Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 1, 2021

1,520 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 $133.00/cwt +2.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,174/hd at 883 lb · 144 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $156.03/cwt +18.56 vs last sale · ≈ $999/hd at 640 lb · 127 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.86/cwt +0.28 vs last sale · ≈ $841/hd at 623 lb · 123 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,520 1,944 2,452
Feeder cattle 1,441 1,879 2,362
Slaughter cattle 70 64 87
Replacement cattle 9 1 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold 5.00 to 7.00 higher with instances of 10.00 to 12.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher. There was very good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher. There was 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
300–320 fancy 307 5 202.00–206.00 $204.42 $628 —
305–345 325 2 180.00–182.00 $180.94 $588 +9.91
352–395 365 7 175.00–189.00 $180.01 $657 +10.56
402–445 423 11 171.00–184.00 $178.77 $756 +15.92
450–491 470 45 170.00–178.00 $174.07 $818 +15.14
500–530 value added 510 6 170.00–172.00 $171.31 $874 +0.82
500–541 519 16 151.00–168.00 $156.96 $815 +5.74
552–592 570 51 152.00–165.00 $159.78 $911 +8.87
600–646 640 127 141.00–158.00 $156.03 $999 +19.13
650–698 675 22 141.00–154.00 $146.71 $990 +12.22
705–743 726 24 131.00–145.00 $141.29 $1,026 +17.19
728 value added 728 42 146.75 $146.75 $1,068 +13.57
758–785 767 28 122.00–139.00 $134.43 $1,031 +7.87
802–828 815 10 115.00–124.00 $121.32 $989 -0.97
830 value added 830 28 127.75 $127.75 $1,060 -6.25
863–875 866 22 126.00–128.50 $128.09 $1,109 +6.49
883–890 value added 886 122 133.80–133.95 $133.88 $1,186 +2.83
927–935 931 4 108.00–116.00 $111.50 $1,038 -8.70
936 value added 936 54 127.85 $127.85 $1,197 +1.95
975 975 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,170 —
1000–1035 1018 59 112.00–117.00 $112.57 $1,146 —
1059 1059 6 113.00 $113.00 $1,197 —
1172 1172 4 109.00 $109.00 $1,277 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 171.00 $171.00 $598 —
410 410 3 160.00–161.00 $160.33 $657 +17.33
468–495 473 7 154.00–159.00 $156.98 $743 —
500–543 533 6 149.00–152.00 $150.85 $804 +25.43
560–585 576 4 135.00–141.00 $137.25 $791 +8.90
605–645 627 6 133.00–139.00 $135.32 $848 —
690 690 1 138.00 $138.00 $952 +17.00
729 729 6 120.00 $120.00 $875 —
799 799 5 119.50 $119.50 $955 —
825 825 1 105.00 $105.00 $866 —
895 895 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,002 +5.03
1005 1005 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,065 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 153.00 $153.00 $405 —
310–345 336 8 160.00–168.00 $164.30 $552 —
350 fancy 350 1 172.00 $172.00 $602 +20.55
360–399 395 47 155.00–166.00 $162.78 $643 +20.14
415–447 440 11 141.00–155.00 $151.66 $667 +17.63
450–493 473 38 142.00–156.00 $149.23 $706 +13.45
500–543 515 23 135.00–148.00 $143.81 $741 +14.19
550–599 577 52 131.00–146.00 $139.38 $804 +11.79
607–640 623 94 121.00–135.75 $134.04 $835 +17.15
625 value added 625 29 137.50 $137.50 $859 +1.65
650–694 690 90 122.00–136.00 $132.31 $913 +15.61
702–717 709 13 116.00–128.00 $121.95 $865 +12.17
751–785 761 10 103.00–112.00 $109.59 $834 -7.70
798 value added 798 67 126.40 $126.40 $1,009 —
857 857 5 107.00 $107.00 $917 -5.00
937 937 10 113.00 $113.00 $1,059 +4.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 150.00 $150.00 $495 +30.00
430 430 2 115.00–120.00 $117.50 $505 —
485 485 1 125.00 $125.00 $606 —
525–540 533 2 100.00–116.00 $108.11 $576 -7.53
570 570 1 125.00 $125.00 $712 +12.00
635–640 638 2 106.00–112.00 $109.01 $695 —
660–675 668 2 110.00–118.00 $113.96 $761 +9.96
715–735 723 3 102.00–112.00 $107.95 $780 +15.33
770–795 783 2 90.00–95.00 $92.54 $725 -2.46
845 845 1 90.00 $90.00 $760 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
190 fancy 190 1 219.00 $219.00 $416 —
240 240 1 202.50 $202.50 $486 —
371–382 375 7 180.00–194.00 $185.08 $694 +19.03
380 fancy 380 1 203.00 $203.00 $771 —
400–420 415 4 182.00–184.00 $182.48 $757 +21.44
467–490 473 8 155.00–160.00 $157.74 $746 +1.24
550–595 581 21 139.00–154.00 $148.24 $861 +13.78
605–640 623 6 137.00–145.00 $140.30 $874 +8.70
667 value added 667 30 140.50 $140.50 $937 —
660–698 690 16 125.00–134.00 $128.34 $886 +0.48
700–730 706 11 124.00–131.00 $128.60 $908 —
755 755 1 120.00 $120.00 $906 +4.00
810 810 1 109.00 $109.00 $883 +9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–395 373 3 159.00–168.00 $164.82 $615 —
425 425 1 168.00 $168.00 $714 —
460–490 473 3 146.00–149.00 $147.70 $699 +11.74
500–520 510 2 136.00–137.00 $136.49 $696 +15.49
555–590 567 7 126.00–136.00 $130.19 $738 —
670–680 677 3 120.00–128.00 $125.36 $849 —
990 990 1 91.00 $91.00 $901 —
1025 1025 1 93.00 $93.00 $953 —
1060 1060 1 79.00 $79.00 $837 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1305 1194 80-85% 4 53.00–58.00 $56.54 $675 —
1025–1450 1251 80-85% 24 59.00–66.00 $63.03 $789 —
1160–1425 1298 80-85% 6 68.00–70.00 $69.13 $897 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830–945 888 85-90% 2 70.00 $70.00 $622 —
890 890 85-90% 1 37.00 $37.00 $329 —
835–1030 954 85-90% 10 51.00–64.00 $57.86 $552 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1630–1730 1680 75-80% 3 65.00–67.00 $65.67 $1,103 +0.32

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1710 1475 3 85.00–88.00 $86.29 $1,273 —
1195–1925 1652 3 100.00–110.00 $102.78 $1,698 +15.86
1785–2105 1930 5 90.00–95.00 $92.76 $1,790 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
935–1130 1033 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 675.00–1,100.00 $907.57

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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
1410 1410 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 105.00 $105.00 $326 —
613 613 4 95.00 $95.00 $582 —

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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.