Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 18, 2021

2,252 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.29/cwt +10.10 vs last sale · ≈ $854/hd at 641 lb · 349 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $125.30/cwt +9.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,158/hd at 924 lb · 188 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.71/cwt +7.08 vs last sale · ≈ $995/hd at 728 lb · 162 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,252 2,558 520
Feeder cattle 2,138 2,420 487
Slaughter cattle 111 111 32
Replacement cattle 3 27 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers 3.00-5.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady, Good 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
230 fancy 230 1 200.00 $200.00 $460 -3.00
305 fancy 305 1 200.00 $200.00 $610 -3.89
377 fancy 377 2 201.00 $201.00 $758 —
370–397 391 14 170.00–184.00 $178.57 $698 +6.72
400–416 fancy 414 24 186.50–191.00 $187.03 $774 +2.03
400–445 431 22 158.00–177.00 $169.37 $730 +0.74
457–490 467 8 155.00–168.00 $159.57 $745 +6.96
505–538 value added 532 108 158.00–170.00 $168.58 $897 +11.20
513–545 533 27 149.00–156.00 $154.32 $823 +9.46
570 value added 570 6 158.00 $158.00 $901 —
556–598 581 28 141.00–154.00 $149.11 $866 +8.48
605–640 624 25 126.00–144.00 $139.55 $871 +5.02
615–647 value added 626 38 146.00–155.00 $150.94 $945 +4.43
653–695 674 32 124.00–138.00 $129.82 $875 -0.87
702–738 724 41 124.00–129.50 $127.88 $926 +3.47
729 value added 729 121 139.70 $139.70 $1,018 +7.23
759–764 value added 763 33 130.00 $130.00 $992 +2.50
750–782 779 50 120.00–127.50 $127.06 $990 +3.61
801–832 825 44 116.00–123.00 $120.66 $995 +0.74
857 857 2 111.00 $111.00 $951 -9.60
874 value added 874 63 126.75 $126.75 $1,108 +0.85
902–944 value added 924 177 125.80–126.30 $126.04 $1,165 +9.78
905–947 924 11 113.00–114.00 $113.47 $1,048 —
975 975 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,024 —
1010 1010 3 109.00 $109.00 $1,101 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 140.00 $140.00 $399 —
403–446 425 7 150.00–153.00 $151.25 $643 —
475 475 1 131.00 $131.00 $622 -1.62
510 510 1 132.00 $132.00 $673 +6.00
550–575 566 4 121.00–131.00 $128.57 $728 +0.57
772 772 7 115.00 $115.00 $888 —
895 895 1 108.00 $108.00 $967 —
915 915 1 103.00 $103.00 $942 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1103 1103 3 103.00 $103.00 $1,136 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 fancy 240 1 170.00 $170.00 $408 +15.00
292 fancy 292 2 152.50 $152.50 $445 —
306 306 3 143.00 $143.00 $438 -0.59
370–395 fancy 389 17 146.00–157.00 $152.38 $593 +0.64
392–395 394 5 136.00–138.00 $136.80 $539 -6.12
400–441 423 20 135.00–142.00 $140.37 $594 +5.72
406–435 fancy 427 24 143.00–155.00 $146.70 $626 —
450–494 470 34 123.00–140.00 $135.81 $638 +4.96
503–533 value added 513 29 132.00–135.00 $134.07 $688 +0.20
500–546 522 47 122.00–131.00 $129.44 $676 +2.06
550–595 578 27 119.00–129.00 $126.38 $730 +0.95
600–648 631 56 114.00–126.00 $123.90 $782 +7.98
601–647 value added 643 293 130.00–135.95 $135.08 $869 +7.96
680–695 685 14 110.00–121.00 $115.65 $792 -0.29
704–747 725 46 105.00–119.00 $114.27 $828 +8.42
750–772 759 17 111.00–119.00 $115.04 $873 +1.71
766 value added 766 10 123.50 $123.50 $946 +2.65
824–830 value added 825 6 119.50–121.00 $119.75 $988 —
832 832 10 115.00 $115.00 $957 +9.17
861 861 3 105.00 $105.00 $904 -1.00
864–894 value added 877 130 119.25–120.50 $119.94 $1,052 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–370 360 2 120.00 $120.00 $432 +6.45
560 560 1 115.00 $115.00 $644 ±0.00
673 673 3 103.00 $103.00 $693 +1.25
740 740 3 103.00 $103.00 $762 +18.00
780–795 788 2 100.00 $100.00 $788 —

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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 1 150.00 $150.00 $480 —
390–395 393 2 171.00–173.00 $172.01 $676 +0.98
440 440 1 160.00 $160.00 $704 -1.97
452–490 469 4 143.00–163.00 $154.74 $726 +15.20
502–510 fancy 505 9 154.00–157.00 $154.34 $779 —
535 535 2 134.00–146.00 $140.00 $749 -11.06
570–575 573 2 131.00–135.00 $132.99 $762 -1.04
607–620 611 4 129.00–135.00 $133.01 $813 +2.31
650–685 667 3 120.00–125.00 $122.69 $818 -2.35
720–730 723 3 115.00–117.00 $115.67 $836 +1.49
775 775 1 111.00 $111.00 $860 -0.50
805–840 823 2 94.00–104.00 $98.89 $814 —
875 875 1 97.00 $97.00 $849 —
900 900 1 95.00 $95.00 $855 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740 740 1 99.00 $99.00 $733 +19.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1395 1296 80-85% 4 45.00–50.00 $47.49 $615 —
1190–1510 1339 80-85% 11 54.00–58.00 $55.44 $742 -0.64
1240–1490 1409 80-85% 7 59.00–63.00 $61.18 $862 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1100 1041 85-90% 4 59.00–64.00 $61.21 $637 —
910–1190 1049 85-90% 7 52.00–58.00 $55.12 $578 —
945–1205 1074 85-90% 8 37.00–50.00 $44.46 $478 -9.03
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1570 1538 75-80% 2 57.00–58.00 $57.49 $884 -5.02
1465–1725 1590 75-80% 3 59.00–62.00 $60.61 $964 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1875 1486 7 70.00–81.00 $77.71 $1,155 —
1590–2250 1857 8 84.00–89.00 $86.13 $1,599 —
2090 2090 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,881 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 66.00 $66.00 $726

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1235 1235 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 620.00 $620.00

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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
1415 1415 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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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.