Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 18, 2020

768 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 $133.34/cwt -1.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,220/hd at 915 lb · 178 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.06/cwt +0.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,135/hd at 834 lb · 131 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $114.59/cwt +2.25 vs last sale · ≈ $726/hd at 633 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 768 1,350 274
Feeder cattle 660 1,266 230
Slaughter cattle 83 79 41
Replacement cattle 25 5 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday: Feeder steers and heifers steady, Yearlings steady, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls steady, Moderate demand for 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
305–342 330 3 160.00–170.00 $163.08 $538 +18.08
428 value added 428 3 170.00 $170.00 $728 +1.97
430–440 437 17 150.00–163.00 $155.02 $677 -6.42
485–493 492 6 151.00–154.00 $153.51 $755 -1.44
494 value added 494 15 167.00 $167.00 $825 +17.43
521–543 value added 535 13 152.00–154.00 $153.25 $820 -2.24
545 545 1 144.00 $144.00 $785 -0.08
553 value added 553 16 156.50 $156.50 $865 +19.54
555–590 579 12 138.00–149.00 $140.51 $814 —
607 value added 607 5 134.00 $134.00 $813 ±0.00
632 632 5 129.00 $129.00 $815 +3.81
662–690 677 5 116.00–123.00 $119.04 $806 -5.32
700–716 713 25 119.75–124.00 $120.35 $858 —
775–785 780 2 120.00–124.00 $121.99 $952 +7.70
811 811 3 120.00 $120.00 $973 —
829–842 value added 835 128 136.10–136.80 $136.44 $1,139 +0.94
909–926 value added 915 177 133.40–133.60 $133.47 $1,221 -1.13
925 925 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,018 —
1055 1055 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,213 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 3 125.00 $125.00 $662 —
565–570 568 3 109.00–115.00 $110.99 $630 —
630–645 639 4 102.00–115.00 $111.50 $712 —
685 685 1 110.00 $110.00 $754 —
758–775 762 4 106.00–109.50 $108.61 $828 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,049 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 120.00 $120.00 $342 —
300–320 313 3 120.00–123.00 $120.96 $379 -4.62
360–392 380 6 130.00–137.00 $134.43 $511 +1.35
405–435 fancy 423 12 133.50–135.00 $133.82 $566 —
415–430 423 2 129.00–130.00 $129.51 $548 +10.63
455–497 480 22 119.00–130.00 $126.65 $608 +5.60
500–547 528 21 110.00–122.00 $118.29 $625 +2.09
550–590 574 13 110.00–120.00 $117.53 $675 +7.70
610–635 618 3 107.00–113.00 $109.05 $674 +6.05
635 fancy 635 25 115.25 $115.25 $732 —
655–695 671 4 96.00–106.00 $100.23 $673 +9.23
740 740 1 99.00 $99.00 $733 -0.26
870 870 1 84.00 $84.00 $731 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–390 373 2 110.00–118.00 $113.81 $425 —
590 590 2 105.00 $105.00 $620 —
650–655 653 2 90.00 $90.00 $588 —
865 865 1 74.00 $74.00 $640 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740 740 1 65.00 $65.00 $481 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–317 313 3 155.00–157.50 $156.69 $490 —
355–387 371 4 145.00–162.50 $153.37 $569 +2.01
420–435 430 5 151.00–160.00 $154.19 $663 +7.92
455–480 467 8 135.00–150.00 $147.22 $688 +0.65
500–548 530 9 145.00–151.00 $147.29 $781 +13.04
620–640 630 3 111.00–114.00 $112.32 $708 +4.79
700–735 716 5 95.00–110.00 $102.17 $732 —
752–765 757 4 87.00–98.00 $91.25 $691 -18.75
805 805 1 93.00 $93.00 $749 —
875 875 1 97.00 $97.00 $849 +11.94
985 985 1 86.00 $86.00 $847 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 117.50 $117.50 $364 —
475–495 488 3 110.00–115.00 $113.38 $553 —
562 562 2 105.00 $105.00 $590 —
610 610 1 99.00 $99.00 $604 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1445 1283 80-85% 36 46.00–54.50 $51.44 $660 —
1140–1445 1329 80-85% 10 55.00–59.00 $56.51 $751 +1.66
1340–1460 1388 80-85% 3 43.00–45.00 $44.03 $611 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1150 999 85-90% 11 34.00–45.00 $41.66 $416 —
945–1140 1064 85-90% 4 54.00–56.00 $55.09 $586 —
920–1155 1066 85-90% 9 48.00–53.50 $50.71 $541 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1575 1575 75-80% 1 42.00 $42.00 $662 —
1540–1660 1599 75-80% 6 47.00–54.50 $51.66 $826 —
1515–1720 1636 75-80% 4 55.00–61.50 $57.53 $941 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 1 79.00 $79.00 $976 —
1470–1680 1572 3 82.50–87.50 $84.61 $1,330 —
1490–1675 1583 2 93.00–94.50 $93.79 $1,485 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
895 895 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 400.00 $400.00
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 495.00 $495.00
995–1335 1167 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 700.00–1,100.00 $862.06
1150–1465 1291 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 825.00–1,150.00 $967.42
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1280 1110 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 500.00–635.00 $570.81
1070–1170 1120 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 585.00–625.00 $604.11

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
875 875 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00

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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
1275 1275 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 760.00 $760.00 —
1505–1540 1523 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,010.00 $1,010.00 —

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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.