Cattle Market Pulse

Mid-Kentucky Livestock Market Report

Upton, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 18, 2021

787 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 steers $143.67/cwt +8.07 vs last sale · ≈ $882/hd at 614 lb · 66 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.70/cwt +8.70 vs last sale · ≈ $933/hd at 786 lb · 63 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.91/cwt -0.84 vs last sale · ≈ $665/hd at 524 lb · 47 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 787 661 736
Feeder cattle 637 576 612
Slaughter cattle 109 70 77
Replacement cattle 41 15 47

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and feeder bulls sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 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
415–443 429 11 151.00–153.50 $152.26 $653 -5.17
462 462 6 150.00 $150.00 $693 -7.35
505–527 514 30 150.00–153.50 $151.12 $777 -5.30
558–585 568 44 146.50–157.00 $149.24 $848 +7.44
600–603 value added 601 29 145.75–150.00 $147.81 $888 —
614–636 624 37 135.00–142.75 $140.43 $876 +5.99
678–680 679 7 134.00 $134.00 $910 +1.49
735–740 738 12 127.00–131.50 $129.63 $957 —
767–790 775 9 125.00–127.50 $126.65 $982 -2.28
870 870 12 121.25 $121.25 $1,055 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 2 134.00 $134.00 $670 -4.14
590 590 2 132.00 $132.00 $779 -2.05

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 8 147.00 $147.00 $441 -2.00
362 362 3 135.00 $135.00 $489 -20.00
419–444 431 29 136.00–142.00 $138.91 $599 +4.35
469–473 472 23 132.50–137.00 $134.06 $633 +3.06
512 value added 512 9 130.00 $130.00 $666 -4.00
523–535 527 38 126.00–127.00 $126.18 $665 +1.18
550–560 559 29 122.00–126.50 $122.46 $685 -0.10
605 value added 605 16 121.25 $121.25 $734 —
611–621 620 26 118.00–120.00 $118.23 $733 +0.15
694 694 4 117.00 $117.00 $812 +0.14
721 721 6 115.00 $115.00 $829 +7.72
786 value added 786 63 118.70 $118.70 $933 —
917 917 3 95.00 $95.00 $871 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413–443 421 12 128.00–130.00 $128.53 $541 +3.53
513 513 12 115.00 $115.00 $590 +1.83
570 570 2 116.00 $116.00 $661 -3.00
611 611 9 108.50 $108.50 $663 -7.50
722 722 6 109.50 $109.50 $791 +9.61
775 775 2 104.00 $104.00 $806 +2.00
830 830 1 105.00 $105.00 $872 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 155.00 $155.00 $426 —
353 353 4 153.00 $153.00 $540 +5.00
428–446 443 20 145.00 $145.00 $642 -5.00
487 487 3 142.00 $142.00 $692 +2.00
506 506 6 143.00 $143.00 $724 +5.55
575 575 10 129.50 $129.50 $745 —
643 643 8 121.00 $121.00 $778 +5.00
693 693 7 115.00 $115.00 $797 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 3 152.00 $152.00 $418 —
385 385 1 145.00 $145.00 $558 —
400–440 420 6 136.00–139.00 $137.57 $578 +3.82
508 508 5 126.00 $126.00 $640 +3.00
610 610 4 113.00–121.00 $119.00 $726 +6.00
845 845 1 96.00 $96.00 $811 —
865 865 3 92.50 $92.50 $800 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
922–1145 1057 80-85% 4 42.50–51.00 $46.62 $493 —
1000–1585 1239 80-85% 78 57.50–68.00 $62.43 $774 +2.02
1210–1460 1360 80-85% 3 70.50–71.00 $70.85 $964 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–920 915 85-90% 2 27.00–39.00 $33.03 $302 —
840–1120 988 85-90% 8 40.00–49.00 $45.27 $447 +4.77

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1615 1368 4 75.00–84.00 $79.61 $1,089 -0.05
1550–1845 1732 6 100.00–109.00 $102.78 $1,780 —
1350–2305 1790 5 90.00–95.50 $93.16 $1,668 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–1110 960 (<2 yrs)Open 3 60.00–75.00 $65.80 $632

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810–900 870 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 700.00–950.00 $872.41
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1125 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 740.00 $740.00
1020–1345 1260 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 740.00–1,050.00 $923.10
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810 810 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 780.00 $780.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
1020 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 810.00 $810.00
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–900 850 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 720.00–910.00 $820.59

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 700.00 $700.00 —

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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.