Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 29, 2021

975 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 $149.71/cwt +21.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,379/hd at 921 lb · 203 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.05/cwt -0.31 vs last sale · ≈ $1,331/hd at 881 lb · 178 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.98/cwt -0.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,277/hd at 835 lb · 162 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 975 1,267 426
Feeder cattle 890 1,058 377
Slaughter cattle 60 119 45
Replacement cattle 25 90 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady; Yearling steers sold steady with good demand, feeder heifers sold steady. Slaughter cows sold steady, Slaughter bulls sold steady. There was good 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
210 210 2 180.00 $180.00 $378 —
325–345 335 4 160.00–182.50 $168.89 $566 —
360–390 375 2 170.00–182.50 $176.00 $660 +5.62
385 fancy 385 1 185.00 $185.00 $712 -2.50
405–430 418 3 170.00–175.00 $172.47 $721 +7.44
460–485 469 7 150.00–168.00 $161.32 $757 +4.24
507–535 514 7 140.00–164.00 $159.29 $819 +7.63
555–560 556 6 140.00–155.00 $152.48 $848 +7.50
600–649 640 9 140.00–144.00 $141.09 $903 +3.59
690 690 1 137.00 $137.00 $945 +10.01
817–844 value added 835 161 151.20–156.90 $153.11 $1,278 -0.50
835 835 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,102 —
876–889 value added 881 178 145.00–154.50 $151.05 $1,331 -0.31
900–933 value added 921 182 149.40–152.00 $150.84 $1,389 —
916–929 924 21 139.50–140.50 $139.88 $1,292 +11.39
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 125.00 $125.00 $681 -10.00
590 590 1 126.00 $126.00 $743 ±0.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 2 135.00 $135.00 $371 +7.50
320–335 330 3 125.00–133.00 $130.41 $430 +10.41
350–395 368 10 129.00–140.00 $133.93 $493 +10.16
410–446 430 9 120.00–130.00 $124.72 $536 +0.56
450–490 461 13 121.00–133.00 $127.83 $589 -0.69
500–547 525 19 114.00–138.00 $126.24 $663 -2.33
551–585 564 10 120.00–136.00 $128.71 $726 +2.61
615–637 627 6 115.00–125.00 $122.32 $767 +0.82
680–690 685 2 106.00–110.00 $107.99 $740 -7.01
750–783 775 4 105.00 $105.00 $814 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 102.50 $102.50 $272 -2.50
390 390 1 115.00 $115.00 $448 —
425 425 1 115.00 $115.00 $489 +1.29
455–490 474 6 92.50–116.00 $111.21 $527 +2.12
537 537 2 115.00 $115.00 $618 +9.27
760 760 1 107.00 $107.00 $813 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–282 280 3 140.00–167.50 $149.01 $417 -1.62
300 fancy 300 1 185.00 $185.00 $555 —
310 310 1 162.50 $162.50 $504 —
385 385 1 152.00 $152.00 $585 +12.00
411–440 421 6 153.00–167.50 $163.26 $687 +19.54
450–475 463 9 144.00–161.00 $157.33 $728 +25.94
505–533 517 11 143.00–160.00 $154.04 $796 +18.27
555–587 576 3 135.00–140.00 $138.40 $797 +1.60
610–640 624 11 119.00–136.00 $128.16 $800 +1.17
650–690 668 5 119.00–134.00 $128.30 $857 +8.78
720 720 1 104.00 $104.00 $749 -5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 85.00 $85.00 $450 -35.00
575–580 578 2 114.00–130.00 $122.03 $705 +16.03
695 695 1 108.00 $108.00 $751 —
760–785 773 2 78.00–100.00 $89.18 $689 —
800 800 1 80.00 $80.00 $640 —
855 855 1 90.00 $90.00 $770 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1410 1200 80-85% 12 51.50–57.50 $54.72 $657 -6.20
1120–1300 1228 80-85% 6 59.00–66.50 $60.72 $746 -0.20
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1790 1420 75-80% 9 54.00–59.50 $57.50 $816 —
1310–1800 1538 75-80% 4 60.50–63.50 $62.36 $959 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–930 878 85-90% 2 42.50–45.50 $43.91 $386 —
1025 1025 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $492 -0.37

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540 1540 1 77.50 $77.50 $1,194 —
1900–1925 1913 2 87.50–89.00 $88.25 $1,688 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1220 1220 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 66.50 $66.50 $811

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115–1285 1186 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 600.00–1,085.00 $846.51

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1220 1220 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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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
1050–1200 1133 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 3 775.00–1,035.00 $912.43 —
1050–1300 1175 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 950.00–1,175.00 $1,050.53 —
1200–1400 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 860.00–985.00 $927.31 -140.28
1350 1350 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 2 85.00 $85.00 $468 —
675–689 688 13 71.00–98.00 $95.96 $660 —
849 849 10 90.75 $90.75 $770 —

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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.