Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 30, 2021

550 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 $157.75/cwt ≈ $1,339/hd at 849 lb · 154 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.20/cwt +4.62 vs last sale · ≈ $735/hd at 532 lb · 31 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.78/cwt -3.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,267/hd at 875 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 550 546 438
Feeder cattle 493 451 345
Slaughter cattle 57 76 93
Replacement cattle — 19 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality. However more fleshy new crop un-weaned calves coming to town that are facing discounts. Very good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower with moderate demand and slaughter bulls sold steady 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
375 value added 375 2 169.00 $169.00 $634 —
426 value added 426 3 160.00 $160.00 $682 -8.96
410–440 432 7 157.00–158.00 $157.29 $679 +3.94
450–458 value added 454 9 160.00–162.00 $160.88 $730 -2.72
450–457 455 3 150.00–159.00 $156.03 $710 —
527–528 value added 527 9 159.00–163.50 $161.50 $851 +1.61
568 value added 568 3 154.00 $154.00 $875 —
557–590 569 10 144.00–153.00 $148.18 $843 -2.82
610 610 1 141.00 $141.00 $860 +0.48
612–640 value added 621 6 148.00–155.00 $153.14 $951 +1.02
670 value added 670 3 156.00 $156.00 $1,045 +3.99
700 700 5 134.00 $134.00 $938 —
712–715 value added 713 3 137.00–140.00 $138.00 $984 -11.00
849 fancy 849 154 157.75 $157.75 $1,339 —
856–883 fancy 875 14 142.75–150.00 $144.78 $1,267 -3.22
945 fancy 945 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,323 —
991 fancy 991 11 141.00 $141.00 $1,397 —
1030–1035 1033 2 110.00–134.00 $121.97 $1,260 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 135.00 $135.00 $466 —
482 482 4 143.00 $143.00 $689 +9.00
850 850 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,054 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 2 148.00 $148.00 $725 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 149.00 $149.00 $440 —
317–320 fancy 318 3 147.00–150.00 $148.01 $471 —
357 fancy 357 2 151.00 $151.00 $539 —
355–380 363 3 130.00–135.00 $131.74 $478 -3.29
403–435 412 6 130.00–135.00 $134.12 $553 -1.09
431 value added 431 5 141.00 $141.00 $608 -2.00
463–497 476 6 135.00–139.00 $137.64 $655 +2.28
477–480 value added 478 5 140.50–143.00 $141.00 $674 -3.07
505–532 value added 516 13 136.50–151.50 $143.43 $740 —
500–546 543 18 126.00–135.00 $134.43 $730 +0.85
567–580 569 6 132.00–133.00 $132.83 $756 -1.28
550–590 value added 570 2 138.00 $138.00 $787 -6.50
610–640 622 5 123.00–127.00 $123.82 $770 +0.82
680 680 1 119.00 $119.00 $809 —
701 701 5 121.00 $121.00 $848 -0.99
800 800 1 114.00 $114.00 $912 -23.77
805 805 1 120.00 $120.00 $966 -17.77
843–847 fancy 845 10 133.00–134.00 $133.50 $1,128 —
854 fancy 854 5 134.00 $134.00 $1,144 —
938 938 3 122.00 $122.00 $1,144 —
941 fancy 941 3 126.00 $126.00 $1,186 —
965 965 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,013 +9.66
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 333 2 117.50–120.00 $118.78 $396 —
355–365 358 3 110.00–127.00 $121.23 $434 -7.75
410–440 430 3 115.00–126.00 $120.34 $517 -7.27
490 490 1 125.00 $125.00 $612 -3.44
490 490 6 125.00 $125.00 $612 -3.44
605–645 625 2 115.00–119.00 $116.94 $731 +4.94
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 107.50 $107.50 $296 —
425 425 1 102.00 $102.00 $434 —
450–465 458 2 102.00–112.50 $107.16 $491 -11.84
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 124.00 $124.00 $732 -3.51
820 820 1 116.00 $116.00 $951 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 fancy 255 1 164.00 $164.00 $418 —
280–290 287 3 145.00–152.50 $150.06 $431 —
360 360 3 152.00 $152.00 $547 -2.00
405–430 416 5 140.00–151.00 $147.11 $612 +3.45
435 fancy 435 1 150.00 $150.00 $652 —
455–487 fancy 476 3 153.00–154.00 $153.68 $732 —
465–495 486 5 146.00–148.00 $146.98 $714 -2.06
510–543 538 11 136.00–147.00 $143.48 $772 -4.08
555–595 572 5 130.00–140.00 $134.80 $771 -5.20
600–625 611 5 122.00–130.00 $127.76 $781 -2.19
640 fancy 640 1 136.00 $136.00 $870 —
650–680 665 2 120.00–130.00 $124.89 $831 —
695 fancy 695 4 134.00 $134.00 $931 —
700–735 718 2 118.00–119.00 $118.51 $851 +1.06
820 820 3 110.00 $110.00 $902 +11.23
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327 327 2 140.00 $140.00 $458 -3.88
350–395 367 3 131.00–137.00 $133.89 $491 -11.85
405–425 415 2 119.00–130.00 $124.63 $517 -5.37
455–475 465 5 131.00–138.00 $134.80 $627 —
520 520 1 120.00 $120.00 $624 —
630–645 638 2 118.00–122.00 $119.98 $765 -0.02
970 970 2 81.00 $81.00 $786 +1.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 130.00 $130.00 $364 —
365 365 1 107.00 $107.00 $391 —
415 415 1 115.00 $115.00 $477 —
485 485 1 106.00 $106.00 $514 -4.00
510 510 1 115.00 $115.00 $586 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1060 1050 80-85% 2 56.00–62.00 $58.97 $619 —
1040–1440 1225 80-85% 11 62.00–68.00 $65.57 $803 —
1220–1610 1396 80-85% 6 69.00–75.00 $72.33 $1,010 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 75-80% 1 63.00 $63.00 $778 —
1115–1415 1330 75-80% 4 71.00–75.00 $72.58 $965 —
1200–1795 1457 75-80% 11 65.00–69.00 $66.56 $970 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1100 1020 85-90% 2 66.00–69.00 $67.38 $687 +14.47
1160–1295 1209 85-90% 4 58.00–63.00 $61.56 $744 —
1150–1455 1303 85-90% 2 49.00–56.00 $52.09 $679 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1270 1243 2 89.00–95.00 $91.93 $1,143 —
1265–1970 1634 4 98.00–108.00 $103.15 $1,685 —

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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.