Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 11, 2024

1,390 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 $203.70/cwt -8.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,733/hd at 851 lb · 112 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $217.57/cwt +11.05 vs last sale · ≈ $1,770/hd at 814 lb · 69 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $205.50/cwt +18.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,919/hd at 934 lb · 57 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,390 2,378 2,714
Feeder cattle 1,255 2,185 2,606
Slaughter cattle 107 192 104
Replacement cattle 28 1 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers under 700 lbs sold steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder steers over 700 lbs sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold under 500 lbs sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers over 500 lbs sold steady to 2.00 lower. There was good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady. Slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher. There was 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
300 300 1 262.50 $262.50 $788 ±0.00
385 fancy 385 3 297.00 $297.00 $1,143 -1.23
405–435 417 6 234.00–242.50 $237.34 $990 -13.91
452–489 475 11 231.00–249.00 $243.01 $1,154 +2.99
475–487 fancy 481 8 257.00–269.00 $264.18 $1,271 -13.53
500–548 515 32 230.00–247.00 $239.70 $1,234 +0.89
537 value added 537 2 256.00 $256.00 $1,375 -9.21
572–585 value added 576 12 249.00–251.00 $249.33 $1,436 -11.58
560–595 582 23 231.00–246.00 $240.68 $1,401 +5.12
600–620 607 17 214.00–233.00 $227.52 $1,381 +11.26
607–645 value added 618 7 237.50–240.00 $238.15 $1,472 -5.19
652–690 678 42 219.00–233.00 $229.00 $1,553 +8.83
703 value added 703 5 219.00 $219.00 $1,540 -8.39
712–738 731 12 200.00–213.00 $204.72 $1,497 -3.30
755 value added 755 6 207.00 $207.00 $1,563 —
767–793 786 12 191.00–198.00 $193.48 $1,521 -17.77
813 value added 813 65 218.75 $218.75 $1,778 +6.56
820–830 825 4 195.00–202.00 $198.48 $1,637 -0.67
850 850 60 196.50 $196.50 $1,670 —
852 value added 852 52 212.00 $212.00 $1,806 -2.24
934 value added 934 57 205.50 $205.50 $1,919 —
981 981 14 162.00 $162.00 $1,589 —
1021 1021 14 189.00 $189.00 $1,930 —
1121 value added 1121 55 175.50 $175.50 $1,967 —
1369 value added 1369 72 174.50 $174.50 $2,389 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 220.00 $220.00 $627 —
332 332 4 237.00 $237.00 $787 +2.00
385 385 1 210.00 $210.00 $808 —
425–445 440 5 217.50–220.00 $218.89 $963 —
480–491 488 5 220.00–227.50 $225.02 $1,098 +0.02
505–540 535 10 220.00–225.00 $221.71 $1,186 +6.71
559–568 563 9 209.00–212.00 $210.65 $1,186 -0.59
635 635 1 211.00 $211.00 $1,340 —
697 697 4 215.00 $215.00 $1,499 +27.70
745 745 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,408 +4.38
815 815 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,386 -14.25

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 232 3 212.50 $212.50 $493 -2.50
265 265 1 212.50 $212.50 $563 +17.14
327–340 331 3 210.00–225.00 $215.13 $712 +7.63
371–390 376 4 204.00–210.00 $205.56 $773 +0.62
411–435 fancy 422 6 232.50–237.50 $235.07 $992 +7.88
415–440 428 6 217.50–227.50 $222.04 $950 +32.04
456–490 fancy 471 7 235.00–237.00 $235.83 $1,111 +5.26
462–492 476 14 211.00–221.00 $214.38 $1,020 +13.10
500–508 value added 503 13 215.00–219.00 $217.62 $1,095 -6.10
501–545 515 27 199.00–214.00 $206.87 $1,065 +0.25
550 value added 550 18 215.00–216.00 $215.78 $1,187 -10.65
551–590 569 24 193.00–209.00 $199.75 $1,137 -12.79
601–648 623 56 181.00–197.00 $190.52 $1,187 +4.34
651–695 679 17 189.00–195.00 $191.08 $1,297 -3.62
705–718 715 10 155.00–172.00 $163.22 $1,167 -7.46
721–730 value added 724 5 179.00–184.00 $181.20 $1,312 —
785 785 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,389 +11.48
790 value added 790 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,509 —
803 803 7 180.00 $180.00 $1,445 +17.50
940 940 2 115.00–125.00 $120.00 $1,128 -25.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 197.50 $197.50 $523 +23.88
311 311 4 182.00 $182.00 $566 +2.00
386 386 3 194.00 $194.00 $749 —
400–440 426 11 200.00–205.00 $202.56 $863 +42.56
490 490 1 200.00 $200.00 $980 —
505–545 522 8 189.00–197.00 $193.28 $1,009 +12.42
560–589 584 7 188.00–190.00 $189.58 $1,107 -0.01
650–685 672 3 172.50–176.00 $174.53 $1,173 +5.61
715–723 721 5 147.00–150.00 $149.41 $1,077 -0.59
780 780 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,084 +4.00
1055 1055 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,150 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–415 413 3 232.50–242.50 $238.33 $984 —
412–430 fancy 415 6 299.00 $299.00 $1,241 +4.00
480 fancy 480 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,212 —
450–495 484 8 220.00–237.50 $232.00 $1,123 -6.42
515–540 524 5 212.00–230.00 $217.34 $1,139 —
508–543 fancy 526 8 232.50–235.00 $233.71 $1,229 -11.68
572–587 583 8 218.00–222.00 $221.25 $1,290 +8.25
615–635 624 4 201.00–217.50 $208.99 $1,304 +16.47
660–692 686 10 207.00–207.50 $207.25 $1,422 -3.79
700–710 705 3 180.00–191.00 $186.17 $1,312 -6.21
752–795 781 11 187.50–200.00 $191.38 $1,495 —
880 880 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,346 —
913 913 3 145.00 $145.00 $1,324 -4.13
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 209.00 $209.00 $805 +5.81
430 430 1 225.00 $225.00 $968 +10.00
471–475 471 12 203.00–217.50 $204.22 $962 +24.22
503–536 517 7 190.00–200.00 $194.44 $1,005 —
575–590 588 6 187.50–195.00 $191.77 $1,128 +4.89
640–645 643 2 184.00–185.00 $184.50 $1,186 —
685–695 692 3 185.00–186.00 $185.33 $1,282 +0.33
790 790 1 172.50 $172.50 $1,363 +2.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1340 1205 80-85% 10 79.00–86.00 $81.95 $987 +6.58
1005–1445 1282 80-85% 25 87.00–95.00 $90.19 $1,156 —
1160–1420 1295 80-85% 12 96.00–104.00 $98.47 $1,275 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1495–1660 1558 75-80% 3 97.00–98.00 $97.33 $1,516 —
1480–1680 1564 75-80% 10 88.00–95.00 $91.60 $1,433 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–895 878 85-90% 2 68.00–69.00 $68.49 $601 —
815–1030 924 85-90% 4 72.00–79.00 $75.26 $695 —
830–1030 950 85-90% 3 84.00–90.00 $86.81 $825 +27.70

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1995 1715 7 113.00–121.00 $115.80 $1,986 +9.29
1535–2055 1783 3 123.00–130.00 $125.59 $2,239 +12.57
2055 2055 1 105.00 $105.00 $2,158 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155 1155 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
910–1530 1244 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,000.00–1,600.00 $1,356.25
1085–1540 1414 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 8 1,100.00–1,600.00 $1,432.98

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00

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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
1530–1595 1562 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,400.00–1,825.00 $1,636.26 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
913 value added 913 66 166.25 $166.25 $1,518 —

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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.