3.26 vs last sale · ≈ $627/hd at 514 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 470 1,137 459
Feeder cattle 375 990 342
Slaughter cattle 55 89 50
Replacement cattle 40 58 67

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Light weight feeders sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with strong demand. Feeders steers sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers and feeder bulls sold mostly steady. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

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
355 355 1 170.00 $170.00 $604 +25.00
400 400 4 140.00 $140.00 $560 -4.94
463 463 2 140.00 $140.00 $648 -2.51
500–511 508 7 134.00–135.00 $134.28 $682 -3.73
575 575 3 130.00 $130.00 $748 -3.80
619 value added 619 15 136.00 $136.00 $842 —
682 682 6 125.50 $125.50 $856 -0.02
710 710 3 124.00 $124.00 $880 +3.68
730 value added 730 12 132.25 $132.25 $965 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
301 301 2 130.00 $130.00 $391 ±0.00
350 value added 350 3 145.00 $145.00 $508 —
379 379 5 132.00 $132.00 $500 +3.05
404 404 7 131.00 $131.00 $529 +2.66
455 455 5 127.00 $127.00 $578 +1.00
473 value added 473 2 135.00 $135.00 $639 —
514 514 19 122.00 $122.00 $627 -0.90
555 555 3 123.50 $123.50 $685 +2.51
633 633 12 113.00 $113.00 $715 +0.23
751 751 5 105.00 $105.00 $789 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
429 429 5 124.00 $124.00 $532 +10.39
530 530 2 106.00 $106.00 $562 -6.75
572 572 11 114.50 $114.50 $655 +5.69
630 630 2 105.00 $105.00 $662 +1.00
677–681 680 6 92.00–102.00 $95.32 $648 +1.32
815 815 1 88.00 $88.00 $717 —
975 975 1 82.00 $82.00 $800 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 202.00 $202.00 $424 —
265 265 1 155.00 $155.00 $411 —
377 377 8 178.00 $178.00 $671 +33.00
410–417 413 11 153.00–155.00 $153.92 $636 +13.92
459 459 6 140.00 $140.00 $643 +2.00
521 521 4 133.00 $133.00 $693 +7.50
567 567 21 125.00 $125.00 $709 +0.08
600–636 626 32 114.00–120.00 $115.62 $724 +1.62
700–706 705 9 106.00–110.00 $106.44 $750 +1.44
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 140.00 $140.00 $350 —
440 440 1 144.00 $144.00 $634 +23.00
535 535 6 114.00 $114.00 $610 -4.87
839 839 6 90.00 $90.00 $755 —
895 895 1 90.00 $90.00 $806 —
930 930 1 86.00 $86.00 $800 —
995 995 1 85.00 $85.00 $846 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 900.00 $900.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1315 1171 80-85% 7 33.00–42.50 $40.51 $474 —
1000–1650 1342 80-85% 28 43.00–55.00 $49.67 $667 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1100 1000 85-90% 3 22.00–27.00 $24.85 $248 —
900–1125 1002 85-90% 6 32.00–42.00 $37.26 $373 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600–1605 1604 75-80% 5 50.00–52.50 $50.50 $810 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–2160 1578 11 74.00–86.00 $80.72 $1,274 —
1740–2120 1930 2 88.00–90.00 $89.10 $1,720 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
920–1100 1040 (<2 yrs)Open 3 70.00–72.00 $71.29 $741

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1050 1025 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 810.00–840.00 $825.37
1100–1200 1143 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 610.00–660.00 $634.26
1150 1150 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1100–1400 1286 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 830.00–1,050.00 $1,007.17
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 600.00–650.00 $625.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
980 980 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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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
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
1125–1210 1168 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 770.00 $770.00 —
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 910.00 $910.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 910.00 $910.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–333 322 6 92.00–95.00 $92.93 $299 —

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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.