Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 16, 2022

1,075 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $173.00/cwt +24.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,263/hd at 730 lb · 134 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $174.54/cwt +0.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,509/hd at 864 lb · 125 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $175.37/cwt +3.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,461/hd at 833 lb · 115 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,075 1,085 766
Feeder cattle 915 1,056 723
Slaughter cattle 95 29 37
Replacement cattle 65 — 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder heifer and steer calves sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher Yearlings sold steady. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher.

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
335 335 5 224.00 $224.00 $750 +50.50
350 350 5 215.00 $215.00 $752 +75.00
400–436 420 18 156.00–207.50 $177.70 $746 +20.70
465–475 472 16 165.00–181.00 $169.93 $802 -5.07
550–570 554 5 155.00–165.00 $157.06 $870 -11.61
585 value added 585 14 180.00 $180.00 $1,053 ±0.00
606 value added 606 7 165.00 $165.00 $1,000 +4.00
612–635 617 5 150.00–155.00 $151.03 $932 -3.82
651–690 value added 657 91 159.00–185.00 $180.57 $1,186 —
673–680 674 6 155.00–165.00 $163.32 $1,101 +5.43
728–732 value added 730 134 171.50–174.10 $173.00 $1,263 —
771 771 3 145.00 $145.00 $1,118 -5.00
821–845 value added 833 115 173.90–176.90 $175.37 $1,461 +3.27
850 850 5 142.00 $142.00 $1,207 —
865 value added 865 120 175.90 $175.90 $1,522 +1.63
920 920 3 130.00 $130.00 $1,196 —
1000 value added 1000 54 169.10 $169.10 $1,691 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
237 237 5 165.00 $165.00 $391 —
255 255 5 165.00 $165.00 $421 —
335 335 6 155.00 $155.00 $519 ±0.00
355–395 378 22 146.00–153.00 $149.24 $564 +3.42
435 435 5 160.00 $160.00 $696 +2.62
482 482 5 149.00 $149.00 $718 +8.58
530–531 530 18 128.00–136.00 $130.67 $693 -1.96
552–577 568 32 126.00–163.00 $146.72 $833 +11.22
600–635 621 11 109.00–120.00 $114.69 $712 -20.03
665–687 682 25 90.00–150.00 $109.69 $748 -24.61
740 740 4 121.00 $121.00 $895 -16.00
766–770 767 14 129.00–135.00 $131.15 $1,006 -5.85

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 5 187.50 $187.50 $712 +35.82
402–410 406 10 155.00–185.00 $170.15 $691 +6.71
455 455 16 182.00–191.00 $184.81 $841 +8.42
505–515 511 8 160.00–180.00 $167.41 $855 +18.51
568 568 4 165.00 $165.00 $937 +15.05
610–635 623 10 145.00–158.00 $151.37 $943 +4.41
655–690 676 14 125.00–142.00 $133.29 $901 —
762–782 769 14 115.00–119.00 $117.55 $904 -22.45
845 845 5 165.00 $165.00 $1,394 —
892 892 5 116.00 $116.00 $1,035 -7.83

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1350 1283 80-85% 9 67.00–75.00 $71.39 $916 +4.35
1185–1350 1303 80-85% 7 77.00–83.00 $80.01 $1,043 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1250 1220 75-80% 5 65.00–67.00 $65.36 $797 —
1250–1650 1441 75-80% 9 69.00–74.00 $70.10 $1,010 —
1700 1700 75-80% 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,360 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1100 1010 85-90% 10 62.00–67.00 $65.44 $661 —
1200 1200 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $840 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1550–1750 1618 6 99.00–103.00 $101.80 $1,647 —
1650–1950 1730 5 109.00–120.00 $112.62 $1,948 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1425 1190 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 12 1,090.00–1,535.00 $1,274.27
1055–1515 1302 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,325.00–1,460.00 $1,400.27

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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
1200–1520 1386 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 22 1,410.00–1,610.00 $1,488.59 —

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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.