Cattle Market Pulse

Mid-Kentucky Livestock Market Report

Upton, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 21, 2021

505 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.93/cwt -1.21 vs last sale · ≈ $708/hd at 529 lb · 29 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.28/cwt +9.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,016/hd at 681 lb · 29 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.71/cwt -0.79 vs last sale · ≈ $659/hd at 482 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 505 672 768
Feeder cattle 400 557 695
Slaughter cattle 65 90 54
Replacement cattle 40 25 19

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and feeder bulls 500 lbs and under sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Feeder steers and feeder bulls 600 lbs and over sold steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold steady. Slaughter cows and 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
400–405 401 8 170.00–175.00 $174.37 $699 +11.87
509 509 11 150.00 $150.00 $764 -3.69
560 560 4 153.00 $153.00 $857 +3.00
628 628 2 142.00 $142.00 $892 -8.00
671 671 3 143.00 $143.00 $960 +3.00
682 value added 682 26 150.00 $150.00 $1,023 —
727 727 3 139.50 $139.50 $1,014 —
769 value added 769 10 142.00 $142.00 $1,092 —
775 775 7 142.00 $142.00 $1,100 +1.81
801–840 812 7 135.00–136.00 $135.30 $1,099 +0.30
888 888 3 133.00 $133.00 $1,181 +2.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580–587 586 6 141.50–145.00 $142.08 $833 —
671 671 3 137.00 $137.00 $919 ±0.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 6 145.00 $145.00 $420 -6.00
356 356 6 143.00 $143.00 $509 -1.32
415–429 428 11 137.00–138.00 $137.91 $590 -2.09
480–485 482 19 136.50–137.00 $136.71 $659 -0.79
511–546 529 29 133.00–135.00 $133.93 $708 -1.21
590 590 14 136.00 $136.00 $802 +1.50
625 625 8 130.50 $130.50 $816 -3.64
748 748 3 134.00 $134.00 $1,002 —
761 761 9 131.50 $131.50 $1,001 +3.00
918 918 8 114.00 $114.00 $1,047 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
426 426 8 127.50 $127.50 $543 -2.50
522 522 8 125.25 $125.25 $654 -1.75
624–644 633 13 125.00–127.00 $126.06 $798 —
672 672 12 132.00 $132.00 $887 +6.00
707 707 6 124.00 $124.00 $877 —
758 758 1 125.00 $125.00 $948 —

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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 1 167.50 $167.50 $410 —
267 267 5 165.00 $165.00 $441 -6.00
350–374 364 5 150.00–154.00 $152.46 $555 -16.54
410 410 6 145.00 $145.00 $594 -5.00
454 454 6 143.00 $143.00 $649 -5.50
525 525 5 138.00 $138.00 $724 -4.00
559 559 6 138.00 $138.00 $771 ±0.00
621 621 13 130.75 $130.75 $812 -4.25
723 723 4 120.00 $120.00 $868 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–495 476 4 123.00–127.00 $124.04 $590 —
533 533 2 130.25 $130.25 $694 -0.76
685 685 2 110.00 $110.00 $754 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1020 1020 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 780.00 $780.00 —
1050 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1395 1276 80-85% 3 48.00–54.50 $51.99 $663 —
1040–1485 1329 80-85% 35 59.00–64.00 $61.55 $818 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–924 911 85-90% 3 44.00–48.00 $46.50 $424 -4.00
900–922 913 85-90% 3 37.00–39.00 $38.01 $347 -12.49

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1685 1412 3 69.00–79.50 $76.03 $1,074 —
1200–2275 1665 8 87.00–96.00 $91.61 $1,525 —
1855 1855 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,911 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,090.00–1,190.00 $1,140.00
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1145 1145 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 810.00 $810.00
1020–1450 1254 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 700.00–990.00 $883.34
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 875.00 $875.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
815–850 833 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 790.00–810.00 $800.21
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 830.00 $830.00

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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
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —
1150–1250 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 800.00–890.00 $846.88 -123.12
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —
900–950 925 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 980.00–990.00 $984.86 —

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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.