Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 9, 2021

1,960 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.36/cwt +5.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,144/hd at 727 lb · 295 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.58/cwt ≈ $1,379/hd at 928 lb · 240 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $148.99/cwt +24.41 vs last sale · ≈ $949/hd at 637 lb · 211 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,960 933 1,002
Feeder cattle 1,873 877 921
Slaughter cattle 71 53 72
Replacement cattle 16 3 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves sold steady to 2.00 lower. Yearling steers and heifers sold 2.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 lower.

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
400–410 403 10 156.00–172.00 $167.12 $673 -12.88
453–466 459 36 154.00–168.00 $161.16 $740 -14.23
462 value added 462 8 170.00 $170.00 $785 —
502–532 518 39 142.00–160.00 $154.09 $798 -5.92
550–585 566 33 145.00–157.00 $150.01 $849 -10.63
615–648 624 22 131.00–146.00 $141.50 $883 -18.15
662 value added 662 7 157.00 $157.00 $1,039 —
680–693 684 21 140.00–145.00 $143.55 $982 -5.90
718–742 value added 727 284 144.75–168.25 $158.09 $1,149 +5.59
732–735 734 11 137.00–140.00 $138.64 $1,018 -7.72
787 value added 787 67 163.90 $163.90 $1,290 —
805 value added 805 46 148.00 $148.00 $1,191 —
850–898 value added 867 182 145.50–148.00 $147.08 $1,275 -2.02
890 890 14 127.00 $127.00 $1,130 —
903–945 value added 928 240 147.10–149.10 $148.58 $1,379 —
981 value added 981 56 143.30 $143.30 $1,406 —
1007 value added 1007 55 140.00 $140.00 $1,410 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 327 5 139.00–149.00 $144.96 $474 -8.94
370–380 375 22 133.00–146.00 $142.53 $534 -10.47
400–440 416 25 137.00–155.00 $146.74 $610 +0.95
450–497 474 46 136.00–151.00 $144.00 $683 +2.17
505–549 533 31 128.00–142.00 $133.28 $710 -1.25
550–592 570 37 132.00–139.00 $136.43 $778 -6.52
600–647 627 21 121.00–136.00 $130.36 $817 +8.68
615–641 value added 638 190 137.00–156.90 $151.05 $964 —
656–688 678 13 125.00–130.00 $128.51 $871 +9.01
700–725 710 9 122.00–128.00 $125.63 $892 -1.13
775 775 3 121.00 $121.00 $938 —
814–843 value added 835 91 134.75–137.50 $136.79 $1,142 —
855–865 863 12 111.00–123.00 $120.03 $1,036 -1.97
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 3 110.00 $110.00 $632 —
637 637 2 110.00 $110.00 $701 —
755 755 2 117.00 $117.00 $883 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 3 129.00 $129.00 $632 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
441–444 443 10 156.00–166.00 $161.02 $713 —
470–493 481 25 150.00–167.00 $155.36 $747 -19.32
510–530 520 30 135.00–145.00 $136.65 $711 -11.24
550–590 569 20 142.00–155.00 $148.64 $846 -3.74
600–635 618 13 132.00–146.00 $140.28 $867 -5.51
665–695 680 18 130.00–140.00 $133.63 $909 —
725 725 3 125.00 $125.00 $906 -5.40
785 785 17 123.00–128.00 $126.82 $996 +5.14
878 878 5 115.00 $115.00 $1,010 +2.00
976 976 5 101.00 $101.00 $986 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 3 145.00 $145.00 $616 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1200 1133 85-90% 3 61.00–62.00 $61.65 $698 —
1100–1200 1150 85-90% 8 51.00–54.00 $52.57 $605 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170 1170 80-85% 1 69.00 $69.00 $807 —
1150–1480 1370 80-85% 9 61.00–65.00 $63.88 $875 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1450 1281 75-80% 8 63.00–65.00 $63.87 $818 —
1470–1490 1480 75-80% 2 71.00–73.00 $72.01 $1,066 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1420 1330 4 84.00–88.00 $86.93 $1,156 —
1200–2315 1748 5 90.00–95.00 $93.04 $1,626 -10.96
1700–2205 2022 3 101.00–105.00 $102.73 $2,077 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 730.00 $730.00
920–1055 954 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 695.00–800.00 $724.04
910–1230 1095 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 740.00–900.00 $820.82
1290 1290 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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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
1300 1300 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 2 87.00 $87.00 $274 —

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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.