Cattle Market Pulse

Mid-Kentucky Livestock Market Report

Upton, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 21, 2026

848 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $325.18/cwt ≈ $2,835/hd at 872 lb · 92 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $370.43/cwt ≈ $2,656/hd at 717 lb · 33 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $481.26/cwt -3.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,970/hd at 409 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 848 1,342 1,030
Feeder cattle 658 972 869
Slaughter cattle 101 145 86
Replacement cattle 89 225 75

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and 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
366 366 9 671.00 $671.00 $2,456 +10.52
425–446 443 6 503.00–512.50 $504.52 $2,235 -75.48
484 484 9 518.00 $518.00 $2,507 —
514 514 8 475.00 $475.00 $2,442 +4.00
520 value added 520 4 510.00 $510.00 $2,652 —
593 593 20 430.50 $430.50 $2,553 -59.05
611 value added 611 5 417.50 $417.50 $2,551 -5.50
614 614 10 417.00 $417.00 $2,560 +8.44
665 665 9 374.00 $374.00 $2,487 -23.50
672 value added 672 16 407.00 $407.00 $2,735 —
703–714 value added 710 24 368.50–380.00 $376.21 $2,671 —
736 736 9 355.00 $355.00 $2,613 —
787 value added 787 20 350.00 $350.00 $2,754 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413 413 4 472.50 $472.50 $1,951 -44.50
498 498 2 485.00 $485.00 $2,415 ±0.00
553 553 4 445.00 $445.00 $2,461 +27.49
918 918 4 283.00 $283.00 $2,598 -23.67
1020 1020 9 296.00 $296.00 $3,019 +1.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303 303 3 385.00 $385.00 $1,167 —
356 356 12 511.00 $511.00 $1,819 —
407 value added 407 11 486.00 $486.00 $1,978 -48.00
411 411 16 478.00 $478.00 $1,965 +0.67
473 473 7 474.00 $474.00 $2,242 +28.00
514 514 15 435.00 $435.00 $2,236 +6.52
518 value added 518 5 440.00 $440.00 $2,279 -10.00
555 555 6 410.00 $410.00 $2,276 +5.00
612–619 618 11 355.00–360.00 $355.90 $2,199 -27.86
675 value added 675 25 351.00 $351.00 $2,369 —
864 value added 864 58 325.00 $325.00 $2,808 —
885 885 34 325.50 $325.50 $2,881 —
936 936 9 325.00 $325.00 $3,042 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
292 292 16 535.00 $535.00 $1,562 —
403–445 419 25 446.00–470.00 $462.01 $1,936 —
467 467 2 450.00 $450.00 $2,102 —
512–535 519 17 327.50–420.00 $397.00 $2,060 -18.00
550 550 2 380.00 $380.00 $2,090 —
605–615 608 20 334.50–355.00 $340.72 $2,072 +3.72
717–742 727 5 311.00–321.00 $316.92 $2,304 -4.08

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
279 279 6 627.50 $627.50 $1,751 +13.37
360–393 379 17 565.00 $565.00 $2,141 -24.99
470–495 473 8 462.00–489.00 $485.47 $2,296 -19.53
519 519 13 456.00 $456.00 $2,367 -25.00
572–593 576 10 435.00–436.00 $435.79 $2,510 +3.91
638 638 8 405.00 $405.00 $2,584 -6.00
723 723 11 355.00 $355.00 $2,567 -12.50
920 920 3 305.00 $305.00 $2,806 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–410 407 3 538.00–550.00 $546.07 $2,223 —
521 521 7 442.50 $442.50 $2,305 —
562 562 9 422.00 $422.00 $2,372 —
615 615 3 348.00 $348.00 $2,140 —
710 710 5 329.00 $329.00 $2,336 —
798 798 6 318.00 $318.00 $2,538 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1100–1200 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 2 4,000.00–4,425.00 $4,221.74 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,035 -10.00
800–1123 971 85-90% 34 128.00–159.00 $144.95 $1,407 -6.11
861–1168 1105 85-90% 11 153.50–162.00 $155.07 $1,714 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1535 1251 80-85% 41 167.00–182.00 $172.50 $2,158 -0.22
1335 1335 80-85% 1 150.00 $150.00 $2,002 —
1030–1595 1363 80-85% 4 183.00–190.00 $187.18 $2,551 +5.41
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1427 1424 75-80% 15 165.00–175.00 $174.21 $2,481 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1685 1519 5 199.00–216.00 $210.14 $3,192 —
1800 1800 1 231.00 $231.00 $4,158 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
850–1165 999 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 190.00–237.50 $208.44 $2,082

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,375.00 $2,375.00
1100–1165 1149 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 2,050.00–2,600.00 $2,354.24
1160–1250 1207 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 15 2,250.00–2,925.00 $2,695.84
1010–1465 1238 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 2,050.00–2,425.00 $2,271.97
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 3,375.00 $3,375.00
1250–1650 1450 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 3,025.00–3,325.00 $3,195.69
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,550.00 $2,550.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–950 940 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,950.00 $1,950.00
1050 1050 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,875.00 $2,875.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 2,725.00 $2,725.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1010 1010 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 3,025.00 $3,025.00 -1,225.00

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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.