Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 19, 2021

1,763 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 $153.08/cwt +31.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,028/hd at 672 lb · 382 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.34/cwt +15.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,160/hd at 728 lb · 154 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.35/cwt +5.18 vs last sale · ≈ $917/hd at 623 lb · 134 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,763 1,337 1,450
Feeder cattle 1,681 1,266 1,367
Slaughter cattle 80 65 81
Replacement cattle 2 6 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers 3.00-5.00 higher with instances of 8.00-10.00 higher on calves, Good to very good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 2.00-4.00 higher, 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
230 230 1 175.00 $175.00 $402 —
265 265 1 157.50 $157.50 $417 —
315–345 328 3 168.00–173.00 $170.71 $560 +1.21
350–393 382 4 167.00–170.00 $169.31 $647 +6.96
408–433 422 11 159.00–170.00 $166.27 $702 +17.56
450–475 464 9 157.00–168.00 $163.18 $757 +12.02
467–486 fancy 483 11 171.00–177.00 $172.06 $831 —
500–545 526 11 150.00–165.00 $160.37 $844 +11.70
530–538 fancy 537 9 171.00–172.00 $171.45 $921 —
550–565 fancy 557 11 166.00–170.00 $167.63 $934 —
555–585 568 14 151.00–162.00 $159.73 $907 +9.88
602–621 value added 614 17 152.00–165.00 $155.63 $956 -10.97
608–647 626 15 135.00–150.00 $144.12 $902 —
650–697 675 18 131.00–148.00 $142.12 $959 +2.24
655–680 value added 676 16 151.00–153.00 $151.25 $1,022 —
705–747 726 17 131.00–147.00 $140.25 $1,018 -3.64
728–733 value added 728 137 153.00–162.00 $161.71 $1,177 —
760–765 761 4 131.00–138.00 $135.49 $1,031 -0.77
815 value added 815 63 146.75 $146.75 $1,196 —
812–825 820 5 120.00–127.00 $123.78 $1,015 -8.87
864–896 value added 879 125 145.95–146.60 $146.25 $1,286 -5.55
891 891 8 145.00 $145.00 $1,292 —
902 902 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,191 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555–575 567 3 140.00–143.00 $141.69 $803 +25.16
730–745 735 3 121.00–125.00 $122.35 $899 —
875 875 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,068 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 145.00 $145.00 $413 +5.00
305 305 1 140.00 $140.00 $427 +12.77
350–385 375 12 142.00–148.00 $145.74 $547 +10.70
405–445 426 20 129.00–146.00 $141.41 $602 +3.51
460–495 481 20 135.00–149.00 $141.34 $680 +4.87
509 value added 509 5 150.00 $150.00 $764 —
500–545 523 35 130.00–144.00 $137.15 $717 -4.27
555–573 value added 561 15 148.00–153.00 $149.70 $840 —
555–595 579 47 130.00–146.00 $137.16 $794 +3.25
600–621 value added 619 81 140.00–157.00 $155.78 $964 +4.53
600–648 628 53 122.00–139.00 $134.46 $844 +2.64
665–680 668 17 124.00–130.00 $127.25 $850 +5.30
654–699 value added 672 365 145.25–157.50 $154.28 $1,037 —
717–727 value added 718 85 145.00–150.00 $149.40 $1,073 +3.13
715–725 720 2 116.00–118.00 $117.01 $842 +3.14
787–799 790 27 123.00–138.00 $126.99 $1,003 +18.71
854–890 value added 874 24 137.00–140.00 $138.34 $1,209 +19.84
960 960 1 97.00 $97.00 $931 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 128.00 $128.00 $493 +14.01
470 470 1 122.00 $122.00 $573 ±0.00
538 538 5 123.00 $123.00 $662 +7.17
580–595 588 2 120.00–124.00 $122.03 $718 +5.14
640 640 1 115.00 $115.00 $736 +10.80
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 110.00 $110.00 $412 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340–345 342 3 155.00–171.00 $162.71 $556 +15.10
397 397 2 145.00 $145.00 $576 -21.94
405–420 fancy 416 5 170.00–173.00 $170.99 $711 —
410–440 429 4 148.00–166.00 $158.38 $679 +12.34
455–497 482 5 148.00–158.00 $155.59 $750 +6.93
475–488 fancy 485 4 170.00–175.00 $171.22 $830 —
500–545 534 10 146.00–159.00 $153.38 $819 +6.04
550–591 576 8 139.00–152.00 $145.89 $840 -0.33
600–626 616 15 133.00–147.00 $137.65 $848 -1.33
628 fancy 628 4 150.00 $150.00 $942 —
650–695 684 4 133.00–137.00 $135.51 $927 +0.39
700–745 714 8 120.00–138.00 $130.83 $934 +9.23
755 755 1 128.00 $128.00 $966 +9.65
800 800 1 105.00 $105.00 $840 —
940 940 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,006 +12.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 134.00 $134.00 $596 —
455–490 473 3 120.00–141.00 $128.85 $609 -3.15
550–590 577 3 129.00–132.00 $130.71 $754 +4.74
605–625 615 3 118.00–125.00 $121.35 $746 —
725 725 1 101.00 $101.00 $732 -1.00
865 865 1 98.00 $98.00 $848 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1310 1247 80-85% 3 58.00–64.00 $61.57 $768 +0.12
1200–1485 1320 80-85% 20 65.00–78.00 $71.75 $947 +3.54
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1175 1026 85-90% 4 50.00–56.00 $53.17 $546 -6.33
930–1180 1081 85-90% 5 59.00–64.00 $60.20 $651 —
990–1145 1094 85-90% 5 65.00–77.00 $70.57 $772 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625–1880 1765 75-80% 3 75.00–82.00 $77.82 $1,374 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1630 1420 3 75.00–86.00 $80.89 $1,149 —
1520–1970 1705 5 106.00–115.00 $109.79 $1,872 —
2215 2215 1 91.00 $91.00 $2,016 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
910 910 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 90.00 $90.00 $819

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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
1095 1095 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $850.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
803–842 822 124 110.75–116.00 $113.31 $931 —

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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.