Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, January 29, 2021

642 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.51/cwt ≈ $868/hd at 703 lb · 88 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.52/cwt +19.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,087/hd at 814 lb · 66 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.00/cwt +16.00 vs last sale · ≈ $979/hd at 777 lb · 58 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 642 360 599
Feeder cattle 619 303 566
Slaughter cattle 23 42 33
Replacement cattle 15

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves sold mostly steady to 2.00 lower. Yearling steers and heifers sold steady with a softer undertone. Slaughter cows and bulls steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 163.00 $163.00 $538 -39.50
375–388 384 8 160.00–173.00 $167.74 $644 -30.94
395 value added 395 3 177.50 $177.50 $701
425–435 430 5 159.00–179.00 $173.83 $747 +1.46
465–470 468 6 142.00–155.00 $150.70 $705 -21.02
471 value added 471 6 165.00 $165.00 $777
535 535 2 139.00 $139.00 $744 -1.07
545 value added 545 3 143.00 $143.00 $779
555–575 563 4 135.00–140.00 $137.98 $777 +1.35
583 value added 583 10 130.00 $130.00 $758
645 645 2 126.00 $126.00 $813
655–681 674 8 110.00–131.00 $120.12 $810 -8.47
675–695 value added 685 42 127.50–135.75 $131.69 $902
717 717 5 123.00 $123.00 $882 +1.01
763–780 value added 766 29 115.00–124.75 $122.86 $941
805 805 1 115.00 $115.00 $926 +1.00
814 value added 814 65 133.80 $133.80 $1,089
865 865 1 110.00 $110.00 $952
900 value added 900 56 130.00 $130.00 $1,170
989 value added 989 54 122.80 $122.80 $1,214 +12.80

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–385 370 4 129.00–131.00 $130.04 $481 -4.96
402–415 408 7 124.00–125.00 $124.44 $508 +0.07
450–475 456 6 115.00–128.00 $118.77 $542 +2.77
515–535 531 10 118.00–132.00 $127.84 $679 +8.05
552–595 571 6 122.00–129.00 $124.83 $713 +9.04
600–615 605 3 110.00–122.00 $117.93 $713 +6.65
686 value added 686 3 120.00 $120.00 $823
701–718 value added 703 87 104.00–126.75 $123.55 $869
710 710 1 120.00 $120.00 $852
777 value added 777 58 126.00 $126.00 $979

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 2 168.00 $168.00 $630 +8.00
435–445 439 8 168.00–180.00 $173.24 $761
465–497 488 7 155.00–161.00 $156.63 $764 -5.57
530 530 3 139.00 $139.00 $737 +4.00
557–580 563 10 124.00–141.00 $132.53 $746 -2.47
625 625 1 119.00 $119.00 $744 -1.43
667–695 676 6 114.00–121.00 $118.60 $802 +2.60
750 750 2 108.00 $108.00 $810
915 915 2 99.00 $99.00 $906

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Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1740 1329 75-80% 7 52.00–57.50 $55.59 $739
1210–1465 1338 75-80% 2 50.00–51.00 $50.55 $676
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975 975 85-90% 2 30.50 $30.50 $297
980 980 85-90% 1 30.50 $30.50 $299
1205 1205 85-90% 1 45.00 $45.00 $542
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1290 1183 80-85% 4 52.00–57.00 $54.15 $641 +3.28

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1900–2100 2000 2 85.00–88.00 $86.43 $1,729

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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.