Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 12, 2021

1,337 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 $142.17/cwt +7.31 vs last sale · ≈ $906/hd at 638 lb · 154 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.35/cwt +2.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,075/hd at 744 lb · 152 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.25/cwt -0.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,291/hd at 914 lb · 121 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,337 2,019 1,388
Feeder cattle 1,266 1,960 1,288
Slaughter cattle 65 59 96
Replacement cattle 6 — 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers 1.00-3.00 lower, Yearling steers mostly steady, Feeder heifers 2.00-4.00 lower, Yearling heifers steady, Moderate demand for feeders and good demand for yearlings, Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady, Moderate to 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
345 345 2 169.00–170.00 $169.50 $585 —
355–375 362 3 155.00–169.00 $162.35 $588 -6.65
410–435 422 4 145.00–150.00 $148.71 $628 -7.11
452–480 462 9 141.00–159.00 $151.16 $698 +0.03
500–542 517 21 143.00–156.00 $148.67 $769 -12.98
550–598 567 13 140.00–163.00 $149.85 $850 +0.51
649 value added 649 69 166.60 $166.60 $1,081 —
650–680 658 67 135.00–147.00 $139.88 $920 -4.59
705–730 711 9 141.00–145.00 $143.89 $1,023 +11.88
753–779 768 10 134.00–141.00 $136.26 $1,046 +4.28
775 value added 775 59 154.00 $154.00 $1,194 +1.33
830–837 832 6 126.00–136.00 $132.65 $1,104 +4.61
853 value added 853 62 151.80 $151.80 $1,295 +5.62
903–924 value added 914 121 141.25 $141.25 $1,291 -0.12
995 995 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,204 +1.00
1012 value added 1012 54 138.00 $138.00 $1,397 +6.00
1109 value added 1109 52 128.25 $128.25 $1,422 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 5 148.00 $148.00 $562 +3.00
570–575 573 2 110.00–123.00 $116.53 $668 —
610 610 1 125.00 $125.00 $762 +4.00
785 785 1 125.00 $125.00 $981 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 2 140.00 $140.00 $392 -11.00
302–340 332 9 125.00–136.00 $127.23 $422 -18.20
350–395 377 8 126.00–143.00 $135.04 $509 -12.96
400–436 429 8 135.00–139.00 $137.90 $592 -9.59
434 value added 434 10 151.00 $151.00 $655 —
450–485 477 9 133.00–146.00 $136.47 $651 -10.20
507–539 532 46 128.00–144.00 $141.42 $752 +0.44
551–587 568 20 126.00–145.00 $133.91 $761 -2.39
608–646 636 72 121.00–133.50 $131.82 $838 -2.36
639 value added 639 82 151.25 $151.25 $966 +8.25
655–677 665 18 117.00–127.00 $121.95 $811 -4.29
705–745 719 9 111.00–120.00 $113.87 $819 -6.87
742–749 value added 746 143 144.25–148.25 $146.27 $1,091 +13.40
750–790 759 5 105.00–116.00 $108.28 $822 -6.19
807–837 821 6 90.00–110.00 $97.57 $801 —
853 value added 853 16 118.50 $118.50 $1,011 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 120.00 $120.00 $408 —
366–370 367 5 110.00–115.00 $113.99 $418 -6.01
432–439 438 11 115.00–122.00 $116.26 $509 -10.74
495 495 1 122.00 $122.00 $604 —
512–542 527 9 101.00–121.00 $115.83 $610 -7.17
550–563 561 7 107.00–119.00 $116.89 $656 -8.11
635–637 637 5 104.00–105.00 $104.20 $664 +3.00
685–695 691 4 102.00–116.00 $108.99 $753 +7.99

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 333 6 135.00–151.00 $147.61 $492 —
370–385 378 2 164.00–170.00 $166.94 $631 +6.41
420–445 431 5 140.00–151.00 $146.04 $629 -5.91
463–490 474 8 140.00–159.00 $148.66 $705 -3.34
510–535 522 3 143.00–154.00 $147.34 $769 -3.99
565–575 568 12 135.00–154.00 $146.22 $831 +4.93
625–635 630 5 131.00–144.00 $138.98 $876 +1.03
650–695 673 5 131.00–143.00 $135.12 $909 +11.12
720–748 738 10 120.00–125.00 $121.60 $897 +0.21
755–795 772 8 113.00–120.00 $118.35 $914 +1.35
910 910 1 95.00 $95.00 $864 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
393 393 3 147.00 $147.00 $578 —
475 475 1 132.00 $132.00 $627 +6.00
565–580 573 3 121.00–129.00 $125.97 $722 +0.97
740 740 2 102.00 $102.00 $755 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1320 1244 80-85% 4 59.00–64.00 $61.45 $764 -1.21
1220–1350 1292 80-85% 3 44.00–55.00 $50.95 $658 —
1175–1485 1308 80-85% 15 65.00–76.00 $68.21 $892 -5.45
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1145 1021 85-90% 5 58.00–63.00 $59.50 $607 -9.85
980–1155 1048 85-90% 7 40.00–56.00 $51.25 $537 -18.10
1175 1175 85-90% 1 68.00 $68.00 $799 +10.00
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1455–1665 1568 75-80% 4 70.00–74.00 $71.72 $1,125 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1605–2010 1856 5 104.00–113.00 $108.08 $2,006 —
1665–2335 1938 3 81.00–86.00 $84.44 $1,636 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1290–1390 1352 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 850.00–920.00 $884.17
1275–1725 1537 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 850.00–1,060.00 $977.47

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 328 2 110.00–115.00 $112.40 $369 —
360 360 1 120.00 $120.00 $432 —
411–412 411 5 117.00–120.00 $118.20 $486 —
460–499 475 23 115.00–120.00 $116.08 $551 —

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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.