Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 3, 2026

218 head sold ·Official USDA report

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $353.33/cwt -17.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,855/hd at 525 lb · 12 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $315.00/cwt -8.74 vs last sale · ≈ $1,862/hd at 591 lb · 11 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $389.54/cwt -21.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,827/hd at 469 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 218 820 2,438
Feeder cattle 204 793 2,284
Slaughter cattle 13 25 143
Replacement cattle 1 2 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers and heifers mostly steady on a lite test of average quality, Moderate demand for feeder classes. No test on 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
447 447 2 345.00 $345.00 $1,542 -61.33
525 525 2 350.00–355.00 $352.50 $1,851 -7.50
565 565 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,949 -17.50
575 value added 575 1 387.50 $387.50 $2,228 -6.54
633–642 636 8 342.50–350.00 $345.94 $2,200 -0.49
655–672 667 6 322.50–332.50 $326.64 $2,179 -7.95
743 743 4 325.00 $325.00 $2,415 +1.25
772 772 6 315.00 $315.00 $2,432 -20.00
827–830 828 6 312.50–325.00 $316.68 $2,622 +16.00
850 850 1 300.00 $300.00 $2,550 +13.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,468 —
640 640 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,920 -13.73
885 885 1 272.50 $272.50 $2,412 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
150 fancy 150 1 490.00 $490.00 $735 —
180–195 188 2 415.00 $415.00 $780 —
215 215 1 410.00 $410.00 $882 —
325 325 1 352.50 $352.50 $1,146 —
375–390 383 2 385.00–390.00 $387.45 $1,484 +2.85
400–410 405 2 370.00–387.50 $378.64 $1,533 +12.45
461–480 466 7 330.00–345.00 $339.94 $1,584 -13.06
500–543 524 6 310.00–330.00 $316.46 $1,658 -12.32
591 591 11 315.00 $315.00 $1,862 -8.74
630–635 633 3 292.50–300.00 $297.51 $1,883 +14.14
650–680 665 2 277.50–282.50 $280.06 $1,862 -4.90
725 725 1 287.50 $287.50 $2,084 -2.50
935 935 1 260.00 $260.00 $2,431 +7.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 2 327.50 $327.50 $1,605 +2.52
545–548 547 4 300.00–305.00 $301.24 $1,648 +7.56
575 575 1 295.00 $295.00 $1,696 -4.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
145 145 1 510.00 $510.00 $740 —
160–165 163 3 485.00–495.00 $491.73 $802 —
270 270 1 350.00 $350.00 $945 -90.00
335 335 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,256 -47.60
350–355 353 2 410.00–440.00 $425.11 $1,501 +15.19
450–488 469 10 380.00–395.00 $389.54 $1,827 -21.37
505–541 524 10 337.50–370.00 $347.75 $1,822 -12.37
530 fancy 530 2 380.00–382.50 $381.25 $2,021 -26.25
560–580 570 2 350.00–352.50 $351.27 $2,002 +8.01
607–645 627 6 310.00–332.50 $320.68 $2,011 -24.74
660–697 680 10 315.00–342.50 $332.86 $2,263 -7.93
715–725 720 2 297.50–317.50 $307.43 $2,213 —
760 760 1 277.50 $277.50 $2,109 +12.54
930 930 1 212.50 $212.50 $1,976 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,050 -25.00
385 385 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,270 -25.07
415–435 422 3 300.00–320.00 $310.00 $1,308 —
455–465 460 2 347.50–355.00 $351.29 $1,616 -16.33
530 530 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,749 +22.56
580 580 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,740 -13.87
610 610 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,738 +1.67
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 300.00 $300.00 $840 —
440 440 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,100 —
995 995 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,642 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1005 985 85-90% 2 80.00–100.00 $90.20 $888 —
1020–1035 1028 85-90% 2 150.00–155.00 $152.52 $1,568 —
1045–1055 1050 85-90% 2 110.00–136.00 $123.06 $1,292 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1495 1350 80-85% 3 138.00–145.00 $140.86 $1,902 —
1355 1355 80-85% 1 92.50 $92.50 $1,253 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1570 1570 75-80% 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,978 —
1590–1655 1623 75-80% 2 148.00–153.00 $150.55 $2,443 -4.95

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 237.50 $237.50 $2,612

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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.