Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, January 22, 2021

360 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $138.88/cwt +30.88 vs last sale · ≈ $979/hd at 705 lb · 87 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $171.72/cwt +17.95 vs last sale · ≈ $800/hd at 466 lb · 21 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $198.68/cwt +15.12 vs last sale · ≈ $743/hd at 374 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 360 970 950
Feeder cattle 303 921 891
Slaughter cattle 42 45 45
Replacement cattle 15 4 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer calves sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher with good demand. Feeder heifers sold firm. Yearling steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. 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
270 270 4 159.00 $159.00 $429 -1.00
340 340 3 202.50 $202.50 $688 +46.94
360–397 374 18 190.00–205.00 $198.68 $743 +15.12
430–435 value added 432 10 185.00 $185.00 $799 —
410–440 433 4 170.00–180.00 $172.37 $746 -9.47
450–490 466 21 156.00–185.00 $171.72 $800 +17.95
500 value added 500 3 156.00 $156.00 $780 +14.36
515–549 546 12 139.90–142.00 $140.07 $765 +2.45
565–580 570 6 132.00–139.00 $136.63 $779 +16.63
610–618 value added 614 6 136.00–138.00 $137.01 $841 —
655–676 667 12 128.00–129.00 $128.59 $858 +9.69
702–704 value added 704 84 131.00–139.90 $139.48 $982 —
720–725 723 3 120.00–126.00 $121.99 $882 +13.99
750 750 2 122.00 $122.00 $915 —
835 835 1 114.00 $114.00 $952 —
982 value added 982 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,080 +14.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 4 135.00 $135.00 $493 +1.50
425–435 429 13 120.00–127.00 $124.37 $534 +2.37
470 470 3 116.00 $116.00 $545 -2.90
506–527 516 16 118.00–122.00 $119.79 $618 +6.54
550–571 561 11 110.00–123.00 $115.79 $650 +3.28
610–645 624 5 106.00–115.00 $111.28 $694 +8.07
680–695 686 7 92.00–104.00 $97.21 $667 -10.21
760 760 3 110.00 $110.00 $836 +8.00
805 805 5 96.00 $96.00 $773 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 2 160.00 $160.00 $496 +14.38
395 395 5 160.00 $160.00 $632 +4.58
467–490 481 15 160.00–165.00 $162.20 $780 +18.16
545 545 2 135.00 $135.00 $736 +8.35
565 565 4 135.00 $135.00 $763 +19.82
600–635 621 8 115.00–126.00 $120.43 $748 +13.49
660 660 3 116.00 $116.00 $766 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1665 1430 75-80% 4 51.00–55.00 $53.62 $767 —
1180–1630 1436 75-80% 7 57.00–63.00 $60.18 $864 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1300 1178 80-85% 7 43.00–54.00 $50.87 $599 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 85-90% 1 21.00 $21.00 $178 —
945–1100 1023 85-90% 2 38.00–42.00 $40.15 $411 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1710–2000 1855 2 85.00–89.00 $86.84 $1,611 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
920 920 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
975 975 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 635.00 $635.00
910–1225 1086 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 700.00–1,085.00 $821.11
1100–1485 1311 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 850.00–1,100.00 $945.54
1380–1450 1415 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 710.00–800.00 $756.11

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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.