Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report, Stanford, KY

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 23, 2021

2,117 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.78/cwt ≈ $1,258/hd at 823 lb · 362 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.88/cwt +6.14 vs last sale · ≈ $943/hd at 665 lb · 316 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.79/cwt -1.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,340/hd at 926 lb · 196 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,117 1,047 1,090
Feeder cattle 2,082 999 955
Slaughter cattle 35 48 135

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 500 lbs steady, over 500 lbs 2.00-4.00 higher, Feeder heifers steady, Yearling steers 2.00-4.00 higher, yearling heifers 2.00 - 4.00 lower, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 lower, 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
221 fancy 221 3 180.00 $180.00 $398 —
265–282 274 4 151.00–152.50 $151.73 $416 —
310 310 1 170.00 $170.00 $527 —
352 fancy 352 2 181.00 $181.00 $637 —
362–393 385 8 151.00–170.00 $164.01 $631 -15.99
405–442 429 11 148.00–161.00 $157.11 $674 -11.62
454–495 465 17 146.00–165.00 $153.32 $713 -7.77
481–494 fancy 486 12 168.00–171.00 $169.27 $823 —
501–529 value added 520 23 165.00–169.00 $165.76 $862 —
505–542 538 39 140.00–160.00 $155.70 $838 +3.01
550–580 572 18 139.00–150.00 $145.75 $834 -5.59
610–623 value added 619 90 154.00–161.90 $160.98 $996 +7.79
610–629 624 26 135.00–150.00 $143.99 $898 +1.09
653–670 658 30 132.00–146.50 $142.99 $941 +1.44
663–685 value added 684 77 150.00–158.00 $157.70 $1,079 —
735–745 740 2 130.00–145.00 $137.55 $1,018 +10.55
754 value added 754 15 148.00 $148.00 $1,116 —
750–790 773 15 134.00–142.00 $140.17 $1,084 —
813–848 value added 822 327 152.40–155.00 $153.81 $1,264 —
835–846 837 35 136.00–145.50 $143.11 $1,198 —
872 872 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,151 —
882 value added 882 59 140.00 $140.00 $1,235 —
905–917 912 16 128.50–129.00 $128.78 $1,174 -17.34
916–933 value added 927 180 144.80–146.90 $146.21 $1,355 -0.19
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 5 125.00–145.00 $141.00 $515 —
496 496 1 144.00 $144.00 $714 —
510 510 1 138.00 $138.00 $704 —
572–585 576 3 131.00–137.00 $134.97 $777 —
635 635 1 110.00 $110.00 $698 —
685–697 693 3 125.00–129.00 $126.32 $875 —
735 735 1 120.00 $120.00 $882 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 152.50 $152.50 $305 +2.25
255–285 271 6 130.00–150.00 $138.33 $375 —
335 335 1 130.00 $130.00 $436 -5.15
358–387 373 16 132.00–149.00 $140.94 $526 +3.94
415–445 440 14 125.00–143.00 $136.97 $603 -3.39
456–485 468 23 129.00–142.00 $138.21 $647 -2.17
500–530 518 5 123.00–139.00 $128.73 $667 -5.54
550–575 564 28 124.00–140.00 $133.04 $750 +0.61
607–625 613 12 129.00–132.00 $130.99 $803 +2.75
616 value added 616 80 144.90 $144.90 $893 —
652–686 value added 664 301 141.00–144.90 $142.49 $946 +5.61
675–690 684 15 123.00–131.00 $129.73 $887 +4.73
706–725 714 10 125.00–130.00 $127.91 $913 -3.09
717–725 value added 721 150 136.50–137.25 $136.88 $987 -8.82
755–785 765 4 125.00–130.00 $127.73 $977 +9.73
800–840 817 7 112.00–121.00 $117.52 $960 +1.67
860–890 875 2 112.00–114.00 $112.98 $989 —
955 955 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,041 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 122.50 $122.50 $355 —
500 500 1 121.00 $121.00 $605 —
550–590 570 2 119.00–120.00 $119.48 $681 —
740 740 1 109.00 $109.00 $807 —
770 770 1 102.00 $102.00 $785 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 111.00 $111.00 $649 —
690 690 1 102.00 $102.00 $704 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–392 390 15 147.00–166.00 $152.96 $597 -8.04
401–411 405 10 158.00–178.00 $166.12 $673 +4.86
451–495 462 11 150.00–160.00 $154.52 $714 -7.16
503–540 529 18 134.00–149.00 $144.91 $767 -7.40
550–592 570 19 130.00–136.00 $133.09 $759 -11.13
605–635 620 2 126.00–130.00 $127.95 $793 -16.26
697 697 2 120.00 $120.00 $836 —
735 735 2 116.00 $116.00 $853 -8.25
760 760 1 112.00 $112.00 $851 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353–370 357 4 110.00–132.00 $126.30 $451 —
440 440 1 116.00 $116.00 $510 —
470–498 492 5 128.00–137.00 $135.28 $666 —
560 560 1 116.00 $116.00 $650 —
610–632 621 4 110.00–111.00 $110.51 $686 —
660 660 1 112.00 $112.00 $739 —
751–795 762 4 95.00–107.00 $103.87 $791 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1485 1314 80-85% 6 60.00–65.00 $62.36 $819 —
1325–1335 1330 80-85% 2 44.00–55.00 $49.52 $659 —
1250–1460 1358 80-85% 3 69.00–73.00 $70.59 $959 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1700 1578 75-80% 6 61.00–66.00 $63.95 $1,009 —
1535–1640 1579 75-80% 4 68.00–70.00 $68.76 $1,086 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1130 1016 85-90% 4 50.00–53.00 $52.10 $529 —
1015–1170 1113 85-90% 4 59.00–62.00 $60.72 $676 +1.35

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1860 1648 3 91.00–96.00 $93.20 $1,536 —
1640–2215 1985 3 102.00–107.00 $105.62 $2,097 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 71 118.25 $118.25 $757 —
705 705 1 90.00 $90.00 $634 —

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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.