Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 8, 2021

950 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.28/cwt +16.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,338/hd at 890 lb · 101 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $150.84/cwt +27.43 vs last sale · ≈ $889/hd at 590 lb · 99 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $145.44/cwt +6.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,350/hd at 928 lb · 91 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 950 977 893
Feeder cattle 790 872 868
Slaughter cattle 135 99 25
Replacement cattle 25 6 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady-1.00 higher; Yearling steers sold steady-1.00 Higher with good demand, feeder heifers sold steady-1.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady-1.00 lower, Slaughter bulls sold 1.00-2.00 lower. There was moderate demand for weaned feeder cattle, lower demand for non-weaned 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
325 325 1 155.00 $155.00 $504 —
380 380 1 155.00 $155.00 $589 —
400 400 1 155.00 $155.00 $620 -0.41
480 480 1 150.00 $150.00 $720 -9.79
510 510 1 128.00 $128.00 $653 -13.77
502–527 520 21 131.00–156.00 $149.30 $776 +7.53
565–595 580 2 131.00–137.00 $134.08 $778 -12.81
620–642 626 22 132.00–140.50 $137.87 $863 +2.98
652–685 669 4 130.00–132.00 $130.98 $876 -3.80
687 value added 687 77 157.30 $157.30 $1,081 —
705 705 1 127.00 $127.00 $895 -10.05
720 720 1 116.00 $116.00 $835 -21.05
738 value added 738 38 152.00 $152.00 $1,122 —
775–785 780 2 130.00–142.00 $136.04 $1,061 +6.04
784 value added 784 19 146.75 $146.75 $1,151 —
802 value added 802 42 142.50 $142.50 $1,143 -7.56
805–846 830 6 120.00–139.50 $132.87 $1,103 -0.13
866–896 value added 890 99 145.25–152.00 $150.65 $1,341 —
895 895 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,181 -2.25
923–945 924 37 131.00–139.25 $138.79 $1,282 —
931 value added 931 54 150.00 $150.00 $1,396 +11.10
964–998 value added 995 59 140.00–148.00 $147.34 $1,466 +2.64
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 125.00 $125.00 $469 —
450–475 461 4 130.00–132.50 $130.64 $602 —
600 600 1 101.00 $101.00 $606 —
700–745 723 2 100.00–121.00 $110.83 $801 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 2 136.00 $136.00 $326 —
317–347 332 4 120.00 $120.00 $398 -4.34
360–395 386 6 120.00–133.00 $124.12 $479 -8.55
407–445 427 11 115.00–124.00 $118.96 $508 -1.05
475–495 485 2 114.00–119.00 $116.55 $565 -5.90
500–535 514 20 120.00–139.00 $134.99 $694 +11.94
557–597 572 12 115.00–138.00 $127.92 $732 +4.51
592 value added 592 87 154.00 $154.00 $912 —
607 607 2 128.00 $128.00 $777 +19.90
656 656 3 123.00 $123.00 $807 +15.37
776 776 3 107.00 $107.00 $830 —
815 815 2 110.00 $110.00 $896 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 112.50 $112.50 $382 +8.56
355 355 1 111.00 $111.00 $394 +3.67
420 420 1 110.00 $110.00 $462 +9.33
490–492 491 3 100.00–110.00 $103.32 $507 +9.90
532 532 2 106.00 $106.00 $564 +3.72
550–595 577 4 103.00–112.00 $108.85 $628 +6.42
640 640 1 105.00 $105.00 $672 +7.36
650 650 1 100.00 $100.00 $650 -3.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 3 140.00 $140.00 $371 -7.33
310 310 2 150.00 $150.00 $465 +12.30
360–385 373 3 140.00–155.00 $145.02 $541 -1.12
430–440 436 10 140.00–150.00 $146.00 $637 -2.63
456 value added 456 3 164.00 $164.00 $748 -1.13
475–490 484 7 133.00–149.00 $140.62 $681 -6.19
503–540 514 11 120.00–150.00 $136.34 $701 +5.75
565–595 578 8 124.00–131.00 $126.36 $730 -3.94
605–645 631 7 118.00–128.00 $122.47 $773 -5.69
660–680 667 3 120.00–131.00 $127.26 $849 +5.42
740 740 1 110.00 $110.00 $814 -1.85
755 755 2 106.00 $106.00 $800 -10.00
890 890 1 93.00 $93.00 $828 —
950 950 1 86.00 $86.00 $817 -7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 114.00 $114.00 $564 -1.67
535–540 537 3 117.00–119.00 $117.67 $632 +11.41
810 810 1 91.00 $91.00 $737 -9.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1350 1177 80-85% 9 48.00–55.50 $52.89 $623 —
930–1390 1189 80-85% 35 56.00–63.00 $59.46 $707 —
1110–1285 1204 80-85% 4 64.00–76.00 $68.58 $826 +6.50
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1685 1484 75-80% 9 58.00–63.50 $61.39 $911 -0.85
1330–1665 1531 75-80% 17 64.00–70.00 $66.54 $1,019 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865–1040 964 85-90% 6 46.00–52.00 $48.69 $469 —
965–1050 993 85-90% 5 53.00–59.00 $55.88 $555 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415–1895 1591 9 83.50–88.00 $86.50 $1,376 —
1440–2620 2030 2 74.00–76.50 $74.89 $1,520 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1190 1190 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1025–1410 1255 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 635.00–910.00 $822.03
1115–1470 1285 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 735.00–900.00 $802.86
1240–1375 1287 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 925.00–950.00 $936.26

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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
1100–1250 1175 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 975.00–1,185.00 $1,073.30 —
1000–1450 1225 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 4 960.00–1,200.00 $1,055.51 —
1150–1525 1281 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,060.00–1,325.00 $1,197.90 +47.90
1050–1500 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,025.00–1,285.00 $1,172.69 —
1200–1400 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,300.00–1,375.00 $1,334.62 —

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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.