Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, July 23, 2026

506 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $329.43/cwt +5.49 vs last sale · ≈ $2,510/hd at 762 lb · 155 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $338.36/cwt +28.36 vs last sale · ≈ $2,919/hd at 863 lb · 58 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $375.54/cwt -62.19 vs last sale · ≈ $2,137/hd at 569 lb · 20 head
Stanford, KY 7-weight heifers sold at $327/cwt, $6/cwt above the KY average ($321), and the highest of the 4 yards reporting the class. KY 7-weight heifers are down $30 from their late June peak of $346. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 506 1,588 1,169
Feeder cattle 466 1,540 1,109
Slaughter cattle 38 45 59
Replacement cattle 2 3 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers unevenly steady, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 3.00-6.00 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
345 345 1 445.00 $445.00 $1,535 -11.15
370 370 1 467.50 $467.50 $1,730 -27.50
430 430 1 475.00 $475.00 $2,042 +10.00
450 450 1 445.00 $445.00 $2,002 -3.36
505–548 537 4 420.00–450.00 $427.05 $2,293 -22.66
560–563 562 10 395.00–410.00 $407.01 $2,287 -45.23
628–637 631 9 380.00–400.00 $388.60 $2,452 —
682–685 682 17 357.50–377.00 $374.70 $2,555 -8.11
720 720 1 342.50 $342.50 $2,466 -27.28
812 812 2 317.50 $317.50 $2,578 -17.50
862 value added 862 55 341.00 $341.00 $2,939 —
876 876 3 290.00 $290.00 $2,540 -20.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 2 435.00 $435.00 $1,675 +15.00
425 425 1 410.00 $410.00 $1,742 —
485–490 488 2 390.00–407.50 $398.79 $1,946 -34.21
517–535 529 6 367.50–407.50 $380.53 $2,013 —
610 610 1 340.00 $340.00 $2,074 +5.00
740 740 1 325.00 $325.00 $2,405 +16.34
766 766 4 298.00 $298.00 $2,283 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1121 1121 3 294.00 $294.00 $3,296 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 465.00 $465.00 $976 —
250–260 fancy 255 2 530.00–565.00 $547.16 $1,395 —
340 340 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,445 -12.50
360 360 1 420.00 $420.00 $1,512 -14.22
405–440 426 10 390.00–430.00 $408.56 $1,740 -24.08
475–488 485 6 385.00–390.00 $386.67 $1,875 -43.57
500–540 523 10 372.50–395.00 $382.56 $2,001 -3.70
550–595 569 20 365.00–387.50 $375.54 $2,137 -6.51
616 616 5 340.00 $340.00 $2,094 +1.72
624 value added 624 10 367.50 $367.50 $2,293 -23.54
700–730 713 7 272.50–287.50 $278.94 $1,989 -23.66
760 760 1 279.00 $279.00 $2,120 —
753–771 value added 762 154 321.50–338.00 $329.76 $2,513 +5.82
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–430 425 2 375.00–385.00 $380.06 $1,615 -24.74
510 510 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,543 —
580–595 587 3 300.00–302.50 $300.85 $1,766 -44.15
605–625 615 4 280.00–327.50 $305.66 $1,880 -14.34
655–695 677 3 265.00–300.00 $278.66 $1,887 -21.34
705 705 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,798 —
835 835 1 255.00 $255.00 $2,129 —
850–875 863 2 235.00–247.00 $240.91 $2,079 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 350.00 $350.00 $2,012 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110 1110 1 212.50 $212.50 $2,359 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 fancy 290 1 550.00 $550.00 $1,595 -40.00
345 345 1 515.00 $515.00 $1,777 —
425–445 435 4 452.50–470.00 $458.03 $1,992 -11.95
450 450 1 467.50 $467.50 $2,104 +4.84
515–543 533 10 400.00–420.00 $407.20 $2,170 -27.63
570–586 580 5 370.00–387.50 $376.39 $2,183 -59.32
600–617 604 8 360.00–382.50 $368.14 $2,224 -22.87
655–685 673 8 330.00–347.50 $338.43 $2,278 -39.07
702–740 715 3 330.00–337.50 $334.91 $2,395 +19.88
750–783 775 4 322.50–342.50 $327.34 $2,537 +29.84
885 885 1 235.00 $235.00 $2,080 —
920 920 1 245.00 $245.00 $2,254 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–425 415 2 425.00–435.00 $430.12 $1,785 —
485–495 491 4 375.00–422.50 $393.25 $1,931 -34.79
547 547 2 382.50 $382.50 $2,092 —
565 565 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,949 -62.81
630–640 635 2 315.00–325.00 $320.04 $2,032 —
655–665 660 3 312.50–317.50 $314.99 $2,079 -4.14
705–730 718 2 280.00–312.50 $296.53 $2,129 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1480 1279 80-85% 12 173.00–204.00 $185.25 $2,369 +3.43
1345–1490 1418 80-85% 2 162.00–164.00 $163.05 $2,312 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785 785 85-90% 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,138 —
930–1155 1104 85-90% 5 179.00–188.00 $182.33 $2,013 +4.79
1005–1210 1107 85-90% 3 160.00–165.00 $162.39 $1,798 -15.15
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515 1515 75-80% 1 169.00 $169.00 $2,560 —
1545–1775 1642 75-80% 5 173.00–205.00 $190.16 $3,122 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1700–2035 1825 4 225.00–238.00 $229.80 $4,194 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
840 840 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,911

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1270 1270 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 3,250.00 $3,250.00

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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.