Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, July 30, 2026

659 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $321.36/cwt ≈ $2,669/hd at 831 lb · 139 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $340.00/cwt ≈ $3,189/hd at 938 lb · 120 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $333.00/cwt ≈ $2,278/hd at 684 lb · 30 head
Stanford, KY 8-weight heifers sold at $321/cwt. KY 8-weight heifers are down $15 from their early July peak of $329/cwt. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 659 506 1,017
Feeder cattle 598 466 957
Slaughter cattle 52 38 48
Replacement cattle 9 2 12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers steady, Yearling steers were stronger with no comparison, Feeder and yearling heifers steady except 400-500 lbs they were 3.00-5.00 lower, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and 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
375 fancy 375 1 592.50 $592.50 $2,222 —
450–461 459 5 467.50–475.00 $468.97 $2,153 +23.97
501–535 507 7 372.50–397.50 $389.99 $1,977 -37.06
551–592 574 18 360.00–377.50 $370.70 $2,128 -36.31
610–630 620 2 340.00–350.00 $345.08 $2,139 -43.52
655–680 676 29 340.00–360.00 $355.12 $2,401 -19.58
710–740 725 2 337.50 $337.50 $2,447 -5.00
770 770 1 340.00 $340.00 $2,618 —
870–893 887 4 320.00–325.00 $321.23 $2,849 +31.23
938 value added 938 120 340.00 $340.00 $3,189 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472–495 479 8 410.00–442.50 $420.74 $2,015 +21.95
545–548 547 5 300.00–355.00 $321.93 $1,761 -58.60
565–595 581 5 330.00–342.50 $336.93 $1,958 —
667–687 677 4 315.00 $315.00 $2,133 —
705–745 725 2 260.00–317.50 $289.54 $2,099 -35.46
770 770 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,464 +22.00
830 830 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,888 —
880–897 885 7 295.00–306.00 $304.15 $2,692 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 417.50 $417.50 $1,712 —
485 485 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,212 —
505 505 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,326 —
720 720 1 285.00 $285.00 $2,052 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 427.50 $427.50 $1,475 +2.50
405–430 412 6 390.00–417.50 $409.42 $1,687 +0.86
450–490 473 5 382.50–400.00 $390.08 $1,845 +3.41
500–525 509 12 355.00–382.50 $378.31 $1,926 -4.25
555–580 563 12 350.00–382.50 $369.74 $2,082 -5.80
605–630 value added 623 22 362.50–375.00 $369.54 $2,302 +2.04
630–635 633 2 350.00–352.50 $351.25 $2,223 +11.25
650–691 684 30 327.00–350.00 $333.00 $2,278 —
712–720 715 3 322.50–332.50 $329.14 $2,353 +50.20
797 797 15 311.00 $311.00 $2,479 —
816 816 3 315.00 $315.00 $2,570 —
831 value added 831 136 321.50 $321.50 $2,672 —
865 865 1 315.00 $315.00 $2,725 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 2 390.00 $390.00 $1,509 —
515–520 516 4 332.50–337.50 $336.24 $1,735 +33.74
575–595 585 2 332.50–340.00 $336.31 $1,967 +35.46
767 767 2 282.50 $282.50 $2,167 —
846 846 4 287.50 $287.50 $2,432 +32.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
185 fancy 185 1 610.00 $610.00 $1,128 —
290 fancy 290 1 555.00 $555.00 $1,610 +5.00
330 330 1 470.00 $470.00 $1,551 -45.00
345 fancy 345 1 555.00 $555.00 $1,915 —
355 fancy 355 1 595.00 $595.00 $2,112 —
410–425 418 3 447.50–480.00 $465.86 $1,947 +7.83
440 fancy 440 1 495.00 $495.00 $2,178 —
460–490 475 2 457.50–467.50 $462.34 $2,196 -5.16
500–510 fancy 505 2 395.00–412.50 $403.84 $2,039 —
500–540 521 14 350.00–382.50 $376.29 $1,960 -30.91
570–596 586 10 352.50–380.00 $361.76 $2,120 -14.63
625–640 633 2 340.00 $340.00 $2,152 -28.14
655–667 663 3 325.00–332.50 $330.03 $2,188 -8.40
730 730 1 317.50 $317.50 $2,318 -17.41
775–795 788 3 287.50–310.00 $294.87 $2,324 -32.47
825 825 1 302.50 $302.50 $2,496 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 402.50 $402.50 $1,590 —
425–435 430 5 395.00–442.50 $432.40 $1,859 +2.28
455–490 478 14 375.00–442.50 $405.92 $1,940 +12.67
570 570 1 340.00 $340.00 $1,938 -5.00
610–615 613 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,839 -20.04
810–830 820 2 260.00–270.00 $265.06 $2,173 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1310 1280 80-85% 2 169.00–170.00 $169.51 $2,170 -15.74
1160–1440 1290 80-85% 14 174.00–196.00 $184.47 $2,380 -0.78
1305 1305 80-85% 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,762 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1195 993 85-90% 3 130.00–147.50 $136.19 $1,352 —
905–1170 1057 85-90% 3 159.00–167.50 $163.85 $1,732 —
920–1155 1070 85-90% 6 174.00–192.50 $184.65 $1,976 —
1205 1205 85-90% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,446 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1615 1615 75-80% 1 173.00 $173.00 $2,794 -17.16

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 1 202.50 $202.50 $2,319 —
1435 1435 1 217.00 $217.00 $3,114 —
1245–1910 1594 4 220.00–236.00 $230.97 $3,682 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
840–1030 953 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 192.50–295.00 $239.95 $2,287

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1210 1210 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,800.00 $2,800.00
1145–1415 1280 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 2,750.00–3,050.00 $2,884.18
1345 1345 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00

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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.