Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, September 17, 2021

1,073 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 $142.62/cwt -3.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,317/hd at 924 lb · 427 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.52/cwt -4.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,399/hd at 968 lb · 121 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.17/cwt -5.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,007/hd at 684 lb · 77 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,073 1,362 1,153
Feeder cattle 1,040 1,336 1,063
Slaughter cattle 33 25 90
Replacement cattle — 1 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold Steady; Yearling steers sold 1.00-2.00 lower with good demand, feeder heifers sold steady with good demand. Slaughter cows sold steady, Slaughter bulls sold steady. There was good demand for all classes of feeder cattle, with moderate offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in yearling steer cattle and cattle with favorable condition.

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
365 365 1 175.00 $175.00 $639 —
420–440 429 5 150.00–177.50 $166.57 $715 +1.57
525 value added 525 1 163.00 $163.00 $856 —
565 565 1 153.00 $153.00 $864 -3.98
569 value added 569 7 159.00 $159.00 $905 —
642 642 2 147.00 $147.00 $944 +1.53
685 685 2 135.00 $135.00 $925 -11.46
713 713 5 142.00 $142.00 $1,012 +0.42
765–770 765 11 135.00–141.00 $140.45 $1,074 -5.08
785 value added 785 60 153.60 $153.60 $1,206 —
802 value added 802 61 148.75 $148.75 $1,193 -4.27
807 807 12 140.00 $140.00 $1,130 +4.00
872 value added 872 17 141.50 $141.50 $1,234 —
885 885 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,150 —
904 904 5 124.00 $124.00 $1,121 -4.00
904–949 value added 924 422 135.40–147.50 $142.84 $1,320 -7.86
962 962 12 126.50 $126.50 $1,217 —
969 value added 969 109 146.50 $146.50 $1,420 -2.46
1001 value added 1001 55 137.70 $137.70 $1,378 —
1045 1045 15 129.00 $129.00 $1,348 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 125.00 $125.00 $744 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–347 343 3 130.00–135.00 $131.63 $451 —
401–447 416 6 149.00–152.00 $150.93 $628 +5.93
475–480 478 3 141.00–150.00 $147.02 $703 +5.00
505–545 515 11 124.00–148.00 $140.67 $724 -0.99
555–595 574 5 125.00–141.00 $131.86 $757 +1.54
605–640 614 7 128.00–134.00 $131.98 $810 +8.45
655–680 672 3 123.00–131.00 $126.61 $851 —
685 value added 685 74 148.00 $148.00 $1,014 -4.75
722–745 735 5 119.00–123.00 $120.82 $888 -0.88
800–812 810 5 115.00–120.00 $119.01 $964 +4.01
866–883 872 9 109.00–115.00 $112.97 $985 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 120.00 $120.00 $396 ±0.00
425–445 432 3 125.00 $125.00 $540 +2.94
485 485 1 125.00 $125.00 $606 -1.00
915 915 1 90.00 $90.00 $824 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 147.50 $147.50 $384 —
320 320 1 150.00 $150.00 $480 +7.50
355–380 368 2 167.50–175.00 $171.38 $631 —
475 475 1 151.00 $151.00 $717 -11.00
510–512 value added 511 3 161.00–165.00 $163.67 $836 —
510–538 522 8 146.00–158.00 $154.07 $804 +14.14
595 595 1 136.00 $136.00 $809 —
600–647 624 12 124.00–145.00 $131.28 $819 +2.50
665–672 670 3 120.00–126.00 $124.01 $831 -8.96
710 710 1 133.00 $133.00 $944 —
755 755 1 116.00 $116.00 $876 —
1020 1020 1 96.00 $96.00 $979 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 1 110.00 $110.00 $742 —
865 865 1 93.00 $93.00 $804 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1275 1150 80-85% 3 71.50–75.00 $72.46 $833 +12.96
1085–1335 1190 80-85% 4 63.50–68.00 $64.58 $769 +1.91
1300–1310 1305 80-85% 2 54.50–60.00 $57.24 $747 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1540 1437 75-80% 5 72.50–78.00 $74.90 $1,076 +9.35
1470–1670 1562 75-80% 3 68.00–69.00 $68.49 $1,070 -5.16
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055 1055 85-90% 1 53.00 $53.00 $559 -2.50
1050–1105 1073 85-90% 3 57.00–59.50 $58.48 $627 +2.98

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1765 1575 3 80.00–89.00 $84.98 $1,338 —
1320–1940 1685 7 91.00–96.50 $94.94 $1,600 —

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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.