Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 16, 2020

1,030 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards report →

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $132.15/cwt +15.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,237/hd at 936 lb · 145 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.90/cwt ≈ $1,150/hd at 859 lb · 73 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $137.75/cwt -2.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,160/hd at 842 lb · 59 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,030 893 1,364
Feeder cattle 875 868 1,195
Slaughter cattle 145 25 160
Replacement cattle 10 — 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Yearling steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls steady.

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
330 330 2 150.00 $150.00 $495 -18.49
350–380 369 14 165.00–173.00 $167.47 $618 -1.21
390 value added 390 2 182.00 $182.00 $710 +16.00
455 455 8 160.00 $160.00 $728 +17.44
535 value added 535 9 150.00 $150.00 $802 +3.89
562 562 8 133.00 $133.00 $747 -6.94
607–641 628 11 125.00–127.00 $125.93 $791 -8.08
660–687 672 11 118.00–130.00 $124.43 $836 -2.26
720–732 726 10 118.00–120.00 $118.99 $864 -6.08
796 value added 796 23 129.50 $129.50 $1,031 -8.85
825 825 3 120.00 $120.00 $990 —
843 value added 843 56 138.70 $138.70 $1,169 -1.30
853–891 value added 859 73 131.00–134.50 $133.90 $1,150 —
930–939 value added 936 145 130.90–132.90 $132.15 $1,237 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
745 745 5 110.00 $110.00 $820 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 value added 360 4 155.00 $155.00 $558 —
405 405 4 132.00 $132.00 $535 +5.60
450–495 475 22 122.00–129.00 $125.36 $595 +0.49
523 523 18 122.00 $122.00 $638 +5.13
567–572 569 15 122.00–127.00 $124.88 $711 +2.43
600–608 603 7 103.00–119.00 $109.91 $663 -5.00
652–653 652 11 110.00–117.00 $112.82 $736 -2.55
723 723 5 113.00 $113.00 $817 +0.93

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–479 465 18 145.00–155.00 $150.83 $701 +7.84
540 540 9 140.00 $140.00 $756 +8.31
553–560 557 12 122.00–126.00 $123.99 $691 -6.48
615 615 5 117.00 $117.00 $720 -3.00
670 670 5 110.00 $110.00 $737 -1.00
740 740 2 112.00 $112.00 $829 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1200 1140 80-85% 5 46.00–47.00 $46.19 $527 —
1100–1300 1198 80-85% 11 48.00–54.00 $51.02 $611 —
1400–1600 1467 80-85% 3 57.00–58.50 $57.95 $850 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–850 825 85-90% 4 32.00–35.00 $33.45 $276 —
800–1200 980 85-90% 8 39.00–44.00 $42.26 $414 —
1100–1200 1150 85-90% 4 51.00–52.00 $51.52 $592 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1600 1475 75-80% 4 57.00–59.00 $57.47 $848 —
1250–1650 1507 75-80% 7 52.00–55.00 $53.85 $812 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650–2200 1821 7 77.00–80.00 $78.17 $1,423 —
1750–2200 1975 2 81.00–84.00 $82.33 $1,626 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
980 980 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
1210 1210 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 825.00 $825.00
1300–1535 1418 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 725.00–850.00 $792.68

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1530 1530 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 950.00 $950.00 —

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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.