Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 21, 2024

2,022 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 steers $271.35/cwt -11.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,868/hd at 689 lb · 160 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $241.30/cwt +4.15 vs last sale · ≈ $2,128/hd at 882 lb · 156 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $240.17/cwt +20.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,839/hd at 766 lb · 98 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,022 2,017 1,656
Feeder cattle 1,915 1,919 1,584
Slaughter cattle 104 98 65
Replacement cattle 3 — 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers steady, Feeder and yearling heifers 2.00-3.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows steady, Slaughter bulls 2.00-4.00 higher, 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
260 260 1 300.00 $300.00 $780 —
265 fancy 265 1 360.00 $360.00 $954 —
305–310 307 3 315.00–327.50 $322.53 $990 —
310–347 fancy 340 6 332.50–365.00 $339.11 $1,153 -5.67
355–392 380 3 300.00–310.00 $306.88 $1,166 —
356–398 fancy 384 12 335.00–352.50 $347.09 $1,333 +13.26
400–445 fancy 417 8 305.00–335.00 $317.30 $1,323 -32.91
450–495 fancy 462 37 315.00–351.00 $336.21 $1,553 +5.58
480–485 483 2 275.00–295.00 $284.95 $1,376 -19.42
520–530 523 3 260.00–282.50 $271.24 $1,419 +9.24
505–542 value added 527 60 302.50–350.00 $334.97 $1,765 -7.27
553–599 value added 574 52 292.00–324.00 $306.36 $1,759 +1.71
580–595 588 2 260.00–270.00 $265.06 $1,559 -9.72
610 fancy 610 20 323.00 $323.00 $1,970 —
600–640 620 2 258.00–260.00 $258.97 $1,606 +6.47
607–643 value added 624 20 287.00–306.00 $300.69 $1,876 +17.60
655–694 value added 688 139 269.90–280.00 $273.33 $1,881 -11.68
650–698 692 21 250.00–260.00 $258.24 $1,787 +11.60
715–730 720 17 235.00–248.00 $239.29 $1,723 +5.27
705–748 value added 747 47 251.00–266.00 $265.70 $1,985 +11.16
750–790 772 11 230.00–242.00 $233.66 $1,804 -1.57
774 value added 774 66 265.00 $265.00 $2,051 +14.40
817 value added 817 21 238.50 $238.50 $1,949 -5.25
820 820 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,845 -0.67
875 875 1 213.00 $213.00 $1,864 -6.15
867–893 value added 882 155 235.00–243.00 $241.48 $2,130 +1.33
925 925 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,989 -4.01
940 value added 940 51 231.50 $231.50 $2,176 —
961 961 5 219.00 $219.00 $2,105 +11.00
1004 1004 9 214.00 $214.00 $2,149 -0.53
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,390 +12.50
580–590 585 2 242.50–257.50 $249.94 $1,462 —
605 605 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,398 —
685 685 3 228.00 $228.00 $1,562 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 282.50 $282.50 $678 +10.00
300–345 fancy 320 9 300.00–320.00 $311.05 $995 +6.20
310–340 323 4 280.00–297.50 $288.85 $933 +25.85
350–383 fancy 374 7 307.50–310.00 $309.33 $1,157 +15.72
350–396 386 6 262.50–297.50 $282.95 $1,092 +19.29
402–447 fancy 430 41 267.50–312.50 $290.63 $1,250 +8.81
410–448 438 14 240.00–262.50 $257.11 $1,126 +2.77
450–490 fancy 471 43 265.00–284.00 $275.60 $1,298 +4.17
455–492 479 20 240.00–260.00 $244.97 $1,173 -15.08
500–549 value added 513 40 251.00–275.00 $264.64 $1,358 +7.96
510–545 531 23 235.00–246.00 $244.75 $1,300 +2.37
550–578 value added 571 50 250.00–269.00 $264.29 $1,509 +1.10
550–591 584 6 236.00–245.00 $241.46 $1,410 +2.50
600–642 618 16 221.00–239.00 $232.55 $1,437 +1.34
615–626 value added 621 37 242.00–258.00 $255.36 $1,586 +6.37
656–673 value added 664 78 252.25–258.00 $255.16 $1,694 +8.91
670–697 679 8 220.00–235.00 $228.39 $1,551 +2.54
700–745 728 6 218.00–224.00 $221.55 $1,613 +0.11
726–740 value added 732 20 230.00–232.00 $231.38 $1,694 -9.68
750 750 2 229.00 $229.00 $1,718 +9.64
757–767 value added 766 96 230.00–243.85 $240.40 $1,841 —
814 value added 814 62 229.75 $229.75 $1,870 —
855–888 863 17 215.00–215.50 $215.38 $1,859 —
857–888 value added 882 52 217.00–222.00 $217.84 $1,921 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–386 376 6 210.00–240.00 $229.81 $864 -4.25
465–490 479 4 220.00–230.00 $227.57 $1,090 -11.43
540 540 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,188 —
570–573 571 7 210.00–224.00 $216.02 $1,233 -3.98
690 690 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,387 +1.00
700–705 703 3 180.00–195.00 $185.85 $1,307 -14.08
875 875 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,684 +12.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 fancy 235 1 340.00 $340.00 $799 —
317 fancy 317 4 360.00 $360.00 $1,141 +10.00
310–325 318 2 302.50–312.50 $307.38 $977 —
357–370 361 5 285.00–310.00 $298.75 $1,078 +13.75
375–385 fancy 379 4 312.50–337.50 $328.12 $1,244 +4.46
411–445 430 7 280.00–300.00 $290.02 $1,247 -1.64
413–448 fancy 430 8 312.50–331.00 $322.09 $1,385 +2.43
467–475 fancy 468 10 332.50–340.00 $333.91 $1,563 +12.09
455–498 489 8 280.00–300.00 $290.76 $1,422 -6.60
502–515 fancy 503 16 310.00–330.00 $328.72 $1,653 +23.91
535 535 1 277.50 $277.50 $1,485 -3.00
560–598 589 4 250.00–265.00 $261.43 $1,540 -14.99
565–596 fancy 591 6 280.00–295.00 $285.41 $1,687 -10.68
605–628 fancy 624 15 260.00–272.50 $268.86 $1,678 -5.96
620–630 625 2 243.00–255.00 $248.95 $1,556 +1.22
656–685 670 6 240.00–254.00 $244.76 $1,640 -0.07
705–730 719 4 230.00–240.00 $237.55 $1,708 +3.55
820–840 833 3 212.00–213.00 $212.67 $1,772 +1.66
905–935 920 2 182.50–188.00 $185.21 $1,704 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 270.00 $270.00 $702 +10.97
325 325 1 260.00 $260.00 $845 +20.00
370 370 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,018 —
472–485 476 3 220.00–260.00 $246.42 $1,173 +43.92
655–680 668 2 205.00–219.00 $212.13 $1,417 —
725 725 1 206.00 $206.00 $1,494 +26.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1350 1233 80-85% 7 106.00–111.00 $109.44 $1,349 —
1150–1430 1289 80-85% 13 117.00–146.00 $127.31 $1,641 +0.04
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985 985 85-90% 1 91.00 $91.00 $896 —
980–1050 1015 85-90% 2 85.00–88.00 $86.55 $878 -16.67
1025–1085 1055 85-90% 2 114.00–116.00 $114.97 $1,213 -11.62
885–1155 1068 85-90% 6 102.00–110.00 $107.40 $1,147 -19.19
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1490–1735 1589 75-80% 8 118.00–132.00 $126.00 $2,002 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,351 —
1130–2405 1627 3 125.00–132.00 $127.45 $2,074 —
1330–2080 1823 6 135.00–160.00 $146.69 $2,674 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
915–975 945 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 142.00–145.00 $143.45 $1,356

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155 1155 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
852 852 60 196.50 $196.50 $1,674 —

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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.