Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 21, 2021

1,346 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 heifers $145.21/cwt +18.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,038/hd at 715 lb · 153 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $169.73/cwt +24.84 vs last sale · ≈ $947/hd at 558 lb · 99 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $150.43/cwt +1.58 vs last sale · ≈ $915/hd at 608 lb · 93 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,346 1,359 1,108
Feeder cattle 1,227 1,270 1,004
Slaughter cattle 108 87 98
Replacement cattle 11 2 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers 2.00-4.00 higher, Feeder and yearling heifers steady to 2.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and 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
215 215 1 170.00 $170.00 $366 —
255–260 258 2 172.00–180.00 $176.04 $454 -1.46
285 fancy 285 1 187.00 $187.00 $533 —
330 fancy 330 1 180.00 $180.00 $594 —
300–345 333 6 152.50–175.00 $168.79 $562 +6.58
377–390 381 3 164.00–177.50 $168.60 $642 +2.17
410–435 428 10 157.00–172.00 $164.21 $703 +4.21
462–482 471 14 149.00–166.00 $157.58 $742 +4.68
504–536 value added 519 29 159.00–169.00 $165.11 $857 —
530–545 536 5 146.00–150.00 $149.21 $800 -0.17
555 value added 555 83 175.25 $175.25 $973 +13.28
550–595 575 16 135.00–155.00 $141.08 $811 -1.60
613 value added 613 70 162.00 $162.00 $993 +10.04
605–640 619 9 131.00–144.00 $136.55 $845 -6.69
675–685 680 2 136.00–137.00 $136.50 $928 -6.65
710 value added 710 75 156.40 $156.40 $1,110 —
705–725 716 5 133.00–140.00 $137.41 $984 -2.18
772 772 2 137.00 $137.00 $1,058 +2.83
800–810 805 2 119.00–122.00 $120.51 $970 -0.49
837 value added 837 59 151.50 $151.50 $1,268 —
870 870 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,061 —
886 value added 886 60 150.00 $150.00 $1,329 —
935 value added 935 57 145.85 $145.85 $1,364 +5.10
965 965 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,168 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 134.00 $134.00 $529 —
435 435 1 125.00 $125.00 $544 —
540–545 543 2 129.00 $129.00 $700 +9.11
550–585 572 5 131.00–132.00 $131.41 $752 +5.88
625 625 1 122.00 $122.00 $762 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 120.00 $120.00 $330 -14.00
300–345 328 5 126.00–140.00 $133.66 $438 +4.23
357–395 372 4 120.00–130.00 $125.43 $467 -0.29
405–447 428 9 124.00–134.00 $130.22 $557 -6.76
455–498 478 35 122.00–135.00 $127.02 $607 -9.45
500–545 524 33 121.00–136.00 $130.47 $684 +2.66
550–598 570 34 121.00–134.00 $128.93 $735 +5.38
607 value added 607 89 151.75 $151.75 $921 -0.79
605–645 629 4 119.00–124.00 $121.01 $761 -2.18
650–680 671 9 123.00–129.00 $128.35 $861 +14.67
704–726 value added 714 141 146.00–148.60 $147.22 $1,051 —
702–745 724 12 116.00–127.00 $121.55 $880 -5.19
750–785 773 5 119.00–123.00 $121.80 $942 +3.80
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 117.00 $117.00 $339 +5.00
325 325 1 112.00 $112.00 $364 +2.00
380 380 2 116.00–119.00 $117.50 $446 —
455–490 471 5 110.00–119.00 $114.60 $540 +2.32
512–530 518 3 111.00–114.00 $112.98 $585 +2.86
595 595 1 110.00 $110.00 $654 +3.44
625 625 1 113.00 $113.00 $706 +15.00
770 770 1 109.00 $109.00 $839 —
977 977 2 70.00 $70.00 $684 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 100.00 $100.00 $410 +10.00
525 525 1 86.00 $86.00 $452 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–395 381 4 153.00–172.50 $158.51 $604 -1.97
415 fancy 415 2 175.00 $175.00 $726 +4.00
430–445 432 7 145.00–165.00 $147.94 $639 -2.82
452–495 461 13 158.00–165.00 $163.55 $754 +11.69
525–533 fancy 531 5 158.00–161.00 $158.60 $842 —
500–547 535 8 139.00–149.00 $146.74 $785 +0.92
550–595 579 17 131.00–148.00 $144.00 $834 +8.76
600–630 616 13 126.00–143.00 $135.93 $837 +3.93
655–697 673 5 125.00–133.00 $127.92 $861 -1.91
700–740 713 7 116.00–127.00 $122.41 $873 +12.97
755 755 1 127.00 $127.00 $959 +27.00
902 902 2 96.00 $96.00 $866 +1.00
997 997 2 95.00 $95.00 $947 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 2 131.00 $131.00 $576 -3.00
470–490 475 6 128.00–134.00 $131.02 $622 +2.05
510–535 523 2 121.00–126.00 $123.56 $646 -3.19
578 578 3 129.00 $129.00 $746 +3.80
675–695 685 2 112.00–114.00 $113.01 $774 +7.15
800–805 803 3 90.00–99.00 $93.34 $750 —
932 932 2 82.00 $82.00 $764 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1440 1286 80-85% 7 42.00–49.00 $45.94 $591 —
1180–1470 1335 80-85% 18 51.00–55.00 $53.44 $713 -0.93
1215–1440 1365 80-85% 4 56.00–63.00 $57.82 $789 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 75-80% 1 48.00 $48.00 $720 —
1540–1645 1577 75-80% 3 51.00–55.00 $53.37 $842 —
1490–1890 1636 75-80% 10 56.00–70.00 $60.10 $983 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $592 +8.00
915–1160 1063 85-90% 5 51.00–53.00 $52.00 $553 +3.39
1090–1175 1133 85-90% 3 45.00–48.00 $46.70 $529 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395 1395 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,116 —
1440–2330 1748 9 87.00–95.00 $89.97 $1,573 —
1640–2010 1913 4 97.00–106.00 $101.18 $1,936 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
860–1180 994 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 75.00–81.00 $78.19 $777

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1130–1200 1155 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–650.00 $617.32
1200–1390 1303 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 675.00–1,050.00 $862.98

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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
1565 1565 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 75.00 $75.00 $428 —
785 785 1 77.00 $77.00 $604 —
846 846 7 101.00 $101.00 $854 —
850 850 19 104.00 $104.00 $884 —
1052 1052 2 62.00 $62.00 $652 —
1234 1234 17 96.00 $96.00 $1,185 —

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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.