Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 17, 2020

1,011 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) report →

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $132.16/cwt -1.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,141/hd at 863 lb · 240 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.46/cwt +7.29 vs last sale · ≈ $807/hd at 633 lb · 100 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.90/cwt +4.16 vs last sale · ≈ $986/hd at 759 lb · 68 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,011 2,801 1,056
Feeder cattle 929 2,672 967
Slaughter cattle 82 120 89
Replacement cattle 0 9 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers and heifers sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold mostly steady. There was moderate demand for slaughter classes.

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
435–447 442 6 151.00–160.00 $156.17 $690 +0.41
455–465 457 5 152.00–160.00 $157.21 $718 +8.36
501–545 522 12 142.00–157.00 $149.50 $780 +8.02
560–586 579 14 132.00–147.00 $138.45 $802 -1.00
600–640 618 22 125.00–135.00 $133.66 $826 +8.38
662–677 670 11 119.00–124.00 $121.24 $812 +1.19
702–738 718 12 116.00–120.00 $118.53 $851 +2.45
759 value added 759 68 129.90 $129.90 $986 +0.35
842 value added 842 66 134.00 $134.00 $1,128 —
851–876 value added 863 239 130.75–133.50 $132.25 $1,141 -2.55
880 880 1 111.00 $111.00 $977 -3.00
927 value added 927 56 130.00 $130.00 $1,205 -0.90
1092 1092 4 100.00 $100.00 $1,092 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–372 366 3 130.00–135.00 $131.62 $482 -4.38
430 430 1 140.00 $140.00 $602 +19.00
485 485 2 140.00 $140.00 $679 +18.73
500–505 502 5 136.00–140.00 $138.39 $695 +18.41
560–585 577 3 125.00–128.00 $126.31 $729 +7.03
600–631 624 5 117.50–119.00 $118.51 $740 +9.02
735 735 1 96.00 $96.00 $706 -7.00
762–785 770 3 102.00–105.00 $103.02 $793 —
800–830 818 3 100.00–103.00 $101.01 $826 +20.01
872 872 2 106.00 $106.00 $924 —
955 955 1 83.00 $83.00 $793 —
1020 1020 1 84.00 $84.00 $857 —
1065 1065 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,001 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–335 325 3 122.50–135.00 $131.09 $426 +5.01
365–395 383 4 135.00–138.00 $136.99 $525 +3.16
440–445 443 2 121.00–124.00 $122.51 $543 -3.10
450–490 472 10 120.00–126.00 $122.24 $577 +1.35
505–545 521 13 115.00–130.00 $119.82 $624 +0.97
560–587 579 12 118.00–125.00 $121.83 $705 +3.37
617–646 629 21 112.00–120.00 $114.50 $720 +2.10
634 value added 634 79 130.90 $130.90 $830 +3.90
710–735 720 19 98.00–105.00 $100.89 $726 -4.43
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 112.50 $112.50 $231 —
320–335 328 2 109.00–112.50 $110.71 $363 —
360 360 1 111.00 $111.00 $400 +1.00
420 420 1 110.00 $110.00 $462 +8.38
482 482 2 111.00 $111.00 $535 +0.51
530–540 536 5 110.00–113.00 $111.19 $596 +6.87
580 580 2 112.00 $112.00 $650 +10.21
635–638 637 5 105.00–110.00 $106.99 $682 +21.93
655–695 681 4 102.00–106.00 $103.47 $705 +12.62
710–730 717 3 91.00–92.00 $91.66 $657 +6.66
767 767 2 94.00 $94.00 $721 +14.00
833–842 838 9 90.00–93.00 $91.67 $768 —
895 895 1 85.00 $85.00 $761 —
905 905 1 95.00 $95.00 $860 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 2 93.00 $93.00 $432 +13.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 160.00 $160.00 $552 -5.00
388 388 3 153.00 $153.00 $594 +13.00
455–475 465 2 143.00–154.00 $148.38 $690 +11.24
515 515 2 126.00 $126.00 $649 -11.33
550–591 577 11 120.00–132.00 $124.91 $721 -1.98
600–645 623 8 112.00–120.00 $114.59 $714 -7.83
650–673 667 6 112.00–120.00 $113.79 $759 -3.99
750 750 2 105.00 $105.00 $788 +4.22
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 140.00 $140.00 $350 —
370 370 1 126.00 $126.00 $466 —
430 430 1 136.00 $136.00 $585 —
455–495 470 3 120.00–131.00 $126.05 $592 —
585 585 1 113.00 $113.00 $661 -1.42
610 610 1 102.00 $102.00 $622 +7.76
670–690 683 3 105.00–112.00 $108.01 $738 +11.34
700 700 2 105.00–108.00 $106.50 $746 +13.85
841 841 3 99.00 $99.00 $833 —
997 997 2 83.00 $83.00 $828 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1175 1121 80-85% 5 56.00–60.00 $58.97 $661 —
1045–1410 1213 80-85% 20 47.00–54.00 $50.82 $616 -5.38
1125–1305 1220 80-85% 4 40.00–46.00 $43.73 $534 -12.47
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1180 970 85-90% 5 47.00–52.00 $48.73 $473 —
995 995 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $547 —
980–1030 1008 85-90% 5 37.00–45.00 $40.02 $403 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485–1770 1617 75-80% 5 52.00–55.00 $53.64 $867 —
1550–1730 1640 75-80% 2 41.00–47.00 $43.84 $719 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1485 1249 4 73.00–74.00 $73.80 $922 —
1150–2065 1489 6 81.00–85.00 $83.44 $1,242 —
1810 1810 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,629 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
870 870 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 76.00 $76.00 $661
1255 1255 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 62.00 $62.00 $778

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 2 84.00 $84.00 $428 —
935 935 2 72.00 $72.00 $673 —

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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.