Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 30, 2020

426 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $131.00/cwt +10.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,284/hd at 980 lb · 103 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $137.00/cwt +6.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,164/hd at 850 lb · 61 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.60/cwt +19.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,254/hd at 925 lb · 55 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 426 694 741
Feeder cattle 377 605 520
Slaughter cattle 45 75 81
Replacement cattle 4 14 140

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves steady. Yearling steers and heifers firm with a stronger undertone. 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
255–280 270 5 155.00–165.00 $158.78 $429 —
395 395 5 144.00–150.00 $145.20 $574 -14.80
450 450 3 164.00 $164.00 $738 +19.00
508–531 517 18 130.00–139.00 $134.11 $693 -4.28
820–835 830 3 114.00–115.00 $114.33 $949 -6.67
850 value added 850 61 137.00 $137.00 $1,164 +6.99
925 value added 925 55 135.60 $135.60 $1,254 —
980 value added 980 103 131.00 $131.00 $1,284 +9.40

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
352–380 364 10 122.00–128.00 $124.19 $452 +1.69
400–427 415 7 123.00–129.00 $125.48 $521 +3.64
450–468 461 8 116.00–122.00 $118.20 $545 -12.98
508–520 512 15 120.00–127.00 $123.16 $631 +0.35
514 value added 514 8 128.00 $128.00 $658 —
604 value added 604 13 121.00–124.50 $122.88 $742 —
600–622 615 7 112.00–120.00 $116.58 $717 +5.42
650–697 677 7 105.00–109.00 $107.35 $727 —
705–745 718 8 94.00–102.00 $96.82 $695 -9.18
855 855 3 87.00 $87.00 $744 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 3 155.00 $155.00 $496 —
350–390 367 7 142.00–150.00 $147.57 $542 -14.00
430–435 432 5 135.00–145.00 $140.97 $609 -5.51
455–490 465 9 135.00–155.00 $146.81 $683 +4.69
505–540 519 13 115.00–132.00 $125.11 $649 -5.09
602–645 619 18 115.00–127.00 $122.32 $757 -1.34
688 688 6 124.00 $124.00 $853 +5.94

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1120 963 85-90% 3 47.00–50.00 $48.84 $470 —
800–1195 1017 85-90% 10 38.00–49.00 $43.63 $444 +1.33
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1695 1404 75-80% 4 57.00–61.00 $58.97 $828 —
1220–1655 1485 75-80% 5 54.00–56.00 $54.91 $815 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1590 1275 80-85% 2 51.00–56.00 $52.88 $674 -8.13
1465 1465 80-85% 1 57.00 $57.00 $835 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 1 71.00 $71.00 $934 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1355 1355 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.