Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 4, 2021

2,483 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 $127.59/cwt +7.89 vs last sale · ≈ $867/hd at 680 lb · 293 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $123.61/cwt -3.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,033/hd at 836 lb · 253 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.80/cwt -7.27 vs last sale · ≈ $793/hd at 625 lb · 201 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,483 2,050 1,333
Feeder cattle 2,414 1,983 1,260
Slaughter cattle 65 62 72
Replacement cattle 4 5 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold steady. Feeder heifers sold steady. Buyers showed good interest in weaned and pre-conditioned cattle with good demand. Slaughter cows sold steady; slaughter bulls sold steady with good demand.

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
124 124 2 123.00 $123.00 $153 —
280 280 1 182.50 $182.50 $511 +2.50
325–337 334 4 170.00–180.00 $176.27 $589 -3.73
371–390 379 6 169.00–179.00 $173.43 $657 -2.61
370–387 value added 381 3 185.00–193.00 $187.59 $715 —
405–435 value added 418 5 172.00–182.50 $177.10 $740 —
420–447 440 10 152.00–169.00 $161.57 $711 —
460–495 478 11 145.00–167.00 $156.29 $747 -8.81
456–494 value added 480 8 173.00–178.00 $174.78 $839 —
501–538 value added 514 20 158.00–175.00 $168.66 $867 +4.50
508–546 539 64 140.00–158.00 $153.66 $828 +4.43
550–588 568 27 138.00–155.00 $148.02 $841 +1.06
567–599 value added 596 32 155.50–156.00 $155.54 $927 —
602–634 value added 618 99 143.00–150.75 $147.63 $912 +5.04
610–647 629 14 126.00–141.00 $131.69 $828 -0.08
650–695 678 27 124.00–135.25 $132.13 $896 +3.32
663–690 value added 688 77 138.25–141.00 $138.42 $952 —
700–748 729 47 120.00–126.00 $122.71 $895 -3.64
722–737 value added 730 107 131.25–135.00 $133.22 $973 +1.94
752–796 776 51 115.00–126.00 $120.63 $936 +0.68
800–845 825 130 116.00–123.00 $119.11 $983 +0.28
845–849 value added 847 123 128.00–128.75 $128.37 $1,087 -0.13
853–897 873 24 107.00–120.00 $116.35 $1,016 -6.04
903–909 907 12 106.00–116.00 $111.85 $1,014 -2.65
928 value added 928 58 124.80 $124.80 $1,158 —
975–985 983 5 111.00 $111.00 $1,091 +0.53
1070 1070 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,156 —
1114 1114 10 99.00 $99.00 $1,103 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–340 338 2 140.00–155.00 $147.44 $498 -7.56
395 395 1 150.00 $150.00 $592 —
425–435 430 2 120.00–145.00 $132.35 $569 —
465–490 478 2 130.00–140.00 $135.13 $646 -6.93
530 530 1 121.00 $121.00 $641 -11.01
550 550 1 112.00 $112.00 $616 -18.37
645 645 1 111.00 $111.00 $716 —
780 780 1 100.00 $100.00 $780 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1645 1465 4 86.00–95.00 $89.83 $1,316 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 157.50 $157.50 $346 —
315–345 330 2 140.00–149.00 $144.70 $478 +2.70
356–398 372 21 138.00–152.00 $146.08 $543 -0.60
415–445 432 17 128.00–145.00 $141.37 $611 +5.06
458–470 value added 467 12 145.00–147.00 $145.49 $679 —
450–495 470 19 125.00–144.00 $135.59 $637 -2.72
510–540 value added 529 42 132.00–136.00 $133.65 $707 -0.08
515–545 531 17 117.00–132.00 $125.51 $666 +0.24
552–583 570 58 115.00–137.00 $128.38 $732 +4.13
601–645 623 49 111.00–125.00 $117.94 $735 -3.18
613–634 value added 626 152 126.25–135.75 $129.66 $812 -6.91
656–688 671 36 110.00–120.00 $115.19 $773 +3.48
677–691 value added 681 257 129.10–129.90 $129.33 $881 +5.71
757–787 772 19 106.50–113.00 $109.85 $848 -0.49
755–790 value added 788 77 116.35–118.50 $116.58 $919 —
837 837 40 114.60 $114.60 $959 —
994 994 8 92.00 $92.00 $914 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 122.50 $122.50 $435 -2.50
410–435 423 2 120.00–122.00 $121.03 $512 —
540 540 2 110.00–115.00 $112.50 $608 -0.02
550–597 574 4 100.00 $100.00 $574 -9.00
622–632 625 6 100.00–119.00 $106.40 $665 +5.40
683–685 684 4 103.00–105.00 $104.50 $715 +2.49
705–740 722 5 83.00–101.00 $93.07 $672 -10.09
770–780 775 3 87.00–101.00 $92.70 $718 -6.07

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 170.00 $170.00 $544 +16.59
355–385 371 4 160.00–183.00 $172.53 $640 -13.47
410–440 426 3 156.00–176.00 $164.29 $700 -6.49
467–494 482 13 143.00–170.00 $160.50 $774 -9.72
500–545 527 18 130.00–160.00 $143.92 $758 +0.52
560–585 567 5 134.00–151.00 $140.29 $795 -2.69
600–642 622 10 132.00–140.00 $134.41 $836 +4.26
655–665 660 2 125.00–131.00 $128.02 $845 +2.17
708–735 726 12 111.00–121.00 $117.75 $855 +3.40
875 875 1 97.00 $97.00 $849 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 132.00 $132.00 $607 +2.00
535 535 1 125.00 $125.00 $669 —
550 550 1 110.00 $110.00 $605 -11.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1150 1118 80-85% 3 52.00–54.00 $53.35 $596 —
915–1280 1142 80-85% 5 59.00–63.00 $60.69 $693 —
1030–1270 1159 80-85% 8 64.00–71.00 $66.65 $772 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1700 1469 75-80% 4 58.00–61.00 $59.87 $879 —
1335–1660 1478 75-80% 8 62.00–65.00 $63.54 $939 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1020 913 85-90% 3 48.00–53.00 $49.92 $456 —
1035 1035 85-90% 1 56.00 $56.00 $580 +3.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,130 —
1250–1915 1583 2 70.00–81.00 $76.66 $1,214 —
1135–2295 1672 5 90.00–94.00 $91.78 $1,535 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1200–1500 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,300.00–1,350.00 $1,322.22 —

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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.