Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 23, 2020

694 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $130.01/cwt -3.89 vs last sale · ≈ $1,131/hd at 870 lb · 126 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.42/cwt -4.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,121/hd at 840 lb · 67 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $120.92/cwt ≈ $1,163/hd at 961 lb · 67 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 694 1,030 1,218
Feeder cattle 605 875 1,023
Slaughter cattle 75 145 175
Replacement cattle 14 10 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves sold fully steady with good farmer demand. Yearling steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher.

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
381 value added 381 6 158.00 $158.00 $602 -24.00
385 385 2 160.00 $160.00 $616 -7.47
405–435 416 9 162.50–170.00 $165.48 $688 —
435 value added 435 3 155.00 $155.00 $674 —
477 value added 477 4 148.00 $148.00 $706 —
480 480 2 145.00 $145.00 $696 -15.00
535–537 536 10 133.00–142.00 $138.39 $742 —
565–575 570 8 130.00–134.00 $132.02 $753 -0.98
612–615 613 7 130.00–144.00 $139.99 $858 +14.06
613–636 value added 617 28 135.00–148.00 $144.59 $892 —
650–685 665 18 118.00–130.00 $121.68 $809 -2.75
665–675 value added 671 7 126.00–129.00 $127.27 $854 —
715–733 value added 728 22 127.75–132.00 $128.89 $938 —
730 730 3 120.00 $120.00 $876 +1.01
751 value added 751 43 133.10 $133.10 $1,000 —
760–795 771 4 116.00–126.00 $121.99 $941 —
812 812 2 121.00 $121.00 $983 +1.00
841 value added 841 65 133.80 $133.80 $1,125 -4.90
866–894 value added 870 126 120.00–131.95 $130.01 $1,131 -3.89
940 940 4 116.00 $116.00 $1,090 —
953–960 value added 959 61 117.00–122.10 $121.60 $1,166 —
986 986 6 114.00 $114.00 $1,124 —
1030 1030 4 102.00 $102.00 $1,051 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 4 122.00 $122.00 $405 —
358–380 366 8 117.00–126.00 $122.50 $448 —
400–440 422 9 112.00–129.00 $121.84 $514 -10.16
475–490 485 16 125.00–139.00 $131.18 $636 +5.82
500–545 523 23 118.00–127.00 $122.81 $642 +0.81
610–645 631 5 110.00–113.00 $111.16 $701 +1.25
731 731 3 106.00 $106.00 $775 -7.00
780 780 3 87.00 $87.00 $679 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 3 100.00 $100.00 $450 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 4 160.00 $160.00 $408 —
363–397 382 14 155.00–170.00 $161.57 $617 —
416–430 424 17 140.00–162.00 $146.48 $621 —
455–493 476 14 139.00–145.00 $142.12 $676 -8.71
505–525 517 10 126.00–136.00 $130.20 $673 -9.80
560–595 572 18 119.00–135.00 $128.44 $735 +4.45
602–645 622 12 112.00–127.00 $123.66 $769 +6.66
660–695 673 8 115.00–120.00 $118.06 $795 +8.06
750 750 2 95.00 $95.00 $712 —
805–820 815 6 85.00–95.00 $88.29 $720 —
965 965 2 87.00 $87.00 $840 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1535 1245 80-85% 13 51.00–55.00 $52.37 $652 —
990–1435 1251 80-85% 14 58.00–64.00 $61.01 $763 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1265 1243 75-80% 4 56.50–57.50 $57.01 $709 —
1145–1540 1363 75-80% 19 50.00–59.00 $56.47 $770 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1100 1000 85-90% 4 39.00–45.00 $42.30 $423 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1885 1739 4 89.50–95.50 $92.62 $1,611 —
1665–1980 1791 10 78.00–87.00 $83.64 $1,498 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1245 1245 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 650.00 $650.00
1325 1325 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 550.00 $550.00
1515 1515 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 715.00 $715.00

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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
1055 1055 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.