Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 7, 2021

1,024 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 $156.27/cwt +23.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,131/hd at 724 lb · 148 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.25/cwt +18.98 vs last sale · ≈ $984/hd at 606 lb · 103 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.22/cwt +1.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,184/hd at 799 lb · 63 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,024 1,548 1,688
Feeder cattle 930 1,492 1,578
Slaughter cattle 89 56 103
Replacement cattle 5 — 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 500 lbs steady, over 500 lbs 3.00-5.00 higher, Feeder heifers 3.00-5.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady, Moderate 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
310 310 1 160.00 $160.00 $496 -15.00
405–435 419 6 155.00–164.00 $159.05 $666 -7.52
452–470 455 9 157.00–172.00 $168.77 $768 +9.86
500 500 1 145.00 $145.00 $725 -5.26
517–520 fancy 519 4 169.00–170.00 $169.50 $880 —
552–596 576 14 136.00–150.00 $141.55 $815 -6.18
604 value added 604 91 165.30 $165.30 $998 +10.81
605–638 624 12 131.00–145.00 $139.14 $868 -2.64
675–682 678 5 140.00–142.00 $141.20 $957 +3.89
718 718 11 136.00 $136.00 $976 +2.87
724 value added 724 137 157.90 $157.90 $1,143 —
770 770 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,009 -5.61
799 value added 799 62 148.50 $148.50 $1,187 -0.10
800–806 value added 805 54 144.50–150.75 $149.37 $1,202 —
851 value added 851 10 141.25 $141.25 $1,202 -1.16
909 value added 909 58 144.00 $144.00 $1,309 +7.90
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 382 2 145.00 $145.00 $554 —
430–435 432 3 129.00–140.00 $136.31 $589 -8.69
492–495 493 5 140.00–146.00 $141.21 $696 -2.78
540 540 1 129.00 $129.00 $697 +6.99
565 565 1 120.00 $120.00 $678 -9.34
640 640 1 128.00 $128.00 $819 +6.26
730 730 1 120.00 $120.00 $876 +5.05
880 880 1 103.00 $103.00 $906 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 2 130.00 $130.00 $396 +6.38
380 380 1 125.00 $125.00 $475 -3.70
405–430 416 9 124.00–138.00 $131.67 $548 +4.88
460–490 473 6 129.00–138.00 $134.47 $636 +6.44
500–536 525 24 126.00–137.00 $131.62 $691 +3.82
555–587 574 10 127.00–128.00 $127.31 $731 +2.82
605–648 632 18 116.00–126.50 $124.66 $788 +4.53
650–657 655 3 122.00–125.00 $124.01 $812 +6.96
700–708 703 9 120.00–125.00 $122.67 $862 +17.16
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–370 364 4 115.00–121.00 $119.29 $434 —
430 430 1 122.00 $122.00 $525 +7.48
470 470 1 111.00 $111.00 $522 -4.00
505–545 527 3 115.00–122.00 $119.01 $627 +10.48
550–567 558 5 119.00–121.00 $119.80 $668 —
625 625 1 114.00 $114.00 $712 +19.00
665 665 2 101.00 $101.00 $672 +16.00
735–740 736 6 98.00–106.00 $102.67 $756 —
870 870 1 92.00 $92.00 $800 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 374 4 140.00–154.00 $148.08 $554 -10.05
413–447 433 18 141.00–156.00 $146.62 $635 -22.12
465–471 469 7 149.00–154.00 $150.85 $707 -7.23
507–547 522 12 136.00–152.00 $145.40 $759 +5.43
552–590 567 12 132.00–150.00 $143.50 $814 -5.74
605–640 617 10 120.00–137.00 $129.90 $801 -6.59
650–675 660 4 120.00–131.00 $127.78 $843 -6.11
745 745 2 111.00 $111.00 $827 —
765 765 1 109.00 $109.00 $834 -5.00
800–820 810 4 90.00–96.00 $93.04 $754 —
955 955 1 90.00 $90.00 $860 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 135.00 $135.00 $439 -8.82
390 390 1 138.00 $138.00 $538 -1.43
410 410 1 130.00 $130.00 $533 -4.66
460 460 1 131.00 $131.00 $603 -10.97
535–547 544 4 128.00–131.00 $129.24 $703 +0.04
590 590 1 125.00 $125.00 $738 +5.91
691 691 5 111.50 $111.50 $770 -4.50
797 797 2 96.00 $96.00 $765 +7.00
860 860 1 85.00 $85.00 $731 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 110.00 $110.00 $594 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1175 1029 85-90% 9 44.00–52.00 $48.32 $497 -6.22
995–1250 1116 85-90% 9 56.00–62.00 $59.17 $660 -0.13
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1395 1282 80-85% 8 58.00–62.00 $60.77 $779 —
1215–1440 1322 80-85% 5 63.00–68.00 $65.43 $865 +9.43
1235–1475 1335 80-85% 4 52.00–55.00 $53.55 $715 -8.33
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510–1700 1588 75-80% 5 55.00–62.00 $58.98 $937 -8.85
1670–1985 1875 75-80% 3 68.00–69.00 $68.65 $1,287 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 2 85.00–86.00 $85.50 $1,056 —
1795–1925 1841 4 100.00–106.00 $102.79 $1,892 —
1650–2005 1862 3 89.00–96.00 $93.29 $1,737 -11.33

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
785 785 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 73.00 $73.00 $573

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1005 1005 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00
1430 1430 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 960.00 $960.00

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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
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
1250 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 925.00 $925.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1006 1006 56 110.00 $110.00 $1,107 —

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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.