Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 21, 2020

239 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 239 1,077 0
Feeder cattle 132 909 0
Slaughter cattle 85 163 0
Replacement cattle 22 5 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers and heifers too few to test market. Slaughter bulls light test. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 higher with moderate demand.

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
385 fancy 385 1 163.00 $163.00 $628 -6.47
420–430 value added 428 4 154.00 $154.00 $659 -3.22
440 440 1 147.00 $147.00 $647 +0.39
455–480 value added 472 3 147.00–150.00 $149.04 $703 -8.96
460–490 475 2 140.00–143.00 $141.55 $672 -2.32
505 505 1 139.00 $139.00 $702 -1.38
555 value added 555 1 148.00 $148.00 $821 -4.84
555–571 568 6 134.00–139.00 $135.16 $768 -3.86
600–630 620 3 122.00–126.00 $124.71 $773 -0.60
675 675 1 123.00 $123.00 $830 -2.29
680 value added 680 2 127.50 $127.50 $867 -15.44
700–745 value added 723 4 129.50–130.00 $129.74 $938 —
745 745 1 122.00 $122.00 $909 +2.57
755 755 1 122.00 $122.00 $921 +0.27
860 860 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,015 -5.23
970 970 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,057 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–375 363 2 137.50–140.00 $138.79 $504 —
575–590 583 2 123.00–128.00 $125.47 $731 -6.53
659 659 5 115.00 $115.00 $758 -1.99
835 835 1 106.00 $106.00 $885 —
850 850 1 115.00 $115.00 $978 —
900 900 1 100.00 $100.00 $900 —
990 990 1 85.00 $85.00 $842 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–395 365 4 124.00–126.00 $124.54 $455 -0.25
400–435 value added 423 3 127.00–128.00 $127.69 $540 ±0.00
460–490 481 5 118.00–124.00 $121.15 $583 +1.79
511 value added 511 3 118.00 $118.00 $603 -0.52
530–545 542 5 110.00–117.00 $114.81 $622 -0.26
550–575 563 3 110.00–117.00 $112.61 $634 -3.22
600–635 622 3 104.00–109.00 $106.33 $661 +0.34
660–693 682 5 103.00–109.00 $106.86 $729 -13.14
860 860 1 80.00 $80.00 $688 -11.99
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–280 275 2 107.50–117.50 $112.59 $310 +10.09
335 335 1 100.00 $100.00 $335 -7.50
350 350 1 111.00 $111.00 $388 +1.00
470–495 483 2 111.00–112.00 $111.49 $538 +1.49
530 530 1 107.00 $107.00 $567 +1.67
570–595 583 2 106.00–107.00 $106.51 $621 +2.30
620 620 1 99.00 $99.00 $614 +4.25
705–741 734 5 70.00–78.00 $76.46 $561 -6.14

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 155.00 $155.00 $372 —
290–295 293 2 140.00–152.50 $146.30 $429 —
300 300 1 150.00 $150.00 $450 +7.62
400 400 1 142.50 $142.50 $570 —
465–495 485 3 141.00–143.00 $142.36 $690 +1.76
590 590 1 129.00 $129.00 $761 +0.73
650–695 676 5 106.00–119.00 $115.01 $777 -2.39
735 735 1 105.00 $105.00 $772 +2.64
785–795 792 3 108.00–111.00 $109.67 $869 +8.97
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–290 280 2 130.00–140.00 $134.82 $377 —
445 445 1 128.00 $128.00 $570 —
470 470 1 124.00 $124.00 $583 -6.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 112.50 $112.50 $439 —
460 460 1 114.00 $114.00 $524 —
520 520 1 119.00 $119.00 $619 +9.29
555 555 1 115.00 $115.00 $638 +6.55
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 1 85.00 $85.00 $706 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1395 1204 80-85% 6 44.00–48.00 $46.79 $563 —
1070–1545 1260 80-85% 13 49.00–56.00 $52.08 $656 —
1140–1570 1297 80-85% 5 57.00–63.00 $59.07 $766 +8.71
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1610 1452 75-80% 15 48.00–55.00 $52.17 $758 —
1420–1495 1458 75-80% 2 44.00–45.00 $44.51 $649 —
1580–1830 1684 75-80% 4 56.50–63.00 $59.62 $1,004 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1300 1118 85-90% 5 45.00–49.00 $47.00 $525 —
895–1555 1147 85-90% 9 33.00–43.00 $37.07 $425 —
1175 1175 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $646 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1550 1353 2 71.00–74.00 $72.72 $984 —
2060–2200 2130 2 92.00–95.00 $93.45 $1,990 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1140–1145 1143 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 650.00–700.00 $675.05
1070–1260 1171 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 575.00–675.00 $608.88
1135–1305 1217 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 675.00–710.00 $695.29
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1150–1295 1218 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 700.00–850.00 $792.48
1050–1540 1310 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 725.00–1,050.00 $824.70

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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
1265 1265 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
522 522 2 62.00 $62.00 $324 —

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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.