Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 2, 2021

1,928 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 $160.90/cwt +23.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,156/hd at 718 lb · 237 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.07/cwt +17.74 vs last sale · ≈ $892/hd at 628 lb · 156 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $153.45/cwt ≈ $1,413/hd at 921 lb · 130 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,928 1,365 1,964
Feeder cattle 1,860 1,310 1,857
Slaughter cattle 65 55 101
Replacement cattle 3 — 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: No comparison due to no sale last week. However all classes of feeders and yearlings sold considerably higher. All classes sold with good to very good demand.

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
282 fancy 282 4 195.00 $195.00 $550 —
305–330 fancy 320 3 179.00–205.00 $189.86 $608 —
345 345 2 169.00 $169.00 $583 +9.75
365 365 1 164.00 $164.00 $599 +22.00
385–395 fancy 388 7 185.00–188.00 $187.13 $726 —
410–431 value added 424 9 173.00–177.00 $174.18 $739 —
415–445 428 9 152.50–172.50 $163.15 $698 +19.94
479 value added 479 6 178.00 $178.00 $853 —
460–499 483 39 149.00–173.00 $163.97 $792 +12.57
510–546 value added 532 34 157.00–169.00 $166.08 $884 —
505–545 536 14 145.00–154.00 $151.76 $813 +13.48
553–578 value added 561 28 155.00–160.00 $157.26 $882 —
556–596 573 38 142.00–152.00 $148.06 $848 +9.31
600–648 622 23 130.00–144.00 $134.56 $837 -2.18
607–645 value added 624 10 146.00–150.00 $147.85 $923 —
652–691 671 24 127.00–144.00 $136.46 $916 -3.99
659–690 value added 671 40 145.50–149.50 $147.39 $989 —
714 fancy 714 150 165.00 $165.00 $1,178 —
721–742 value added 725 74 145.00–157.50 $156.51 $1,135 —
729–730 729 13 134.00–139.00 $138.61 $1,010 +1.27
766 fancy 766 9 161.00 $161.00 $1,233 —
758–787 value added 768 18 147.00–159.00 $151.68 $1,165 -8.32
775 775 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,093 +4.66
814 fancy 814 63 160.90 $160.90 $1,310 —
812–839 value added 832 8 145.00 $145.00 $1,206 -8.00
820–845 836 5 127.00–140.00 $134.44 $1,124 -0.14
855–858 value added 856 17 143.00–147.00 $144.89 $1,240 -7.45
901–939 value added 920 118 153.00–156.85 $154.85 $1,425 —
911–948 926 12 137.50–142.50 $139.63 $1,293 —
1063 1063 11 138.00 $138.00 $1,467 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 117.50 $117.50 $376 —
435 435 1 130.00 $130.00 $566 —
567–585 572 6 127.00–137.00 $134.13 $767 +13.13
630–638 636 4 125.00–128.00 $125.74 $800 +7.74
650–660 653 3 123.00–125.00 $124.33 $812 +5.57
730 730 1 125.00 $125.00 $912 +13.43
780 780 1 125.00 $125.00 $975 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 124.00 $124.00 $670 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–345 323 5 130.00–144.00 $138.16 $446 +13.42
360–398 382 11 134.00–142.00 $138.19 $528 +20.19
405–445 429 23 125.00–143.00 $135.49 $581 +11.09
425–443 fancy 438 9 145.00–152.00 $147.88 $648 —
462 fancy 462 4 143.00 $143.00 $661 —
450–490 469 42 123.00–141.00 $133.85 $628 +11.78
510–542 526 30 124.00–140.00 $131.92 $694 +12.27
545 value added 545 74 159.00 $159.00 $867 —
558–560 value added 559 17 138.50–139.50 $138.91 $777 —
561–596 577 34 125.00–130.00 $127.55 $736 +7.49
600–645 619 52 118.00–130.00 $126.20 $781 +1.87
604–637 value added 632 104 136.50–152.85 $150.00 $948 —
655–696 673 10 116.00–126.00 $120.37 $810 +0.37
689 value added 689 62 152.25 $152.25 $1,049 —
712–715 713 3 117.00–125.00 $119.67 $853 -0.33
770–775 774 9 120.00–127.00 $125.45 $971 —
965–985 975 2 113.00–127.00 $120.07 $1,171 +38.07
1035 1035 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,242 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 110.00 $110.00 $319 —
315 315 1 117.50 $117.50 $370 —
503–540 514 11 111.00–120.00 $115.35 $593 +10.97
610–640 621 13 100.00–113.00 $107.49 $668 +7.75
650–690 661 4 102.00–113.00 $107.33 $709 +9.33
765–790 784 4 89.00–111.00 $102.61 $804 —
856 856 3 102.00 $102.00 $873 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 100.00 $100.00 $325 —
545 545 1 100.00 $100.00 $545 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 165.00 $165.00 $487 —
328 328 3 163.00 $163.00 $535 +13.29
337 fancy 337 2 182.00 $182.00 $613 +12.00
377 377 4 175.00 $175.00 $660 +26.89
415–440 420 10 162.00–175.00 $171.64 $721 +36.47
452–495 480 13 150.00–165.00 $158.62 $761 +27.02
500–525 fancy 505 11 161.00–165.00 $163.54 $826 —
505–542 527 8 139.00–156.00 $145.32 $766 +15.96
562–590 576 9 137.00–145.00 $140.51 $809 +10.89
617–630 623 7 125.00–138.00 $135.56 $845 +9.40
660–683 672 6 121.00–136.00 $126.08 $847 +4.61
741 741 5 119.00 $119.00 $882 -1.00
770–796 783 6 116.00–118.00 $117.02 $916 +17.02
825 825 1 111.00 $111.00 $916 -1.00
860 860 1 111.00 $111.00 $955 +11.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 130.00 $130.00 $462 ±0.00
481 481 4 137.00 $137.00 $659 +14.00
582 582 2 124.00 $124.00 $722 +19.97
678 678 3 117.00 $117.00 $793 +8.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1235 1218 80-85% 2 44.00–46.00 $45.01 $548 —
1190–1410 1284 80-85% 6 48.00–56.00 $52.50 $674 —
1205–1440 1319 80-85% 19 57.00–69.00 $60.60 $799 +9.67
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1510 1508 75-80% 2 51.00–55.00 $53.00 $799 —
1510 1510 75-80% 1 50.00 $50.00 $755 —
1490–1725 1588 75-80% 10 58.00–67.00 $61.77 $981 +9.79
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1090 1065 85-90% 2 44.00–45.00 $44.49 $474 —
965–1145 1084 85-90% 5 47.00–56.00 $51.41 $557 —
1105–1115 1110 85-90% 2 59.00 $59.00 $655 +15.59

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625 1625 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,332 -13.35
1620–1785 1685 3 97.00–99.00 $97.97 $1,651 +10.88
1910–2410 2212 3 90.00–94.00 $91.80 $2,031 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
890–975 933 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 69.00–86.00 $77.86 $726

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 2 83.00 $83.00 $378 —
595 595 1 81.00 $81.00 $482 —

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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.