Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 16, 2021

613 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.51/cwt +15.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,250/hd at 820 lb · 70 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $142.75/cwt +14.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,392/hd at 975 lb · 57 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.27/cwt -5.00 vs last sale · ≈ $750/hd at 527 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 613 792 589
Feeder cattle 488 676 476
Slaughter cattle 96 104 89
Replacement cattle 29 12 24

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday middleweight steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality with good demand for weaned packages. Very good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher with good 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
265 fancy 265 1 180.00 $180.00 $477 —
335 fancy 335 1 176.00 $176.00 $590 -4.00
410 410 1 149.00 $149.00 $611 -6.93
465–490 482 3 151.00–153.00 $151.64 $731 —
507–514 512 7 151.50–153.00 $151.92 $778 -2.61
513–544 value added 532 10 158.00–162.00 $160.46 $854 -4.81
555 value added 555 1 155.00 $155.00 $860 -12.22
555–595 576 5 150.00–153.00 $151.39 $872 —
600–635 613 8 140.00–143.00 $141.64 $868 -2.76
601–645 value added 628 14 145.00–158.00 $149.69 $940 -9.73
663–682 value added 668 14 150.00–156.00 $153.42 $1,025 -7.78
705 value added 705 3 143.00 $143.00 $1,008 -3.14
720 720 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,001 ±0.00
752–790 value added 775 13 140.50–142.00 $141.44 $1,096 —
795 795 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,081 —
810 810 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,102 -1.00
820 thin fleshed 820 68 153.00 $153.00 $1,255 —
885 885 4 125.00 $125.00 $1,106 -9.75
975 fancy 975 57 142.75 $142.75 $1,392 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 150.00 $150.00 $382 —
435 435 2 142.00 $142.00 $618 -3.00
545 545 1 141.00 $141.00 $768 —
551 551 5 132.00 $132.00 $727 —
675 675 1 135.00 $135.00 $911 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 1 110.00 $110.00 $990 -10.00

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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 1 136.00 $136.00 $367 —
336 value added 336 4 157.00 $157.00 $528 —
365 value added 365 1 151.00 $151.00 $551 —
370–390 380 2 136.00–142.00 $138.92 $528 -5.00
400–445 420 4 136.00–142.00 $140.04 $588 +0.56
450–495 462 5 132.00–137.00 $135.78 $627 -3.08
475–497 value added 489 12 144.00–149.00 $146.00 $714 -2.50
524–536 value added 526 18 138.00–146.25 $144.85 $762 -3.18
521–540 531 6 133.00–136.00 $134.53 $714 +0.53
550–595 573 9 130.00–137.00 $133.68 $766 +0.35
575–590 value added 579 11 138.75–144.00 $139.70 $809 -20.57
600–613 value added 610 8 135.00–141.00 $137.37 $838 -7.53
620–640 630 2 128.00–130.00 $129.02 $813 +0.36
650–695 673 2 124.00–129.00 $126.42 $851 +0.74
658–695 value added 679 10 130.00–136.50 $134.09 $910 —
717 value added 717 2 121.00 $121.00 $868 -8.19
731 731 3 115.00 $115.00 $841 -8.67
770 770 1 113.00 $113.00 $870 -2.44
780 780 1 119.00 $119.00 $928 +3.56
870 870 2 120.00 $120.00 $1,044 +5.64
970 970 1 94.00 $94.00 $912 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 115.00 $115.00 $282 -7.50
460–490 473 3 126.00–131.00 $128.30 $607 +1.34
515–540 530 9 120.00–131.00 $124.34 $659 -4.95
560 560 2 120.00–127.00 $123.50 $692 -0.96
600–647 631 3 105.00–119.00 $114.56 $723 —
660–695 673 6 104.00–122.00 $111.22 $749 +1.20
705–730 718 2 104.00–105.00 $104.51 $750 -2.49
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 2 115.00 $115.00 $382 —
525 525 1 110.00 $110.00 $578 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
257 257 2 156.00 $156.00 $401 -10.70
305–340 323 2 152.00–158.00 $154.84 $500 —
365–390 375 5 156.00–166.00 $159.89 $600 +2.64
430 430 1 140.00 $140.00 $602 -3.00
455–477 466 5 145.00–149.00 $146.62 $683 -3.96
508–538 524 11 140.00–151.00 $145.68 $763 +7.93
525 fancy 525 1 157.00 $157.00 $824 —
580–582 581 3 135.00–140.00 $138.34 $804 +0.36
601 fancy 601 3 141.00 $141.00 $847 —
600–645 630 8 134.00–138.00 $135.36 $853 +1.68
665 fancy 665 4 145.00 $145.00 $964 —
680 680 1 138.00 $138.00 $938 +3.00
705–727 720 3 110.00–125.00 $114.90 $827 -4.27
772–785 775 5 110.00–117.00 $115.58 $896 -3.21
800 800 2 100.00 $100.00 $800 -1.54
867–877 872 4 91.00–100.00 $95.53 $833 -14.47
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 145.00 $145.00 $551 —
495 495 1 137.00 $137.00 $678 +0.80
565 565 1 135.00 $135.00 $763 —
617–640 628 5 117.00–123.00 $118.81 $746 —
720–730 725 2 100.00–106.00 $103.02 $747 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 142.00 $142.00 $646 —
645 645 1 127.00 $127.00 $819 +2.00
660 660 1 132.00 $132.00 $871 —
815–832 826 3 94.00–104.00 $100.71 $832 —
905 905 1 80.00 $80.00 $724 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–532 525 3 105.00–110.00 $108.38 $569 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1510 1250 80-85% 16 64.00–70.00 $68.18 $852 +3.00
1025–1570 1277 80-85% 17 71.00–77.00 $73.47 $938 +12.41
1285–1585 1435 80-85% 2 53.00–63.00 $57.48 $825 -15.02
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1630 1410 75-80% 6 71.00–79.00 $75.10 $1,059 —
1280–1590 1424 75-80% 13 64.00–70.00 $68.09 $970 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
755–1155 990 85-90% 5 55.00–61.00 $58.11 $575 -3.46
965–1210 1133 85-90% 6 62.00–65.00 $63.49 $719 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–2185 1637 3 85.00–95.00 $91.04 $1,490 —
1365–2400 1829 12 97.00–114.00 $106.85 $1,954 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1085–1180 1133 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 68.00–70.00 $69.04 $782

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050–1260 1145 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 825.00–875.00 $850.55
1215 1215 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1151–1765 1378 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 21 875.00–1,325.00 $1,143.35
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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.