Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, March 19, 2021

789 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 $120.80/cwt ≈ $1,194/hd at 988 lb · 157 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $123.06/cwt +1.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,068/hd at 868 lb · 114 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $142.71/cwt +8.79 vs last sale · ≈ $982/hd at 688 lb · 106 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 789 979 638
Feeder cattle 747 914 593
Slaughter cattle 34 60 45
Replacement cattle 8 5 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves sold steady. Yearling steers and heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower. 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
400–425 407 11 169.00–178.00 $174.10 $709 +19.24
450 450 5 176.00 $176.00 $792 +20.20
510 value added 510 3 154.00 $154.00 $785 -4.80
545 545 3 138.00 $138.00 $752 -2.59
555–565 value added 558 97 146.00–156.00 $147.22 $821 +0.43
573 573 6 136.00 $136.00 $779 +1.44
605 605 3 140.00 $140.00 $847 +8.51
610–620 value added 615 6 143.00–144.00 $143.50 $883 -8.42
674–695 value added 688 106 138.75–144.75 $142.71 $982 +11.06
715 715 2 135.00 $135.00 $965 +10.77
712–728 value added 722 5 126.00–134.50 $129.35 $934 +0.93
750–782 value added 755 23 127.00–128.00 $127.87 $965 -0.73
795 795 2 120.00 $120.00 $954 ±0.00
815–840 value added 834 9 110.00–119.00 $117.99 $984 -4.38
867–869 value added 868 114 122.25–123.80 $123.06 $1,068 +1.21
988 value added 988 157 120.80 $120.80 $1,194 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 5 138.00 $138.00 $497 +13.12
417 417 2 125.00 $125.00 $521 +1.46
500–531 514 19 125.00–135.00 $131.43 $676 +13.14
573–595 584 12 125.00–130.00 $127.55 $745 +4.83
617 617 4 114.00 $114.00 $703 +1.08
649 value added 649 6 126.00 $126.00 $818 +5.40
685 685 3 105.00 $105.00 $719 -3.36
705–725 715 12 105.00–110.00 $107.47 $768 +1.35
855 855 11 101.00–106.00 $103.73 $887 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–310 304 9 140.00–150.00 $145.47 $442 —
425–430 428 10 157.00–165.00 $161.02 $689 +9.28
490 490 6 154.00 $154.00 $755 +8.90
540 540 3 134.00 $134.00 $724 -3.00
635 635 5 115.00 $115.00 $730 -12.88
900–940 924 5 89.50–98.00 $94.69 $875 -4.31
950 950 2 87.00 $87.00 $826 —
1000 1000 2 84.50–86.00 $85.25 $852 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1410 1266 75-80% 12 52.50–58.00 $55.09 $697 -0.20
1205–1430 1323 75-80% 6 57.00–59.50 $58.48 $774 -1.67
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1110 1028 80-85% 2 51.00–57.00 $54.24 $558 —
990–1335 1202 80-85% 12 53.00–56.00 $53.87 $648 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 85-90% 1 49.00 $49.00 $539 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600–1800 1667 3 87.00–90.00 $88.68 $1,478 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1385 1385 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 975.00 $975.00

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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
1060–1740 1287 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,085.00–1,275.00 $1,170.65 —

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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.