Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 13, 2021

1,132 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $161.81/cwt +3.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,241/hd at 767 lb · 135 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.34/cwt -13.51 vs last sale · ≈ $785/hd at 621 lb · 51 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.47/cwt -5.51 vs last sale · ≈ $727/hd at 525 lb · 48 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,132 2,356 1,077
Feeder cattle 997 2,171 909
Slaughter cattle 123 185 163
Replacement cattle 12 — 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers sold unevenly steady to 5.00 higher on 4-weight weaned packages. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold 3.00 to 6.00 with good demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher.

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
300 300 2 163.00 $163.00 $489 -2.66
362–390 value added 367 8 187.00–193.00 $191.08 $701 +11.61
375–395 383 4 162.00–180.00 $174.86 $670 +13.92
405–425 415 2 158.00–161.00 $159.54 $662 +2.60
405–447 value added 426 19 168.00–190.00 $181.64 $774 +9.95
450–485 value added 463 8 171.00–179.00 $175.69 $813 -3.94
457–488 471 9 160.00–169.00 $165.17 $778 +3.79
510–513 value added 512 6 158.00–169.00 $163.52 $837 -5.49
517–547 530 13 151.00–155.00 $151.66 $804 -2.00
570–573 value added 572 14 150.00–160.00 $155.99 $892 -7.61
615–630 619 12 134.50–140.00 $139.00 $860 +3.06
603–648 value added 626 33 140.00–159.00 $151.55 $949 -8.57
655 655 1 137.00 $137.00 $897 -3.00
655–687 value added 684 35 140.00–147.00 $140.41 $960 -18.48
700–730 715 13 130.00–138.00 $132.54 $948 +1.57
740 value added 740 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,073 -3.26
755–768 value added 767 135 139.00–163.95 $161.81 $1,241 +3.06
805–845 810 23 136.00–152.75 $151.13 $1,224 +11.05
900–940 918 3 130.00–135.00 $131.99 $1,212 -3.01
1010 1010 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,212 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 140.00 $140.00 $420 —
430–440 435 2 135.00–140.00 $137.47 $598 —
540 540 1 146.00 $146.00 $788 +10.54
565 565 1 137.00 $137.00 $774 -2.00
625–640 633 3 125.00–131.00 $126.97 $804 —
652–685 661 5 125.00–135.00 $130.46 $862 -4.54
990 990 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,188 ±0.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 140.00 $140.00 $812 —
700 700 2 123.00 $123.00 $861 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1295 1210 2 110.00–115.00 $112.32 $1,359 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 330 4 130.00–133.00 $131.27 $433 +5.03
318–345 fancy 336 9 140.00–141.00 $140.32 $471 +4.32
360 value added 360 3 139.00–142.00 $140.00 $504 —
370–395 383 7 132.00–136.00 $134.45 $515 +5.00
400–435 value added 421 16 138.00–150.00 $144.36 $608 +6.80
430–447 441 3 132.00–135.00 $134.03 $591 +6.16
450–494 value added 471 20 138.00–150.00 $142.78 $672 +6.50
457–495 471 11 127.00–136.00 $132.99 $626 +7.39
500–543 value added 523 36 135.00–145.50 $140.49 $735 -4.86
520–547 532 12 127.00–135.00 $132.40 $704 +10.62
554–585 value added 564 23 135.00–139.00 $136.83 $772 +7.00
560–575 568 22 120.00–132.50 $128.70 $731 +9.08
600–645 value added 620 33 127.00–136.00 $129.77 $805 -13.87
600–645 623 18 114.00–123.00 $120.04 $748 -3.41
650 value added 650 2 128.00 $128.00 $832 -19.57
669–685 676 9 114.00–125.50 $120.32 $813 -2.19
700 700 1 109.00 $109.00 $763 -8.00
700–722 711 4 106.00–112.00 $109.05 $775 -7.95
725 725 1 118.00 $118.00 $856 +1.00
755 755 1 123.00 $123.00 $929 +3.00
765–780 774 4 106.00–117.00 $110.96 $859 -9.04
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 122.00 $122.00 $317 +9.50
310–335 318 3 110.00–124.00 $119.46 $380 —
420–425 423 2 117.00–121.00 $118.99 $503 +2.01
455–495 475 2 115.00–120.00 $117.39 $558 -0.36
500–530 515 3 110.00–115.00 $112.35 $579 —
565–595 578 5 110.00–121.00 $118.34 $684 +8.14
620–642 633 7 100.00–112.00 $103.36 $654 -2.25
656–695 662 7 91.00–110.00 $105.59 $699 +2.59
700–745 719 8 101.00–105.00 $103.14 $742 +7.40
760–765 763 2 96.00–101.00 $98.49 $751 +9.49
955 955 1 87.00 $87.00 $831 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 105.00 $105.00 $310 —
330 330 1 100.00 $100.00 $330 -4.00
355 355 1 100.00 $100.00 $355 —
415–440 428 2 104.00–110.00 $106.91 $458 —
505 505 1 105.00 $105.00 $530 —
570 570 1 100.00 $100.00 $570 -1.49
604 604 5 94.00 $94.00 $568 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115 1115 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,193 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–330 321 5 150.00–160.00 $156.01 $501 -2.18
345 value added 345 1 180.00 $180.00 $621 —
350–393 value added 374 8 177.00–193.00 $187.21 $700 —
375 375 1 160.00 $160.00 $600 +3.04
400–442 425 4 146.00–155.00 $150.80 $641 +1.48
433–437 value added 435 5 176.00–179.00 $177.21 $771 —
471 value added 471 4 172.00 $172.00 $810 —
473–490 fancy 478 7 162.00–168.00 $163.73 $783 +1.78
475–495 488 3 142.00–144.00 $143.35 $700 -2.72
510–522 value added 518 11 157.00–160.00 $158.07 $819 —
500–532 fancy 521 3 150.00–163.00 $158.84 $828 +7.63
505–543 532 10 132.00–147.00 $143.20 $762 +2.12
550–575 562 9 136.00–149.00 $138.19 $777 +2.16
587 value added 587 5 154.00 $154.00 $904 —
600–640 616 21 125.00–131.00 $129.64 $799 -5.09
610–635 value added 631 13 131.00–135.00 $134.24 $847 —
656 value added 656 4 136.00 $136.00 $892 —
650–685 667 3 120.00–124.00 $122.63 $818 -11.94
730–740 733 3 115.00–126.00 $120.00 $880 -0.22
765–780 773 5 119.00–127.00 $123.58 $955 +5.98
850–895 864 5 115.00–124.00 $121.81 $1,052 +15.44
1025 1025 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,128 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 131.00 $131.00 $432 —
350–380 365 2 142.00–152.50 $147.03 $537 +11.12
460–495 478 2 136.00–145.00 $140.34 $671 +11.68
517–530 521 3 125.00–130.00 $128.31 $668 +2.97
565–587 579 6 125.00–135.00 $130.68 $757 +3.37
605–645 632 6 109.00–120.00 $113.75 $719 -7.25
650–690 671 7 109.00–120.00 $116.15 $779 +6.88
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 4 150.00 $150.00 $600 —
505 505 1 138.00 $138.00 $697 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 110.00 $110.00 $297 —
420 420 1 119.00 $119.00 $500 +6.78
560–585 573 2 119.00–121.00 $120.02 $688 +1.49

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1400 1243 80-85% 16 53.50–59.00 $57.29 $712 —
1065–1470 1258 80-85% 20 59.50–68.00 $62.54 $787 +6.30
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1785 1445 75-80% 15 53.00–59.00 $57.23 $827 +0.69
1535 1535 75-80% 1 53.00 $53.00 $814 —
1320–1860 1622 75-80% 13 60.50–67.00 $62.54 $1,014 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1150 1063 85-90% 3 57.00–58.00 $57.31 $609 -1.03
880–1200 1090 85-90% 12 50.00–56.00 $52.69 $574 -5.65
950–1385 1114 85-90% 7 39.00–49.00 $44.43 $495 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1860 1493 12 83.00–93.00 $88.70 $1,324 —
1355–1910 1710 4 93.00–102.00 $98.89 $1,691 +13.51
1150–2295 1723 2 79.00–80.00 $79.33 $1,367 -6.05

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1500 1500 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
1575 1575 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170 1170 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
1480 1480 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1235 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,160.00 $1,160.00 —
1500–1635 1568 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,150.00–1,235.00 $1,190.67 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1395 1395 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.