Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 5, 2021

2,019 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 $146.11/cwt +1.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,284/hd at 879 lb · 347 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.32/cwt +15.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,348/hd at 954 lb · 216 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $153.81/cwt -1.93 vs last sale · ≈ $1,127/hd at 733 lb · 175 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,019 1,294 1,656
Feeder cattle 1,960 1,227 1,527
Slaughter cattle 59 67 129

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers steady to 1.00 lower, Good demand for for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows steady, Slaughter bulls 2.00-4.00 higher, 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
210 210 1 155.00 $155.00 $326 —
290 290 1 171.00 $171.00 $496 —
357 357 2 169.00 $169.00 $603 +8.00
407–440 426 12 151.00–162.00 $155.82 $664 -9.60
465–496 490 5 141.00–155.00 $151.13 $741 -9.89
512 value added 512 6 166.00 $166.00 $850 -3.00
512–535 518 17 147.00–164.00 $161.65 $837 +6.81
560–585 571 5 141.00–158.00 $149.34 $853 -9.74
605–640 621 10 135.00–145.00 $141.28 $877 -6.90
655–685 670 2 143.00–146.00 $144.47 $968 -2.78
665–698 value added 679 148 151.40–161.50 $156.81 $1,065 -9.29
705–730 716 4 129.00–135.00 $132.01 $945 -2.70
712–737 value added 733 171 146.00–154.80 $154.32 $1,131 -2.53
751–782 value added 775 144 150.50–155.10 $152.67 $1,183 -6.13
760–791 783 11 130.00–140.00 $131.98 $1,033 -8.02
806–845 814 12 125.00–134.00 $128.04 $1,042 -0.94
827–844 value added 836 55 140.00–142.25 $141.32 $1,181 -4.90
870 870 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,061 -11.53
858–898 value added 879 346 143.00–148.00 $146.18 $1,285 +0.67
927–938 value added 934 173 133.90–145.00 $141.37 $1,320 —
953–955 value added 954 215 136.75–143.10 $141.42 $1,349 —
965 965 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,158 -6.00
1006 value added 1006 51 132.00 $132.00 $1,328 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 2 145.00 $145.00 $522 —
420 420 2 115.00 $115.00 $483 —
450 450 1 139.00 $139.00 $626 -3.00
530 530 1 130.00 $130.00 $689 —
610 610 1 121.00 $121.00 $738 —
650–680 665 2 121.00–125.00 $122.95 $818 -8.05
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 119.00 $119.00 $571 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242 242 2 156.00 $156.00 $378 —
265 265 2 151.00 $151.00 $400 —
315–345 335 3 142.00–147.00 $145.43 $487 +2.43
390 390 1 148.00 $148.00 $577 +2.37
400–442 419 9 141.00–151.00 $147.49 $618 +2.86
467 fancy 467 2 157.00 $157.00 $733 +4.70
455–495 473 18 143.00–150.00 $146.67 $694 +4.97
505–547 534 13 130.00–149.00 $140.98 $753 -0.53
550–595 569 5 131.00–141.00 $136.30 $776 -6.87
617 value added 617 2 143.00 $143.00 $882 -10.91
602–640 620 24 125.00–139.00 $134.18 $832 -0.44
662 value added 662 7 144.00 $144.00 $953 -6.28
670–685 673 10 124.00–135.00 $126.24 $850 -7.32
704 704 71 153.90 $153.90 $1,083 +23.46
700–742 720 8 120.00–121.00 $120.74 $869 -9.70
720–744 value added 738 74 131.00–139.00 $132.87 $981 —
770–790 781 4 110.00–119.00 $114.47 $894 -17.39
850 850 1 111.00 $111.00 $944 —
895 value added 895 10 115.00 $115.00 $1,029 —
938 938 3 110.00 $110.00 $1,032 —
953 953 5 117.50 $117.50 $1,120 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 135.00 $135.00 $277 —
350 350 1 120.00 $120.00 $420 —
445 445 1 127.00 $127.00 $565 —
530 530 2 123.00 $123.00 $652 —
575 575 1 125.00 $125.00 $719 -2.00
610–635 633 12 100.00–115.00 $101.20 $641 —
670 670 1 101.00 $101.00 $677 -11.39
775–785 778 3 96.00–100.00 $97.34 $757 -3.18
800 800 2 85.00–104.00 $94.50 $756 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
227 227 2 169.00 $169.00 $384 +9.00
350–373 368 8 158.00–170.00 $160.53 $591 +3.00
407–447 434 20 144.00–164.00 $151.95 $659 -3.42
450 450 6 152.00 $152.00 $684 +3.95
500–535 516 9 141.00–156.00 $151.33 $781 -0.22
550–585 562 11 134.00–148.00 $141.29 $794 -11.17
600–625 610 5 135.00–140.00 $137.95 $841 -5.93
690 690 1 124.00 $124.00 $856 -3.98
715–742 731 5 120.00–124.00 $121.39 $887 -2.14
770 770 1 117.00 $117.00 $901 —
815–840 828 2 108.00–110.00 $108.98 $902 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 120.00 $120.00 $384 —
400 400 1 122.50 $122.50 $490 -12.50
455 455 1 126.00 $126.00 $573 —
595 595 2 120.00–130.00 $125.00 $744 -5.03
630–640 637 3 110.00–124.00 $119.05 $758 —
700 700 1 106.00 $106.00 $742 —
780 780 1 110.00 $110.00 $858 -1.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 110.00 $110.00 $346 —
655 655 1 104.00 $104.00 $681 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1255 1217 80-85% 3 62.00–64.00 $62.66 $763 —
1070–1465 1315 80-85% 14 65.00–81.00 $73.66 $969 +5.05
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1160 1031 85-90% 11 65.00–75.00 $69.35 $715 +2.78
1170 1170 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $679 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510 1510 75-80% 1 70.00 $70.00 $1,057 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1925 1653 3 94.00–99.00 $97.06 $1,604 —
1650–2055 1841 4 101.00–111.00 $106.53 $1,961 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 92.00 $92.00 $478 —
765–790 778 2 82.00–85.00 $83.48 $649 —
848 848 60 114.70 $114.70 $973 —

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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.