Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, July 23, 2021

842 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 $136.23/cwt +1.93 vs last sale · ≈ $1,232/hd at 904 lb · 244 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.10/cwt +5.43 vs last sale · ≈ $1,143/hd at 810 lb · 76 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $140.87/cwt -0.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,252/hd at 889 lb · 73 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 842 1,514 1,450
Feeder cattle 793 1,329 1,409
Slaughter cattle 45 165 32
Replacement cattle 4 20 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifers sold steady. Yearling steers and heifers mostly steady. Slaughter cows and bulls firm.

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
410–440 425 10 175.00–176.00 $175.52 $746 +16.52
450–455 452 5 157.50–174.00 $167.36 $756 —
582 value added 582 7 160.00 $160.00 $931 +6.00
637 value added 637 9 161.00 $161.00 $1,026 -7.78
650–690 677 10 138.00–145.00 $142.87 $967 +2.25
701 value added 701 8 145.50 $145.50 $1,020 —
772–780 value added 775 14 139.56–140.50 $139.97 $1,085 —
810 value added 810 76 141.10 $141.10 $1,143 +3.10
885 885 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,159 -2.00
889–895 value added 889 72 134.50–141.40 $141.01 $1,254 -0.30
900–908 value added 904 244 133.10–140.00 $136.23 $1,232 +1.93
982 value added 982 60 137.50 $137.50 $1,350 -0.43
1029 value added 1029 55 132.60 $132.60 $1,364 -2.34
1062 value added 1062 56 131.00 $131.00 $1,391 +1.50
1103 value added 1103 55 126.20 $126.20 $1,392 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402 402 4 141.00 $141.00 $567 +3.62
490 490 4 138.00 $138.00 $676 +0.23
525 value added 525 6 152.00 $152.00 $798 —
543 543 6 145.00 $145.00 $787 +0.30
570 570 4 132.00 $132.00 $752 +1.60
615 615 3 122.00 $122.00 $750 -3.53
616–626 value added 621 21 139.50–140.50 $139.98 $869 —
655 value added 655 5 130.00 $130.00 $852 -14.20
680–685 682 9 126.00–133.00 $129.88 $886 +3.88
710–720 714 8 120.00–127.00 $124.35 $888 —
760–780 769 7 117.00–119.00 $118.13 $908 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 2 153.00 $153.00 $673 -9.40
525 525 5 141.00 $141.00 $740 -10.19
550 550 5 145.00 $145.00 $798 -0.30
600–630 618 12 128.00–137.00 $130.85 $809 -11.30
675 675 5 125.00 $125.00 $844 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875 875 85-90% 1 44.00 $44.00 $385 —
870–995 912 85-90% 3 55.00–59.00 $57.54 $525 +3.54
1055–1250 1153 85-90% 2 65.00–66.00 $65.46 $755 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1685 1512 75-80% 3 67.00–68.00 $67.65 $1,023 -6.23
1375–1825 1660 75-80% 3 69.50–77.00 $72.94 $1,211 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1175 1108 80-85% 4 71.00–78.00 $74.65 $827 —
1275 1275 80-85% 1 65.50 $65.50 $835 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420–1750 1550 3 90.50–101.50 $97.66 $1,514 —
1830–2115 1973 2 109.50–110.00 $109.77 $2,166 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1560 1560 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00

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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.