Cattle Market Pulse

Russell Co. Stockyard Market Report

Russell Springs, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 3, 2024

1,144 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Russell Co. Stockyard report →

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $208.67/cwt +32.67 vs last sale · ≈ $1,522/hd at 729 lb · 156 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $220.97/cwt +18.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,720/hd at 778 lb · 90 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $210.88/cwt +21.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,726/hd at 818 lb · 81 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,144 445 1,031
Feeder cattle 1,053 384 922
Slaughter cattle 84 49 52
Replacement cattle 7 12 57

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trend available due to no sales the previous two weeks. When compared to the December 13 sale feeder steers sold 8.00-10.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs. sold 4.00-6.00 higher and those over 500 lbs. were sharply higher. The feeder buyers showed strong interest for all classes of calves. Slaughter cows sold 4.00-6.00 higher than the previous sale.

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
280 280 1 280.00 $280.00 $784 —
323 323 3 287.50 $287.50 $929 —
365 fancy 365 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,095 —
420–445 427 6 260.00–270.00 $266.34 $1,137 -0.62
455–465 value added 459 7 278.00–286.00 $282.53 $1,297 —
455–475 467 5 250.00–270.00 $259.24 $1,211 +12.90
500–540 519 13 237.00–252.50 $243.43 $1,263 +6.23
505–537 value added 535 13 257.00–260.00 $257.22 $1,376 —
550–597 583 40 228.00–250.00 $243.98 $1,422 +15.84
575–593 value added 591 10 254.50–257.00 $254.74 $1,506 —
605–645 624 34 225.00–241.00 $234.77 $1,465 +16.67
600–634 value added 627 37 244.00–246.25 $245.71 $1,541 —
655–656 value added 656 41 237.00–239.00 $238.49 $1,564 —
651–695 660 23 216.00–231.00 $227.41 $1,501 +9.41
703 value added 703 29 230.50 $230.50 $1,620 +4.00
721–742 734 40 210.00–222.00 $218.20 $1,602 +9.02
750–785 768 19 199.00–214.00 $207.79 $1,596 +5.79
781 value added 781 71 224.50 $224.50 $1,753 —
810–835 813 8 193.00–204.00 $202.59 $1,647 +13.24
819–820 value added 819 73 211.00–211.85 $211.79 $1,735 —
850–885 868 2 194.00–203.00 $198.41 $1,722 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,166 +10.00
630 630 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,260 +6.90
812 812 2 180.00 $180.00 $1,462 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 174.00 $174.00 $931 —
690 690 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,187 —
Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 160.00 $160.00 $936 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,190 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–285 283 2 229.00–232.00 $230.51 $652 +3.51
326 326 3 235.00 $235.00 $766 +7.50
350–395 372 14 220.00–237.50 $228.08 $848 —
400–415 409 7 219.00–232.00 $223.55 $914 +2.31
440 fancy 440 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,056 —
450–492 468 15 217.00–232.00 $221.39 $1,036 +4.39
511–541 value added 522 26 224.00–229.00 $226.75 $1,184 —
505–545 527 19 200.00–221.00 $215.69 $1,137 +9.22
550–597 586 67 208.00–220.00 $216.28 $1,267 +10.28
600–621 608 37 203.00–218.00 $211.06 $1,283 +16.23
657–682 673 22 196.00–208.00 $201.06 $1,353 +23.07
709–710 709 13 192.00–192.50 $192.46 $1,365 +16.46
727–734 value added 731 143 209.00–211.25 $210.14 $1,536 —
850 850 6 180.00 $180.00 $1,530 —
1025 1025 5 142.50 $142.50 $1,461 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 212.00 $212.00 $806 —
478 478 3 190.00 $190.00 $908 —
586–591 588 7 180.00–185.00 $182.85 $1,075 —
680–683 682 12 182.00–189.50 $187.51 $1,279 —
745 745 2 184.00 $184.00 $1,371 +23.23
750–770 760 2 179.00–183.00 $181.03 $1,376 —
870–877 875 3 144.00–162.00 $149.97 $1,312 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–420 410 2 174.00–180.00 $176.93 $725 -23.07
605 605 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,047 +4.01
665 665 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,144 +10.48
735–742 740 3 150.00–168.00 $155.96 $1,154 —
770–775 772 3 151.00–165.00 $160.31 $1,238 —
820 820 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,230 —
866 866 3 120.00 $120.00 $1,039 —
885 885 5 131.00 $131.00 $1,159 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 2 158.00 $158.00 $830 —
630 630 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,084 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 1 174.00 $174.00 $1,088 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 317.50 $317.50 $635 +52.50
382 382 2 270.00 $270.00 $1,031 +22.70
388 fancy 388 3 290.00 $290.00 $1,125 +14.00
408–425 fancy 412 4 277.50–287.00 $284.55 $1,172 —
430–448 441 9 250.00–265.00 $257.85 $1,137 +4.20
452–490 464 5 240.00–259.00 $250.95 $1,164 +9.12
505–527 516 6 236.00–243.00 $238.41 $1,230 +5.24
552–591 579 10 219.00–227.00 $223.26 $1,293 -4.74
636 636 4 215.00 $215.00 $1,367 —
663 663 5 211.00 $211.00 $1,399 -4.00
775 775 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,395 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 227.50 $227.50 $569 —
365 365 1 237.50 $237.50 $867 +54.95
525 525 1 217.00 $217.00 $1,139 —
637 637 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,083 -2.50
710 710 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,136 —
835 835 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,294 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 150.00 $150.00 $848 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165 1165 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $874 —
1145–1200 1180 80-85% 6 86.50–89.00 $87.84 $1,037 —
1095–1425 1206 80-85% 25 90.00–107.00 $95.14 $1,147 +13.87
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1730 1411 75-80% 27 90.00–109.00 $96.64 $1,364 +13.26
1595–1645 1620 75-80% 2 88.00–89.00 $88.49 $1,434 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $462 —
1010–1020 1015 85-90% 2 70.00–72.00 $71.00 $721 -1.98
900–1230 1052 85-90% 5 81.00–88.00 $84.47 $889 —
1000–1245 1095 85-90% 4 91.00–100.00 $96.06 $1,052 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1490 1490 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,669 —
1795 1795 2 121.00–124.00 $122.50 $2,199 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1220 1220 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1235 1235 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725 725 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1055 1055 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —

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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.