Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 3, 2023

1,504 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $245.19/cwt +5.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,682/hd at 686 lb · 299 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $234.07/cwt -3.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,837/hd at 785 lb · 182 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $239.45/cwt +38.45 vs last sale · ≈ $2,169/hd at 906 lb · 124 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,504 1,073 2,050
Feeder cattle 1,437 987 1,937
Slaughter cattle 67 86 113

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and Yearling steers and heifers 4.00-6.00 higher, Very good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 3.00-5.00 higher, 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
305 fancy 305 1 250.00 $250.00 $762 -18.00
370 fancy 370 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,008 +25.01
420–445 fancy 429 4 249.00–270.00 $262.22 $1,125 -9.78
455–495 fancy 464 6 260.00–280.00 $273.39 $1,269 +6.36
500–538 value added 528 12 257.50–289.00 $275.22 $1,453 +7.49
552–582 value added 571 7 250.00–282.50 $277.49 $1,584 +8.23
620–647 value added 640 4 230.00–253.00 $244.54 $1,565 -15.58
675–695 value added 687 5 230.00–245.00 $234.42 $1,610 —
696 fancy 696 12 274.00 $274.00 $1,907 —
720 720 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,598 -2.97
706–735 value added 730 16 240.00–256.00 $253.10 $1,848 -4.90
756 value added 756 61 252.25 $252.25 $1,907 —
761 761 4 231.00 $231.00 $1,758 +6.00
815–835 value added 819 82 234.50–242.25 $240.61 $1,971 —
817–845 826 3 214.00–223.00 $219.93 $1,817 —
863 value added 863 61 242.90 $242.90 $2,096 +3.40
905–906 value added 906 124 234.75–244.00 $239.45 $2,169 —
1098 value added 1098 48 213.75 $213.75 $2,347 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 212.50 $212.50 $552 —
680 680 1 137.50 $137.50 $935 —
775 775 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,492 —
970 970 3 167.00 $167.00 $1,620 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 1 188.00 $188.00 $2,557 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 222.50 $222.50 $490 —
275 275 1 210.00 $210.00 $578 —
325–335 328 3 230.00 $230.00 $754 +25.00
355–395 370 5 220.00–235.00 $228.97 $847 —
365–395 fancy 377 9 236.00–246.00 $240.85 $908 +7.85
400–442 fancy 423 11 237.00–246.00 $243.02 $1,028 +9.48
417–440 425 3 203.00–213.00 $209.55 $891 -16.14
450–495 fancy 473 29 234.00–249.00 $240.61 $1,138 +3.81
455–495 482 3 225.00–233.00 $228.69 $1,102 +6.70
491 value added 491 50 261.50 $261.50 $1,284 —
500–542 value added 513 11 236.00–245.00 $241.83 $1,241 +0.81
565–595 577 3 207.00–229.00 $219.51 $1,267 -4.48
550–587 value added 583 17 231.00–259.50 $254.73 $1,485 —
600–631 value added 624 14 229.00–239.00 $231.37 $1,444 -11.52
600–645 627 3 209.00–223.00 $215.32 $1,350 +2.62
650–697 681 3 204.00–207.00 $206.05 $1,403 +13.05
657–698 value added 686 296 241.00–249.00 $245.59 $1,685 +5.76
705 705 6 220.00 $220.00 $1,551 +20.00
716–730 value added 717 75 230.00–248.30 $247.55 $1,775 +25.59
764–797 value added 785 182 232.00–235.50 $234.07 $1,837 -3.40
834–837 value added 837 73 225.75–231.50 $226.38 $1,895 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 200.00 $200.00 $570 —
500 500 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,012 +10.50
550–580 565 2 186.00–201.00 $193.70 $1,094 —
675–685 680 2 170.00–187.00 $178.56 $1,214 —
705–745 722 5 152.00–187.00 $171.74 $1,240 +15.93
750 750 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,282 —
850–887 875 3 146.00–150.00 $147.30 $1,289 —
955 955 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,146 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 212.50 $212.50 $531 —
285 fancy 285 1 290.00 $290.00 $826 +32.50
321–330 323 4 232.50 $232.50 $751 +7.50
358–385 365 7 225.00–245.00 $231.22 $844 +6.34
395 fancy 395 2 257.50–270.00 $263.75 $1,042 —
400–445 417 5 232.00–245.00 $241.19 $1,006 +23.60
408–445 fancy 424 16 257.00–282.50 $270.38 $1,146 +24.66
465–495 fancy 474 6 250.00–270.00 $263.94 $1,251 +16.68
500–525 fancy 506 11 256.00–262.50 $256.96 $1,300 +17.96
520–540 530 2 210.00–230.00 $220.19 $1,167 +0.17
585 585 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,182 -12.05
590 fancy 590 1 241.00 $241.00 $1,422 +10.00
640 640 1 214.00 $214.00 $1,370 —
670–680 673 3 196.00–219.00 $208.39 $1,402 —
780 780 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,552 +9.00
845 845 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,377 —
910 910 1 147.00 $147.00 $1,338 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 170.00 $170.00 $790 -26.02
635 635 1 162.50 $162.50 $1,032 —
650 650 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,105 —
850 850 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,326 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200 1200 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $900 —
1180–1295 1228 80-85% 6 95.00–102.00 $98.33 $1,207 —
1280 1280 80-85% 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,114 -19.60
1035–1465 1289 80-85% 19 105.00–132.00 $114.67 $1,478 +8.07
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1020 938 85-90% 3 68.00–78.00 $74.53 $699 —
1015 1015 85-90% 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,076 +21.37
955–1090 1023 85-90% 2 96.00–102.00 $99.20 $1,015 +14.57
930–1235 1127 85-90% 3 81.00–84.00 $82.56 $930 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1640 1532 75-80% 5 110.00–124.00 $116.16 $1,780 —
1640 1640 75-80% 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,640 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1415 1378 2 111.00–114.00 $112.54 $1,551 —
1470–2025 1702 3 122.00–123.00 $122.29 $2,081 —
1160–2045 1817 7 131.00–141.00 $137.24 $2,494 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
927 value added 927 59 175.50 $175.50 $1,627 —

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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.