Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 30, 2021

1,548 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.54/cwt +1.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,241/hd at 877 lb · 191 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $140.01/cwt -3.07 vs last sale · ≈ $879/hd at 628 lb · 108 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.35/cwt -5.53 vs last sale · ≈ $906/hd at 664 lb · 102 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,548 2,117 2,306
Feeder cattle 1,492 2,082 2,213
Slaughter cattle 56 35 93

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 800 lbs steady to 2.00 lower, over 800 lbs 4.00-6.00 lower, Feeder heifers 6.00-8.00 lower, Moderate demand for fleshy unweaned calves, good demand for weaned pre conditioned calves. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady, Moderate to good demand for slaughter classes.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 153.00 $153.00 $360
308 308 4 175.00 $175.00 $539 +5.00
350–393 379 9 164.00–171.00 $168.86 $640 +4.85
410–447 436 22 155.00–170.00 $166.57 $726 +9.46
450–490 469 14 150.00–171.00 $158.91 $745 +5.59
500–535 value added 514 14 163.00–166.00 $165.15 $849 -0.61
516–540 524 14 140.00–160.00 $150.26 $787 -5.44
550 value added 550 1 166.00 $166.00 $913
554–592 565 15 138.00–159.00 $147.73 $835 +1.98
607–627 value added 617 4 154.00–155.00 $154.49 $953 -6.49
610–643 624 30 134.00–150.00 $141.78 $885 -2.21
658 value added 658 7 154.00 $154.00 $1,013 -3.70
660–695 678 21 130.00–139.50 $137.31 $931 -5.68
705–740 724 13 124.00–140.00 $133.13 $964 -4.42
750–791 766 11 125.00–145.00 $136.61 $1,046 -3.56
795 value added 795 57 148.60 $148.60 $1,181
835 835 10 134.50 $134.50 $1,123 -8.61
861–896 877 10 121.00–130.00 $125.72 $1,103 -6.28
861–889 value added 877 181 141.10–143.50 $142.41 $1,249 +2.41
920–930 925 2 113.00–119.00 $115.98 $1,073 -12.80
930 value added 930 49 136.10 $136.10 $1,266 -10.11
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442 442 4 145.00 $145.00 $641
487–490 488 3 140.00–146.00 $143.99 $703 -0.01
500–510 505 2 121.00–123.00 $122.01 $616 -15.99
565–595 582 8 110.00–135.00 $129.34 $753 -5.63
600–635 618 2 113.00–130.00 $121.74 $752 +11.74
650–697 678 6 108.00–128.00 $121.19 $822 -5.13
725–740 733 2 110.00–120.00 $114.95 $843 -5.05
755 755 1 115.00 $115.00 $868

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–295 275 8 125.00–140.00 $134.03 $369 -4.30
310–316 315 5 118.00–125.00 $123.62 $389 -6.38
353–399 378 34 119.00–135.00 $128.70 $486 -12.24
407–448 423 18 122.00–134.00 $126.79 $536 -10.18
450–495 466 30 119.00–134.00 $128.03 $597 -10.18
510–542 527 31 117.00–133.00 $127.80 $674 -0.93
562 value added 562 61 143.25 $143.25 $805
556–597 574 38 115.00–128.00 $124.49 $715 -8.55
626 value added 626 83 146.00 $146.00 $914 +1.10
600–645 633 25 113.00–129.00 $120.13 $760 -10.86
659 value added 659 68 146.00 $146.00 $962 +3.51
650–695 675 34 110.00–124.00 $117.05 $790 -12.68
716 value added 716 71 136.00 $136.00 $974 -0.88
700–745 718 10 100.00–112.00 $105.51 $758 -22.40
765–797 792 7 104.00–105.00 $104.14 $825 -23.59
835 835 2 94.00 $94.00 $785 -23.52
905 905 1 100.00 $100.00 $905
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–446 443 12 111.00–115.00 $114.52 $507
450–470 460 2 115.00 $115.00 $529
515–520 518 2 103.00–114.00 $108.53 $562 -12.47
640 640 3 95.00 $95.00 $608
650 650 1 85.00 $85.00 $552
750–780 765 2 82.00–89.00 $85.57 $655 -16.43
935 935 1 77.00 $77.00 $720

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 172.50 $172.50 $569
375–390 380 3 153.00–168.00 $158.13 $601 +5.17
400–430 424 9 155.00–175.00 $168.74 $715 +2.62
453–485 473 18 152.00–171.00 $158.08 $748 +3.56
505–544 532 13 135.00–152.00 $139.97 $745 -4.94
505–542 fancy 535 14 156.00–161.00 $157.73 $844
553–595 562 31 138.00–152.00 $149.24 $839 +16.15
605–645 628 8 130.00–145.00 $136.49 $857 +8.54
655–682 679 11 133.00–140.00 $133.89 $909 +13.89
752 752 2 114.00 $114.00 $857 +2.00
960 960 1 83.00 $83.00 $797
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 135.00 $135.00 $331
308–322 314 5 143.00–145.00 $143.82 $452
370–375 372 10 128.00–145.00 $139.43 $519 +13.13
405–445 415 4 131.00–136.00 $134.66 $559 +18.66
450–465 458 2 140.00–144.00 $141.97 $650 +6.69
505–510 509 5 120.00–132.00 $129.20 $658
580–590 585 2 108.00–130.00 $119.09 $697 +3.09
606–640 612 6 110.00–113.00 $110.50 $676 -0.01
683 683 3 116.00 $116.00 $792 +4.00
790 790 1 89.00 $89.00 $703 -14.87
896 896 3 80.00 $80.00 $717

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1335 1323 80-85% 2 56.00 $56.00 $741 +6.48
1160–1410 1324 80-85% 9 57.00–64.00 $61.88 $819 +12.36
1215–1475 1368 80-85% 5 65.00–70.00 $67.17 $919 -3.42
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480–1720 1578 75-80% 5 66.00–70.00 $67.83 $1,070 +3.88
1505–1810 1640 75-80% 5 59.00–64.00 $61.73 $1,012
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1115 1025 85-90% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.54 $559 +2.44
935–1185 1105 85-90% 5 57.00–62.00 $59.30 $655 -1.42

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1745–2090 1862 5 104.00–106.00 $104.62 $1,948
1750–2295 2018 4 94.00–98.00 $95.95 $1,936

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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.