Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, September 29, 2023

1,344 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $251.88/cwt +18.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,996/hd at 792 lb · 168 head

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $252.97/cwt -18.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,620/hd at 640 lb · 74 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $215.25/cwt ≈ $1,888/hd at 877 lb · 63 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,344	1,147	993
Feeder cattle	1,183	1,077	862
Slaughter cattle	97	66	102
Replacement cattle	64	4	29

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder steers sold 4.00 to 6.00 lower with best demand being the weaned/preconditioned packages. Feeder heifers sold down 6.00 to 8.00. Feeder bulls sold down 3.00 to 5.00. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 2.00 lower across the board with the exception of a few high quality/high dressing animals. Supply included: 88% Feeder Cattle (60% Steers, 6% Dairy Steers, 24% Heifers, 9% Bulls, 0% Dairy Heifers); 7% Slaughter Cattle (91% Cows, 9% Bulls); 5% Replacement Cattle (39% Bred Cows, 61% Cow-Calf Pairs). Feeder cattle supply over 600 lbs was 74%.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
210–240	225	2	227.50	$227.50	$512	—
250 fancy	250	1	267.50	$267.50	$669	—
270	270	1	220.00	$220.00	$594	-45.00
425–430	427	3	230.00–245.00	$239.96	$1,025	-0.04
432–447 value added	443	10	250.00–267.50	$253.53	$1,123	—
471–482	474	7	222.50–237.50	$232.08	$1,100	—
477–478 value added	478	9	257.50–264.00	$262.56	$1,255	-12.44
510–543	531	12	217.50–238.00	$230.15	$1,222	-30.85
555–587	566	19	220.00–238.00	$230.91	$1,307	-24.09
585 value added	585	5	255.00	$255.00	$1,492	-19.00
600–645	626	18	217.50–232.50	$224.89	$1,408	—
645 value added	645	56	262.00	$262.00	$1,690	-9.07
667	667	2	220.00	$220.00	$1,467	-13.16
729	729	28	214.00	$214.00	$1,560	-26.61
752–792	772	4	214.00–231.00	$222.28	$1,716	-10.20
793 value added	793	164	252.60	$252.60	$2,003	+3.60
845 value added	845	59	247.50	$247.50	$2,091	+12.52
859 value added	859	41	233.00	$233.00	$2,001	—
865–870	867	3	210.00–230.00	$219.16	$1,900	+0.16
901–945	910	6	206.00–216.00	$209.06	$1,902	-0.89
911 value added	911	56	229.80	$229.80	$2,093	-4.54
950 value added	950	55	225.10	$225.10	$2,138	+1.54
950	950	1	200.00	$200.00	$1,900	—
1061	1061	13	190.00	$190.00	$2,016	-4.00
1083 value added	1083	56	217.75	$217.75	$2,358	—
1115	1115	1	194.00	$194.00	$2,163	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
305	305	1	217.50	$217.50	$663	—
355	355	1	180.00	$180.00	$639	-50.00
445	445	2	210.00	$210.00	$934	—
465	465	1	190.00	$190.00	$884	—
510	510	1	197.50	$197.50	$1,007	-23.74
580	580	2	191.00	$191.00	$1,108	—
670	670	1	173.00	$173.00	$1,159	-47.00
715–740	731	4	170.00–192.00	$176.07	$1,287	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
555–585	570	2	150.00–162.50	$156.41	$892	—
750	750	1	167.50	$167.50	$1,256	—
800	800	1	150.00	$150.00	$1,200	—
855–870	863	2	140.00–152.00	$145.95	$1,260	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
290	290	1	177.50	$177.50	$515	—
535	535	3	195.00	$195.00	$1,043	-5.00
705	705	1	165.00	$165.00	$1,163	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
575	575	1	217.50	$217.50	$1,251	—
652	652	2	190.00	$190.00	$1,239	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
390	390	1	192.50	$192.50	$751	-27.50
412	412	2	220.00	$220.00	$906	—
496	496	4	203.00	$203.00	$1,007	-19.51
521	521	14	231.00	$231.00	$1,204	-10.55
611	611	3	225.00	$225.00	$1,375	-1.18
725	725	1	171.00	$171.00	$1,240	—
877 value added	877	63	215.25	$215.25	$1,888	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
240	240	1	192.50	$192.50	$462	—
288	288	3	180.00	$180.00	$518	—
315	315	1	177.50	$177.50	$559	-37.50
385–396	394	7	180.00–200.00	$186.77	$736	-16.23
415–447	437	6	190.00–199.00	$196.21	$857	-4.79
452–495	478	11	179.00–200.00	$186.71	$892	-24.10
511–517	513	7	190.00–195.00	$193.56	$993	-22.93
585–597	590	6	167.00–177.00	$172.20	$1,016	-32.80
625	625	18	185.00	$185.00	$1,156	-18.68
655–690	665	4	162.50–169.00	$166.10	$1,105	-33.90
700–739	733	18	150.00–161.00	$160.20	$1,174	-24.13
750	750	2	138.00	$138.00	$1,035	-48.17
897	897	4	145.00	$145.00	$1,301	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
200	200	1	150.00	$150.00	$300	—
380	380	1	155.00	$155.00	$589	—
417–440	432	6	160.00–167.00	$162.79	$703	-15.21
455–495	475	5	157.50–170.00	$164.66	$782	-20.36
505–535	517	6	160.00–174.00	$169.89	$878	—
550	550	1	147.50	$147.50	$811	-31.50
615–630	623	2	140.00–150.00	$145.06	$904	-38.04
667–685	672	4	140.00–160.00	$149.92	$1,007	—
710	710	2	140.00	$140.00	$994	-37.50
842	842	2	147.00	$147.00	$1,238	—
930	930	1	130.00	$130.00	$1,209	—
1005	1005	1	76.00	$76.00	$764	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
340	340	1	171.00	$171.00	$581	—
420–445	425	7	165.00–187.50	$179.71	$764	—
455–485	462	9	163.00–187.50	$175.24	$810	—
525	525	1	167.50	$167.50	$879	—
570	570	1	170.00	$170.00	$969	—
610	610	1	156.00	$156.00	$952	—
650–685	662	3	150.00	$150.00	$993	—
720	720	1	140.00	$140.00	$1,008	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
502	502	2	203.00	$203.00	$1,019	—
581–585	583	5	188.00–200.00	$195.18	$1,138	-9.07
611	611	3	177.50	$177.50	$1,085	—
674	674	5	171.00	$171.00	$1,153	-10.00

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
430–445	438	2	140.00–150.00	$144.91	$635	—
453–490	466	6	141.00–147.50	$144.33	$673	—
540–545	543	2	130.00–155.00	$142.44	$773	—
725	725	1	120.00	$120.00	$870	-40.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
150	150	2	275.00	$275.00	—

Medium 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
625	625	1	153.00	$153.00	$956	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
225	225	2	245.00	$245.00	$551	—
265	265	2	230.00	$230.00	$610	—
360	360	1	237.50	$237.50	$855	-12.50
384–395 fancy	386	6	260.00–275.00	$262.56	$1,013	—
425	425	1	240.00	$240.00	$1,020	—
456–495	479	11	210.00–232.00	$223.30	$1,070	-12.70
508 fancy	508	4	247.50	$247.50	$1,257	—
505–530	513	7	229.00–237.50	$231.32	$1,187	+19.38
552–591	565	16	209.00–225.00	$216.64	$1,224	+5.64
605–635	625	3	206.00–208.00	$207.35	$1,296	+1.35
682	682	2	199.00	$199.00	$1,357	-1.00
707	707	2	176.00	$176.00	$1,244	-14.00
755	755	2	172.00	$172.00	$1,299	-22.00
945	945	1	140.00	$140.00	$1,323	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
210–230	220	2	200.00–220.00	$209.55	$461	—
300–315	305	3	190.00–210.00	$203.11	$619	—
437	437	2	190.00	$190.00	$830	—
480–495	490	3	207.50–210.00	$209.18	$1,025	-2.21
515–545	530	2	200.00–204.00	$202.06	$1,071	+15.82
575–595	582	3	172.50–182.00	$178.76	$1,040	-23.48
635	635	1	192.50	$192.50	$1,222	—
655–695	674	5	168.00–175.00	$171.34	$1,155	-21.66
700–745	723	2	162.50–182.00	$171.95	$1,243	+1.95
895	895	1	160.00	$160.00	$1,432	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
275	275	1	150.00	$150.00	$412	—
340	340	1	182.50	$182.50	$620	—
365	365	1	140.00	$140.00	$511	—
500	500	1	177.40	$177.40	$887	—
735	735	3	164.00	$164.00	$1,205	+4.00
790	790	1	125.00	$125.00	$988	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
375	375	1	197.50	$197.50	$741	—
532	532	2	190.00	$190.00	$1,011	—
610	610	1	190.00	$190.00	$1,159	—
790	790	1	162.50	$162.50	$1,284	—
805	805	1	162.50	$162.50	$1,308	—

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
215	215	1	120.00	$120.00	$258	—
350	350	1	160.00	$160.00	$560	—
695	695	1	127.00	$127.00	$883	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
595	595	1	190.00	$190.00	$1,130	-5.41

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1000–1295	1101	80-85%	8	68.50–79.50	$75.32	$829	—
975–1400	1212	80-85%	30	80.00–89.50	$85.77	$1,040	—
855–1575	1258	80-85%	35	90.00–99.00	$94.64	$1,191	-5.53
1165–1400	1301	80-85%	7	100.00–114.00	$103.06	$1,341	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
830–930	886	85-90%	4	82.00–85.00	$83.27	$738	—
775–1065	944	85-90%	7	71.00–78.00	$75.24	$710	—
940–995	968	85-90%	2	66.00–69.50	$67.80	$656	-9.21
925–1245	1085	85-90%	2	30.00–44.00	$35.97	$390	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1495	1495	75-80%	1	82.50	$82.50	$1,233	-27.00
1470–2085	1702	75-80%	9	93.50–98.50	$95.34	$1,623	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1340	1340	1	99.00	$99.00	$1,327	—
1395–1645	1543	3	109.00–115.00	$112.58	$1,737	—
1290–2245	1789	7	122.00–137.00	$127.63	$2,283	—

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
895	895	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	875.00	$875.00
900–1330	1115	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	700.00–1,225.00	$1,013.12
790–1445	1164	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	14	435.00–1,410.00	$1,109.54
1525	1525	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,460.00	$1,460.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1235–1420	1308	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	1,400.00–1,500.00	$1,459.78	—
1520	1520	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	2	1,675.00	$1,675.00	—
1455–1690	1534	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	12	1,310.00–1,800.00	$1,605.29	—
1505–1760	1668	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	8	1,510.00–2,000.00	$1,778.46	—

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
380	380	1	72.50	$72.50	$276	—

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
715–738	736	10	81.00–109.00	$106.28	$782	—
944	944	60	182.40	$182.40	$1,722	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
655	655	1	132.50	$132.50	$868	—

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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.