Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 14, 2021

2,067 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.60/cwt +2.63 vs last sale · ≈ $953/hd at 736 lb · 241 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $122.08/cwt -4.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,062/hd at 870 lb · 174 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $126.21/cwt +6.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,058/hd at 839 lb · 139 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,067 1,600 2,377
Feeder cattle 1,960 1,520 2,299
Slaughter cattle 105 80 76
Replacement cattle 2 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 500 lbs 2.00-3.00 higher,over 500 lbs 2.00-4.00 lower, Feeder heifers under 600 lbs 3.00-5.00 higher, over 600 lbs 2.00-4.00 lower, Good demand for feeders under 600 lbs and moderate demand over 600 lbs. Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00-2.00 lower, 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
270–295 fancy 282 3 170.00–175.00 $172.59 $487 —
337 fancy 337 8 190.00 $190.00 $640 —
360–365 363 2 160.00 $160.00 $581 -5.04
390 fancy 390 1 169.00 $169.00 $659 —
400–407 fancy 406 6 167.00–171.00 $167.66 $681 —
410–427 423 7 140.00–160.00 $147.14 $622 -1.77
467–478 fancy 473 12 160.00–161.00 $160.41 $759 —
450–493 474 15 135.00–155.00 $142.66 $676 -12.45
517 value added 517 2 162.00 $162.00 $838 —
520–545 534 25 126.00–136.00 $133.01 $710 -12.07
550–585 563 49 125.00–141.00 $135.84 $765 -10.31
603–636 value added 618 97 130.00–138.00 $134.42 $831 -3.43
626–647 639 9 114.00–129.00 $126.77 $810 -4.04
660–697 675 14 116.00–126.00 $120.26 $812 -1.71
700–740 724 9 112.00–120.00 $116.83 $846 -3.67
715–749 value added 736 232 128.75–131.00 $130.10 $958 -1.90
751–785 763 24 115.00–119.00 $116.96 $892 -1.15
800–825 802 15 114.00–117.00 $116.66 $936 -1.94
842–843 value added 843 124 126.90–127.80 $127.36 $1,074 +6.36
862–877 value added 869 131 122.50–125.90 $124.12 $1,079 -5.61
873–885 873 43 110.00–116.00 $115.86 $1,011 -2.98
956 956 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,090 —
987–989 value added 988 96 116.10–116.90 $116.50 $1,151 —
1009 value added 1009 113 116.90 $116.90 $1,180 —
1050 1050 2 94.00 $94.00 $987 —
1053–1055 value added 1054 104 114.00–117.00 $115.53 $1,218 —
1106 value added 1106 50 112.00 $112.00 $1,239 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–440 429 4 121.00–131.00 $126.60 $543 +11.09
455–495 482 5 116.00–124.00 $119.97 $578 -9.09
510–545 525 4 111.00–121.00 $113.81 $598 -9.15
565–595 575 6 100.00–124.00 $116.49 $670 -9.83
615–630 620 3 109.00–110.00 $109.34 $678 +0.97
655 655 1 106.00 $106.00 $694 -1.82
762 762 2 108.00 $108.00 $823 +3.00
885 885 1 106.00 $106.00 $938 —
935 935 1 91.00 $91.00 $851 -1.00
1000 1000 3 78.00 $78.00 $780 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–282 fancy 270 7 146.00–153.00 $150.48 $406 —
265–287 280 3 143.00–145.00 $143.63 $402 —
330–338 fancy 334 6 143.00–146.00 $144.51 $483 —
357–385 fancy 363 10 140.00–142.00 $140.91 $512 —
350–396 375 15 125.00–139.00 $133.60 $501 +4.60
400–436 fancy 413 15 134.00–137.00 $135.12 $558 —
400–445 418 20 120.00–132.00 $128.28 $536 +10.38
453 fancy 453 4 136.00 $136.00 $616 —
450–497 475 60 116.00–129.00 $123.56 $587 +3.15
502–545 528 63 115.00–124.00 $120.85 $638 +0.09
555–596 582 27 116.00–125.00 $118.62 $690 +1.36
600–645 619 38 99.00–119.00 $114.91 $711 +4.50
651–695 665 23 100.00–112.00 $107.33 $714 -0.76
700–709 707 13 95.00–107.00 $104.94 $742 +1.51
701–742 value added 725 114 110.50–118.00 $115.64 $838 -9.96
760–768 766 5 101.00–104.00 $103.41 $792 -0.95
811–815 812 5 85.00–101.00 $97.79 $794 -6.78
885–895 890 2 85.00–99.00 $92.04 $819 —
918 value added 918 40 106.00 $106.00 $973 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–405 403 2 110.00–112.00 $110.99 $447 +1.32
465 465 1 110.00 $110.00 $512 +0.29
535–540 538 2 111.00–113.00 $112.00 $603 —
555–575 565 3 95.00–105.00 $101.73 $575 +3.61
600–645 623 6 77.00–95.00 $85.34 $532 -10.61
650 650 1 93.00 $93.00 $604 -6.00
718 718 3 85.00 $85.00 $610 -4.69
830–840 835 2 75.00–81.00 $78.02 $651 -5.98

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 2 139.00–148.00 $143.50 $524 -6.50
370–372 fancy 372 6 170.00–183.00 $180.84 $673 —
415 fancy 415 1 163.00 $163.00 $676 —
420–438 431 10 137.00–154.00 $144.71 $624 -4.27
450–489 476 16 133.50–153.00 $138.49 $659 -4.06
500–542 523 16 121.00–138.00 $130.06 $680 -12.20
555–595 567 36 121.00–136.00 $128.93 $731 -15.84
602–645 621 4 114.00–130.00 $120.95 $751 -0.94
650–655 653 2 123.00–127.00 $124.99 $816 +13.65
705–726 722 5 106.00 $106.00 $765 -1.86
775 775 1 104.00 $104.00 $806 -2.00
820 820 1 90.00 $90.00 $738 -11.46
855–863 861 4 93.00–94.00 $93.25 $803 -0.21
905 905 1 94.00 $94.00 $851 —
975 975 1 88.00 $88.00 $858 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437 437 2 125.00 $125.00 $546 +11.00
450–492 472 5 130.00 $130.00 $614 +13.26
565–590 572 4 101.00–118.00 $109.92 $629 -9.18
610–645 623 8 90.00–110.00 $102.75 $640 -3.23
660 660 1 103.00 $103.00 $680 —
720–725 723 3 94.00–98.00 $95.33 $689 -1.67
785 785 1 80.00 $80.00 $628 —
825 825 1 84.00 $84.00 $693 —
882 882 2 88.00 $88.00 $776 —
920 920 1 72.00 $72.00 $662 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1415 1298 80-85% 6 55.00–58.00 $55.65 $722 —
1190–1485 1327 80-85% 30 48.00–54.00 $50.97 $676 -0.85
1200–1485 1364 80-85% 5 43.00–46.00 $44.16 $602 -1.80
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1120 1021 85-90% 8 41.00–47.00 $43.81 $447 —
965–1085 1048 85-90% 4 55.00–57.00 $55.71 $584 —
965–1175 1091 85-90% 25 48.00–54.00 $51.39 $561 +5.88
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535 1535 75-80% 1 47.00 $47.00 $721 -10.71
1500–1575 1539 75-80% 5 48.00–52.00 $50.20 $773 -7.51

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375 1375 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,031 —
1325–1785 1571 5 81.00–86.00 $83.85 $1,317 —
1255–2330 1814 6 91.00–92.00 $91.16 $1,654 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
920–1030 975 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 60.00–75.00 $67.08 $654

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 81.00 $81.00 $433 —
725 725 2 74.00 $74.00 $536 —

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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.