Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report, Stanford, KY

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 21, 2021

1,067 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.99/cwt +19.66 vs last sale · ≈ $871/hd at 686 lb · 255 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.05/cwt +16.14 vs last sale · ≈ $812/hd at 619 lb · 123 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $128.06/cwt +1.85 vs last sale · ≈ $1,044/hd at 815 lb · 75 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,067 2,067 1,724
Feeder cattle 1,021 1,960 1,632
Slaughter cattle 44 105 91
Replacement cattle 2 2 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers and heifers 2.00-4.00 higher, Yearling 2.00-4.00 higher, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls steady, 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
295 295 1 159.00 $159.00 $469 —
330–337 fancy 335 3 182.00–187.00 $185.36 $621 -4.64
350–360 353 3 150.00 $150.00 $530 -10.00
415–425 420 2 158.00–166.00 $161.95 $680 +14.81
450–495 475 7 140.00–152.00 $148.17 $704 +5.51
505–535 524 9 139.00–145.00 $142.00 $744 +8.99
555–590 564 21 127.00–136.50 $135.58 $765 -0.26
610–630 value added 621 6 130.00–132.00 $130.84 $813 -3.58
607–647 628 14 122.00–128.00 $125.98 $791 -0.79
650–695 682 8 116.00–128.00 $123.50 $842 +3.24
688 value added 688 5 130.50 $130.50 $898 —
700–734 value added 710 58 126.00–131.50 $128.65 $913 -1.45
700–737 718 10 120.00–123.00 $121.69 $874 +4.86
760–787 773 6 115.00–121.00 $119.65 $925 +2.69
800–803 803 13 114.00–120.50 $120.00 $964 +3.34
818 value added 818 62 129.75 $129.75 $1,061 +2.39
857 857 2 114.00 $114.00 $977 -1.86
857 value added 857 62 132.00 $132.00 $1,131 +7.88
905–922 916 16 112.00–113.00 $112.59 $1,031 —
979 979 55 113.50 $113.50 $1,111 -0.50
1072 1072 2 104.00 $104.00 $1,115 +10.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 140.00 $140.00 $427 —
565–585 580 5 120.00–124.00 $121.58 $705 +5.09
635 635 1 112.00 $112.00 $711 +2.66
675 675 2 114.00 $114.00 $770 +8.00
895 895 1 100.00 $100.00 $895 -6.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 2 134.00–136.00 $135.00 $351 -8.63
350–380 fancy 365 2 143.00–148.00 $145.40 $531 +4.49
365–390 380 4 121.00–133.00 $128.60 $489 -5.00
400–445 419 15 123.00–135.00 $131.45 $551 +3.17
450–491 479 10 117.00–128.00 $123.31 $591 -0.25
500 value added 500 7 130.00 $130.00 $650 —
515–545 531 21 122.00–125.00 $124.14 $659 +3.29
551–592 569 18 118.00–124.00 $121.27 $690 +2.65
617 value added 617 92 135.00 $135.00 $833 —
600–647 626 31 110.00–123.00 $119.32 $747 +4.41
652–693 667 17 101.00–117.00 $111.10 $741 +3.77
673–696 value added 687 238 127.00–130.00 $128.12 $880 —
701–715 703 14 99.00–109.50 $106.91 $752 +1.97
750 750 9 110.00 $110.00 $825 +6.59
820 820 1 91.00 $91.00 $746 -6.79
841 value added 841 18 110.50 $110.50 $929 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 110.00 $110.00 $385 —
415 415 1 115.00 $115.00 $477 +4.01
460 460 1 116.00 $116.00 $534 +6.00
570 570 1 114.00 $114.00 $650 +12.27
650–690 670 2 95.00–98.00 $96.54 $647 +3.54
745 745 1 83.00 $83.00 $618 -2.00
775 775 1 84.00 $84.00 $651 —
865 865 1 81.00 $81.00 $701 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 148.00 $148.00 $451 —
370–390 378 3 158.00–161.00 $159.36 $602 +15.86
400–417 fancy 411 3 166.00–171.00 $169.38 $696 +6.38
400–435 425 5 154.00–161.00 $156.54 $665 +11.83
455–485 474 10 135.00–152.00 $140.58 $666 +2.09
525–540 531 4 130.00–140.00 $136.22 $723 +6.16
550–570 558 7 127.00–131.00 $127.85 $713 -1.08
610–636 628 11 113.00–129.00 $121.32 $762 +0.37
670–675 673 2 103.00–107.00 $105.01 $707 -19.98
700–740 717 10 100.00–114.00 $110.01 $789 +4.01
770–780 775 4 100.00–106.00 $104.25 $808 +0.25
800–845 814 5 90.00–103.00 $98.51 $802 +8.51
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560–590 572 3 111.00–125.00 $119.73 $685 +9.81
615 615 2 106.00 $106.00 $652 +3.25
650 650 1 100.00 $100.00 $650 -3.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1520 1307 80-85% 6 32.00–48.00 $42.03 $549 -8.94
1215–1430 1323 80-85% 5 50.00–54.00 $52.39 $693 +1.42
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–1700 1621 75-80% 4 48.00–52.00 $50.46 $818 —
1710 1710 75-80% 1 55.00 $55.00 $940 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1135 1030 85-90% 3 49.00–53.00 $50.81 $523 +7.00
1060 1060 85-90% 1 45.00 $45.00 $477 -6.39

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–2340 1821 5 85.00–89.00 $87.37 $1,591 -3.79
2270 2270 1 93.00 $93.00 $2,111 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1065–1085 1075 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 58.00–62.00 $60.02 $645

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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.