Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 16, 2021

1,047 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $160.41/cwt +10.40 vs last sale · ≈ $934/hd at 582 lb · 129 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.26/cwt -2.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,360/hd at 930 lb · 119 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $135.74/cwt +7.23 vs last sale · ≈ $928/hd at 683 lb · 94 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,047 1,960 1,769
Feeder cattle 999 1,873 1,683
Slaughter cattle 48 71 86
Replacement cattle — 16 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves sold steady to 2.00 lower with decrease mostly on unweaned calves. Yearling steers and heifers sold steady to 2.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls steady.

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
372 372 3 180.00 $180.00 $670 —
400–425 415 11 161.00–175.00 $168.73 $700 +1.61
457 value added 457 11 171.00 $171.00 $781 +1.00
455–488 476 21 157.00–170.00 $161.09 $767 -0.07
516–545 531 48 145.00–161.00 $152.69 $811 -1.40
550–593 568 44 139.00–165.00 $151.34 $860 +1.33
590 value added 590 85 165.10 $165.10 $974 —
607–616 value added 611 15 152.00–154.00 $153.19 $936 —
607–646 627 18 135.00–153.00 $142.90 $896 +1.40
660–682 677 14 133.00–145.00 $141.55 $958 -2.00
715 715 3 127.00 $127.00 $908 -11.64
705–724 value added 722 20 138.00–140.00 $138.20 $998 -19.89
922 value added 922 59 146.40 $146.40 $1,350 -2.18
921–938 937 60 129.00–147.00 $146.12 $1,369 —
1067 value added 1067 52 138.00 $138.00 $1,472 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 2 138.00 $138.00 $738 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–235 220 6 140.00–162.00 $150.25 $331 —
335–345 340 13 129.00–146.00 $135.15 $460 -9.81
365 365 3 137.00 $137.00 $500 -5.53
400–435 422 26 133.00–147.00 $140.36 $592 -6.38
461–495 476 30 133.00–147.00 $140.38 $668 -3.62
500–546 522 71 128.00–140.00 $134.27 $701 +0.99
550–598 569 31 128.00–136.00 $132.43 $754 -4.00
607–640 620 20 120.00–131.00 $128.24 $795 -2.12
675–685 678 9 124.00–127.00 $125.00 $848 -3.51
659–688 value added 684 85 136.00–137.00 $136.88 $936 —
700 value added 700 74 145.70 $145.70 $1,020 —
745 745 9 131.00 $131.00 $976 +5.37
790 790 3 118.00 $118.00 $932 -3.00
817–845 828 8 114.00–117.00 $115.85 $959 —
932 932 6 109.00 $109.00 $1,016 —
1085 1085 1 82.00 $82.00 $890 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 3 129.00 $129.00 $593 —
517 517 3 105.00 $105.00 $543 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–465 458 6 102.00–135.00 $118.23 $541 -10.77

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 161.00 $161.00 $636 —
400–425 413 12 155.00–166.00 $161.26 $666 +0.24
455–480 458 16 160.00–165.00 $161.68 $740 +6.32
500–513 508 13 145.00–160.00 $152.31 $774 +15.66
562–592 580 24 140.00–150.00 $144.22 $836 -4.42
608–640 629 35 136.00–150.00 $144.21 $907 +3.93
700–730 717 7 123.00–126.00 $124.25 $891 -0.75
811–845 828 10 104.00–119.00 $111.35 $922 —
930 930 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,004 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1500 1383 75-80% 6 62.00–66.00 $64.22 $888 —
1505–1630 1530 75-80% 5 70.00–81.00 $72.34 $1,107 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1100 1050 85-90% 4 49.00–50.00 $49.21 $517 —
1100–1125 1115 85-90% 5 57.00–63.00 $59.37 $662 -2.28
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195 1195 80-85% 2 67.00 $67.00 $801 -2.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1900 1650 9 101.00–105.00 $103.66 $1,710 —
1900–2210 2055 2 92.00–97.00 $94.69 $1,946 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 102.00 $102.00 $484 —

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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.