Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 17, 2021

766 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 $154.98/cwt -4.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,327/hd at 856 lb · 178 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $153.91/cwt -4.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,298/hd at 843 lb · 67 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $156.29/cwt +16.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,204/hd at 771 lb · 64 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 766 1,941 768
Feeder cattle 723 1,848 660
Slaughter cattle 37 72 83
Replacement cattle 6 21 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold unevenly steady; Yearling steers sold steady, feeder heifers sold steady. Slaughter cows sold steady-1.00 higher, Slaughter bulls sold steady. There was good demand for all 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
330 330 2 160.00–167.50 $163.75 $540 -23.75
440 440 2 183.00 $183.00 $805 +15.75
475 value added 475 4 208.00 $208.00 $988 —
477–485 481 2 177.00–178.00 $177.50 $854 +6.50
505–524 value added 520 10 176.00–181.00 $176.97 $920 —
500–542 528 8 153.00–163.00 $160.90 $850 -7.55
550–582 567 19 141.00–161.00 $158.16 $897 +22.18
620–645 633 16 133.00–147.00 $138.81 $879 -2.87
655–680 668 2 140.00–141.00 $140.49 $938 -2.91
705–720 711 8 120.00–137.00 $127.70 $908 -9.29
760–770 763 3 128.00–137.00 $131.65 $1,004 -4.07
771 value added 771 61 157.50 $157.50 $1,214 +4.50
805 805 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,095 -11.32
845 value added 845 64 154.75 $154.75 $1,308 -2.72
850–864 value added 856 178 154.90–155.10 $154.98 $1,327 -4.52
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 137.00 $137.00 $747 -11.64
550–597 584 4 133.00–135.00 $134.02 $783 +15.02
615 615 1 130.00 $130.00 $800 -0.02
652–685 663 8 115.00–129.00 $121.16 $803 -3.75
703–725 709 4 117.00–120.00 $117.77 $835 -8.91
760 760 1 129.00 $129.00 $980 +19.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 132.50 $132.50 $358 +3.25
315–340 328 2 130.00–137.50 $133.61 $438 +5.01
377–386 383 6 131.00–133.00 $131.66 $504 -9.63
400–442 420 10 125.00–137.00 $130.16 $547 -3.97
454–485 463 13 125.00–141.00 $134.52 $623 +3.27
505–535 value added 509 7 144.00–149.00 $148.25 $755 —
500–545 514 19 120.00–141.00 $132.17 $679 +6.15
550–583 565 27 122.50–140.00 $132.09 $746 +4.93
600–602 value added 601 4 141.00–144.00 $142.50 $856 —
602–635 614 15 121.00–136.00 $132.00 $810 +11.95
650–673 668 5 115.00–120.00 $115.97 $775 -3.25
710 710 1 109.00 $109.00 $774 -9.97
760–770 767 3 105.00–119.00 $110.68 $849 -8.47
807–835 824 5 98.00–107.00 $101.45 $836 -8.55
875 875 1 102.00 $102.00 $892 -12.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465–485 475 2 107.50–121.00 $114.11 $542 -5.36
555–585 570 5 110.00–115.00 $112.01 $638 -1.60
655 655 1 103.00 $103.00 $675 -8.70
725 725 3 105.00 $105.00 $761 -1.74
755 755 1 105.00 $105.00 $793 +3.00
800 800 1 90.00 $90.00 $720 -4.67
850 850 1 97.00 $97.00 $824 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 2 150.00–170.00 $160.00 $648 +2.07
400–445 fancy 435 14 180.00–209.00 $193.92 $844 +0.81
450–462 fancy 455 5 190.00–191.00 $190.41 $866 —
450–475 465 3 152.00–175.00 $165.88 $771 —
515–525 fancy 521 7 160.00–174.00 $168.96 $880 —
530 530 1 130.00 $130.00 $689 -16.79
570–590 579 4 126.00–138.00 $131.71 $763 -7.56
600–617 611 3 110.00–128.00 $122.11 $746 -2.63
670–675 673 2 120.00–124.00 $122.01 $821 ±0.00
750–775 765 3 101.00–112.00 $108.07 $827 -10.75
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 137.50 $137.50 $578 +15.50
495 495 1 145.00 $145.00 $718 +2.52
590 590 1 110.00 $110.00 $649 -10.46
693 693 3 110.00 $110.00 $762 -1.98
850 850 1 100.00 $100.00 $850 ±0.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1355 1158 80-85% 14 51.00–58.50 $55.15 $639 —
1110–1340 1225 80-85% 2 43.00–48.00 $45.73 $560 -0.32
1270–1580 1382 80-85% 3 60.50–62.00 $60.97 $843 +5.13
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1475–1530 1503 75-80% 2 58.50–61.50 $60.03 $902 +11.63
1320–1920 1584 75-80% 4 55.00–57.00 $55.88 $885 +3.93
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1020 1005 85-90% 2 55.50–56.00 $55.75 $560 —
960–1095 1038 85-90% 3 36.00–41.50 $39.40 $409 -4.61

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1720 1530 2 82.50–84.00 $83.16 $1,272 —
2190–2210 2200 2 90.00–97.50 $93.77 $2,063 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1175 1175 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,085.00 $1,085.00

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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
1025 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —

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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.