Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 4, 2020

1,441 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $134.28/cwt +3.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,040/hd at 774 lb · 220 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $130.30/cwt +4.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,264/hd at 970 lb · 174 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.48/cwt +0.18 vs last sale · ≈ $815/hd at 629 lb · 133 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,441 1,788 1,533
Feeder cattle 1,351 1,628 1,431
Slaughter cattle 75 115 97
Replacement cattle 15 45 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trend from last week due to holiday.

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
210 210 1 172.00 $172.00 $361 —
287 value added 287 2 187.50 $187.50 $538 —
290–295 292 3 163.00–180.00 $168.73 $493 +8.73
320 320 5 175.00 $175.00 $560 +5.00
350–390 370 4 162.00 $162.00 $599 -9.06
405 value added 405 1 172.00 $172.00 $697 —
410–436 421 25 156.00–168.00 $159.92 $673 -15.19
472 472 2 153.00 $153.00 $722 +8.22
503–529 value added 517 20 148.00–151.00 $150.24 $777 —
505–545 539 14 135.00–145.00 $136.34 $735 -7.06
580–585 583 5 130.00 $130.00 $758 +1.79
605–647 623 23 116.00–128.00 $126.15 $786 +4.07
651–675 667 26 124.00–129.50 $125.86 $839 -3.31
705–742 727 30 116.00–125.00 $123.29 $896 +3.38
760–785 773 70 125.00–138.95 $137.71 $1,064 +21.71
758–799 value added 775 150 130.90–134.00 $132.68 $1,028 +1.64
802–825 814 14 120.00–126.00 $122.78 $999 +6.98
868 value added 868 4 121.00 $121.00 $1,050 -13.03
926 value added 926 59 133.50 $133.50 $1,236 +4.10
955 955 3 120.00 $120.00 $1,146 —
956–977 value added 970 171 127.50–131.90 $130.48 $1,266 +4.42

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 332 10 112.00–131.00 $121.23 $402 +2.23
355 355 2 132.00 $132.00 $469 +4.99
400–427 410 16 112.00–127.00 $119.88 $492 -5.04
411–417 value added 414 9 132.00 $132.00 $546 —
450–485 463 18 121.00–146.00 $125.04 $579 +6.09
498 value added 498 14 135.00 $135.00 $672 —
511–530 value added 514 12 127.00–131.00 $127.69 $656 —
525–537 530 24 112.00–120.75 $118.10 $626 -1.00
554–590 562 33 106.00–116.00 $110.85 $623 -2.73
610–630 615 7 100.00–109.00 $105.97 $652 +9.30
627–636 value added 630 126 119.00–133.70 $130.79 $824 -2.96
677 value added 677 9 113.00 $113.00 $765 -15.40
660–693 681 15 103.00–116.00 $109.58 $746 +4.58
700–725 718 7 94.00–101.00 $95.95 $689 -13.05
738 value added 738 110 121.20 $121.20 $894 —
755–782 772 8 103.00–105.00 $103.73 $801 +8.73
870 870 2 88.00 $88.00 $766 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555–570 560 3 101.00 $101.00 $566 —
640 640 2 91.00 $91.00 $582 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 2 112.00 $112.00 $342 —
375 375 2 102.00 $102.00 $382 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 3 150.00 $150.00 $488 —
392 392 3 152.50 $152.50 $598 -15.35
420–445 433 6 150.00 $150.00 $650 -18.00
470–485 481 4 133.00–141.00 $134.95 $649 -6.69
505–530 516 23 128.00–147.00 $136.20 $703 -2.79
570–585 573 6 125.00–135.00 $130.49 $748 +5.49
685–695 690 5 103.00–110.00 $105.21 $726 -12.18
735 735 2 111.00 $111.00 $816 -3.14
795 795 4 110.00 $110.00 $874 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1340 1168 80-85% 15 47.00–50.00 $47.47 $554 —
1200–1335 1245 80-85% 3 53.00–55.00 $53.71 $669 +3.52
1365 1365 80-85% 2 45.00 $45.00 $614 -11.53
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150 1150 75-80% 1 44.00 $44.00 $506 —
1215–1535 1374 75-80% 8 47.00–53.00 $49.85 $685 -7.52
1400–1710 1566 75-80% 9 55.00–60.50 $57.45 $900 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–955 887 85-90% 3 31.00–32.00 $31.28 $277 —
870–1140 1043 85-90% 6 34.50–40.00 $36.71 $383 —
1100 1100 85-90% 2 46.00 $46.00 $506 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535 1535 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,213 -8.14
1535–2000 1764 8 89.00–102.50 $94.34 $1,664 —
1875 1875 1 65.50 $65.50 $1,228 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1130 1130 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 565.00–805.00 $645.00
1405 1405 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
1115 1115 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 725.00 $725.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
623 623 3 79.00 $79.00 $492 —

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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.