Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, February 23, 2024

804 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $236.17/cwt +28.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,967/hd at 833 lb · 189 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $226.52/cwt ≈ $2,104/hd at 929 lb · 172 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $235.80/cwt +38.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,695/hd at 719 lb · 154 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 804 488 503
Feeder cattle 777 437 429
Slaughter cattle 26 34 40
Replacement cattle 1 17 34

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 450lbs sold 8.00 to 10.00 higher with feeder steers over 450lbs 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 550lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with some instances of sharply higher. Feeder heifers over 550lbs sold steady. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

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
355 fancy 355 1 340.00 $340.00 $1,207 +9.19
385–395 387 5 310.00–320.00 $317.96 $1,231 +10.80
405 value added 405 6 337.50–340.00 $339.17 $1,374 +10.59
405–430 418 2 290.00–297.50 $293.64 $1,227 -11.07
465 465 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,348 -11.84
500–532 526 13 267.00–279.00 $273.29 $1,438 -12.95
556 value added 556 3 288.00 $288.00 $1,601 —
558–577 567 9 260.00–265.00 $262.26 $1,487 -4.62
616 value added 616 21 272.50 $272.50 $1,679 —
654 value added 654 12 256.00 $256.00 $1,674 -3.00
710–731 722 7 227.50–240.00 $235.93 $1,703 —
761 value added 761 12 250.00 $250.00 $1,902 —
796 796 4 228.00 $228.00 $1,815 +3.42
816–849 value added 833 189 231.00–245.70 $236.17 $1,967 —
921–946 value added 929 171 220.75–229.75 $226.70 $2,106 —
940 940 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,833 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 280.00 $280.00 $966 +10.00
420 420 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,176 -5.00
450 450 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,215 —
500 500 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,212 -2.50
670 670 1 214.00 $214.00 $1,434 -9.74
700 700 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,540 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 257.50 $257.50 $927 —
725–730 728 2 190.00–196.00 $192.99 $1,405 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
690 690 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,380 —
725 725 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,247 -18.00
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 240.00 $240.00 $900 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 265.00 $265.00 $874 -14.23
390–391 391 6 275.00–285.00 $283.34 $1,108 +10.42
413 413 8 270.00 $270.00 $1,115 +11.17
455 455 3 255.00–258.00 $256.00 $1,165 -5.01
500–532 512 12 225.00–242.50 $235.15 $1,204 +3.11
520–549 value added 542 13 244.00–249.00 $245.11 $1,328 —
558–574 value added 570 17 242.00–243.00 $242.23 $1,381 —
580–590 585 2 224.00–235.00 $229.45 $1,342 —
631 631 3 216.00 $216.00 $1,363 -0.84
682 value added 682 14 231.00 $231.00 $1,575 —
705–730 718 2 187.50–192.50 $189.96 $1,364 -7.20
717–721 value added 719 152 235.00–237.75 $236.40 $1,700 —
806 806 3 194.00 $194.00 $1,564 +9.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 260.00 $260.00 $962 +15.09
495 495 2 235.00–245.00 $240.00 $1,188 -2.64
515 515 1 207.50 $207.50 $1,069 -7.97
625–645 635 2 190.00–202.50 $196.15 $1,246 +6.41
665–680 672 3 199.00–205.00 $201.33 $1,353 +7.25
800 800 1 178.00 $178.00 $1,424 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,135 —
645 645 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,406 —
845 845 1 166.00 $166.00 $1,403 -14.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,078 ±0.00
580 580 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,102 —
660 660 1 187.50 $187.50 $1,238 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 197.50 $197.50 $1,017 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 2 312.50 $312.50 $1,156 -10.00
432 432 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,231 -17.50
495 495 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,336 -27.39
518 518 3 289.00 $289.00 $1,497 —
577–587 582 4 249.00–259.00 $253.96 $1,478 +3.96
610–646 635 9 225.00–241.00 $236.13 $1,499 +9.13
760 760 2 180.00 $180.00 $1,368 —
840 840 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,478 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 247.50 $247.50 $718 —
475 475 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,140 +15.00
550–552 551 3 195.00–200.00 $198.34 $1,093 —
630 630 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,184 -3.00
675 675 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,215 —
945 945 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,323 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1295 1215 80-85% 4 104.00–110.00 $108.22 $1,315 —
1155–1330 1237 80-85% 6 114.00–115.50 $114.67 $1,418 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355 1355 75-80% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,450 —
1290–1820 1560 75-80% 9 111.50–125.00 $117.93 $1,840 +3.20
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1095 1050 85-90% 2 106.00–107.50 $106.72 $1,121 —
935–1395 1090 85-90% 3 85.50–90.00 $87.85 $958 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1525 1298 2 115.00–119.00 $117.35 $1,523 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
945 945 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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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.