Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 23, 2025

1,393 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 $269.32/cwt +7.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,813/hd at 673 lb · 134 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $258.71/cwt +14.83 vs last sale · ≈ $2,308/hd at 892 lb · 132 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $262.10/cwt +16.10 vs last sale · ≈ $2,422/hd at 924 lb · 123 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,393 2,153 1,827
Feeder cattle 1,346 2,021 1,722
Slaughter cattle 46 126 85
Replacement cattle 1 6 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 600 lbs 15.00-20.00 higher, 600-700 lbs steady, 0ver 700 lbs 3.00-5.00 higher, Feeder heifers and yearling heifers 5.00-8.00 higher, Very good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls steady, Very 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
287 fancy 287 4 350.00 $350.00 $1,004 —
335 fancy 335 1 387.50 $387.50 $1,298 +47.50
352 352 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,056 —
367–385 fancy 379 8 340.00–415.00 $368.45 $1,396 +11.54
400–445 fancy 424 11 351.00–407.50 $389.28 $1,651 +24.70
445 445 4 320.00–335.00 $331.25 $1,474 +22.61
451–491 fancy 472 28 371.00–408.00 $399.94 $1,888 +61.31
490–495 493 2 322.50–337.50 $330.04 $1,627 +18.12
502–538 value added 526 26 317.50–377.00 $352.86 $1,856 +37.42
525–545 538 3 280.00–300.00 $291.56 $1,569 —
560–585 575 4 280.00–300.00 $292.33 $1,681 +8.40
555–595 value added 581 32 315.00–367.00 $327.91 $1,905 +9.34
607–647 629 15 260.00–274.00 $269.25 $1,694 —
608–648 value added 638 60 281.00–307.50 $303.07 $1,934 +10.20
663–693 679 15 250.00–264.00 $257.97 $1,752 +0.45
650–697 value added 690 96 280.00–298.50 $294.86 $2,035 +9.96
705 705 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,692 -15.96
700–738 value added 717 56 250.00–276.00 $270.30 $1,938 -13.33
750–790 770 4 233.00–249.00 $244.74 $1,884 -7.84
775–799 value added 789 45 251.00–270.00 $259.28 $2,046 -11.02
820–840 836 8 227.50–245.00 $240.35 $2,009 +12.85
855–882 866 14 224.00–243.00 $232.36 $2,012 -0.35
894–897 value added 895 118 255.00–268.25 $261.84 $2,343 -0.66
900–949 value added 924 122 259.50–265.25 $262.35 $2,424 +15.12
935 935 1 231.00 $231.00 $2,160 +2.50
1014 value added 1014 50 249.70 $249.70 $2,532 +8.95
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,187 —
555 555 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,221 —
607–640 618 3 240.00 $240.00 $1,483 —
670–690 680 2 231.00–242.00 $236.42 $1,608 —
810 810 1 214.00 $214.00 $1,733 +4.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 fancy 327 12 320.00–352.50 $347.85 $1,137 +26.30
355–395 fancy 363 6 332.50–357.50 $351.30 $1,275 +28.75
405–440 fancy 428 10 305.00–335.00 $322.27 $1,379 +11.14
450–465 458 2 282.50–297.50 $289.88 $1,328 +6.09
455–495 fancy 477 22 303.00–325.00 $311.42 $1,485 +1.07
525 525 1 267.50 $267.50 $1,404 +3.66
505–540 value added 528 23 280.00–307.00 $293.29 $1,549 -7.25
550–598 value added 570 69 281.00–293.00 $286.95 $1,636 +2.97
560–595 582 3 262.50–277.00 $269.81 $1,570 +4.62
602–636 value added 622 24 260.00–288.00 $281.11 $1,749 +28.29
600–647 639 12 230.00–249.00 $245.27 $1,567 +11.05
650–690 value added 672 123 257.00–285.00 $271.79 $1,826 +7.38
675–690 685 11 232.50–249.00 $241.74 $1,656 +1.35
712–741 value added 718 42 239.00–256.00 $245.85 $1,765 +8.75
711–745 727 13 210.00–237.00 $217.51 $1,581 -6.57
755–777 767 6 210.00–232.00 $220.82 $1,694 -4.01
815 value added 815 8 244.00 $244.00 $1,989 —
835 835 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,829 —
907–917 915 8 207.00–225.00 $219.48 $2,008 +2.69
955–985 970 2 189.00–190.00 $189.49 $1,838 -0.51
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525–542 534 4 227.50–247.00 $238.27 $1,272 —
595 595 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,374 —
630–635 633 2 180.00–217.50 $198.68 $1,258 —
650–692 680 7 200.00–224.00 $213.05 $1,449 -1.95
700 700 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,418 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 fancy 330 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,114 +1.25
340 340 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,020 —
411–415 fancy 412 7 389.00–390.00 $389.14 $1,603 +71.64
475–498 fancy 496 24 320.00–333.00 $331.96 $1,647 +12.31
511–525 515 4 260.00–270.00 $267.45 $1,377 -24.92
500–535 fancy 520 18 292.50–315.00 $307.37 $1,598 +2.49
550 550 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,458 —
604 fancy 604 5 279.00 $279.00 $1,685 -8.65
610–630 623 3 247.50–251.00 $248.64 $1,549 +4.64
660–670 668 4 230.00–245.00 $240.04 $1,603 -4.96
710–717 715 4 234.00–240.00 $236.00 $1,687 —
750–775 760 5 225.00–232.00 $229.14 $1,741 —
820 820 1 217.00 $217.00 $1,779 +2.98
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,200 +7.50

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1870 1643 75-80% 11 140.00–160.00 $152.04 $2,498 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1490 1319 80-85% 9 130.00–169.00 $148.87 $1,964 —
1320 1320 80-85% 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,056 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830–1165 983 85-90% 3 106.00–109.00 $106.97 $1,052 +1.48
965–1090 1028 85-90% 2 122.00–124.00 $122.94 $1,264 —
905–1100 1039 85-90% 4 130.00–139.00 $134.10 $1,393 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1770–2030 1915 3 172.00–180.00 $176.52 $3,380 —
1945 1945 1 154.00 $154.00 $2,995 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1060 1060 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 146.00 $146.00 $1,548

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660 660 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,452 —

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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.