Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 4, 2021

658 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.60/cwt +9.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,289/hd at 879 lb · 62 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.67/cwt -6.10 vs last sale · ≈ $630/hd at 486 lb · 51 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.49/cwt -10.58 vs last sale · ≈ $661/hd at 522 lb · 42 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 658 1,140 896
Feeder cattle 542 915 724
Slaughter cattle 95 196 155
Replacement cattle 21 29 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers and heifers under 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower with moderate demand. Buyers showing preference for weaned calves in light supply. Yearlings sold steady to 1.00 lower with good demand. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls lightly tested.

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
385–388 fancy 388 6 164.00–168.00 $167.34 $649 -2.17
400–406 405 6 148.00–157.00 $149.48 $605 -1.97
400–420 value added 408 3 160.00–168.00 $162.94 $665 +0.09
487–490 488 3 152.50–153.00 $152.83 $746 -0.38
498 value added 498 3 160.00 $160.00 $797 -2.91
510 value added 510 3 152.00 $152.00 $775 -6.30
540 540 8 143.75 $143.75 $776 -5.45
578–582 value added 580 22 151.50–152.25 $152.03 $882 —
585 585 1 146.00 $146.00 $854 -1.74
600 600 12 139.00 $139.00 $834 +1.00
645 value added 645 3 145.50 $145.50 $938 -1.83
655–656 value added 656 8 141.50–142.00 $141.56 $929 -2.60
726 value added 726 3 141.00 $141.00 $1,024 —
755–795 782 3 134.00–135.00 $134.68 $1,053 +1.68
800 800 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,048 -20.00
809 fancy 809 36 150.00 $150.00 $1,214 —
879 fancy 879 62 146.60 $146.60 $1,289 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 132.00 $132.00 $383 -5.00
557 557 2 130.00 $130.00 $724 —
617–630 621 3 124.00–131.00 $126.37 $785 -8.02
775 775 1 124.00 $124.00 $961 —
845 845 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,048 +4.70
875 875 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,155 +13.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 145.00 $145.00 $544 —
533 533 3 120.00 $120.00 $640 —
605 605 1 135.00 $135.00 $817 —
720–745 733 2 128.00–135.00 $131.44 $963 —
845 845 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,082 -7.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 131.00 $131.00 $452 -3.22
360–375 370 3 132.00–135.00 $132.97 $492 +1.98
445 445 4 131.00 $131.00 $583 -2.06
465–496 485 32 125.00–131.00 $129.48 $628 -3.16
488 value added 488 19 130.00 $130.00 $634 -10.80
500–540 516 29 120.00–130.00 $123.39 $637 -7.77
533–545 value added 537 13 131.50–134.25 $133.39 $716 -8.02
562–592 573 29 120.50–130.00 $127.00 $728 -2.60
600–637 616 8 118.00–128.00 $121.31 $747 -3.90
620 value added 620 1 130.00 $130.00 $806 -4.92
656–664 value added 659 17 130.00 $130.00 $857 —
700–720 716 5 105.00–114.00 $110.38 $790 -5.44
760–790 780 3 109.00–112.00 $111.03 $866 -4.66
800 800 1 115.00 $115.00 $920 +10.00
840 840 1 101.00 $101.00 $848 -4.00
850–860 853 3 97.00–105.00 $99.69 $850 —
870 870 3 98.00 $98.00 $853 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 121.00 $121.00 $309 —
315–325 318 3 110.00–130.00 $123.19 $392 -7.31
375 375 1 121.00 $121.00 $454 -4.94
425–442 439 7 115.00–127.00 $117.53 $516 -4.16
455–485 470 2 114.00–121.00 $117.39 $552 -5.24
540 540 1 118.00 $118.00 $637 -3.66
557–570 563 7 101.00–114.00 $109.80 $618 -9.87
610–635 622 6 101.00–110.00 $105.95 $659 -2.61
650–685 670 5 100.00–116.00 $111.67 $748 -5.33
810 810 2 79.00 $79.00 $640 -13.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620–640 630 2 115.00–117.00 $115.98 $731 +5.98
655 655 1 114.00 $114.00 $747 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–445 433 2 110.00 $110.00 $476 -1.00
560 560 1 106.00 $106.00 $594 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–385 378 5 142.00–143.00 $142.80 $540 -9.17
420 420 1 139.00 $139.00 $584 -5.56
455–470 463 4 139.00–146.00 $142.44 $659 -4.45
515–520 fancy 518 2 144.00 $144.00 $746 -6.21
500–548 535 5 130.00–141.00 $136.76 $732 -0.35
550–577 565 5 130.00–139.00 $134.85 $762 -2.17
605–635 fancy 620 11 132.50–135.50 $133.84 $830 -0.17
617–647 634 10 120.00–129.00 $125.37 $795 -2.01
655–665 660 2 120.00–123.00 $121.51 $802 -3.74
725–730 728 5 110.00–119.00 $112.60 $820 -4.78
765 765 1 119.00 $119.00 $910 +1.29
815 815 1 112.00 $112.00 $913 +15.57
875 875 1 102.00 $102.00 $892 -3.00
980–985 983 2 90.00–94.00 $91.99 $904 +10.99
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 132.00 $132.00 $383 +0.11
375 375 2 135.00 $135.00 $506 —
400 400 1 128.00 $128.00 $512 -7.00
450–495 470 4 122.00–133.00 $128.11 $602 -1.68
500–515 507 3 120.00–127.00 $123.03 $624 —
565–597 586 3 125.00–129.00 $127.72 $748 +3.36
635–645 640 3 111.00–121.00 $116.67 $747 +9.78
665–680 673 2 109.00–110.00 $109.49 $737 —
701–725 707 4 103.00–104.00 $103.26 $730 +4.79
750 750 1 90.00 $90.00 $675 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 3 123.50 $123.50 $584 —
595 595 1 121.00 $121.00 $720 —
665 665 1 110.00 $110.00 $732 —
760 760 1 104.00 $104.00 $790 -8.00
830 830 1 86.00 $86.00 $714 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 119.00 $119.00 $416 -2.00
535 535 1 116.00 $116.00 $621 +1.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1315 1228 80-85% 5 57.00–62.00 $59.59 $732 -0.87
1060–1560 1296 80-85% 15 62.00–67.00 $64.85 $840 -4.90
1125–1585 1338 80-85% 12 67.00–72.00 $68.53 $917 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245–1635 1415 75-80% 3 54.00–60.00 $57.10 $808 -9.14
1310–1705 1503 75-80% 6 67.00–71.00 $69.20 $1,040 —
1355–1780 1545 75-80% 9 64.00–67.00 $65.33 $1,009 -5.41
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1105 1029 85-90% 8 57.00–59.00 $57.66 $593 -8.08
940–1175 1050 85-90% 4 62.00–64.00 $63.06 $662 +3.85
885–1235 1075 85-90% 4 48.00–55.00 $52.78 $567 -6.43

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290 1290 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,071 +5.92
1885 1885 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,923 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1465 1465 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1490–1505 1498 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,000.00–1,250.00 $1,125.63

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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
1220–1660 1408 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,100.00–1,175.00 $1,140.63 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1080 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $850.00 -134.51

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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.