Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 20, 2021

447 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 $155.35/cwt +4.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,285/hd at 827 lb · 68 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.09/cwt +6.62 vs last sale · ≈ $775/hd at 534 lb · 31 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.91/cwt +1.70 vs last sale · ≈ $925/hd at 617 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 447 1,132 239
Feeder cattle 363 997 132
Slaughter cattle 69 123 85
Replacement cattle 15 12 22

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady in a light test. Slaughter cows 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
321–330 327 11 170.00–184.00 $178.73 $584 +15.73
355–370 360 3 170.00–171.00 $170.33 $613 -4.53
405–423 value added 419 4 165.00–175.00 $172.58 $723 -9.06
465 value added 465 2 180.00 $180.00 $837 +4.31
480 480 2 173.00 $173.00 $830 +7.83
500–530 value added 515 5 158.00–160.00 $158.79 $818 -4.73
565 value added 565 8 168.00 $168.00 $949 +12.01
570 570 1 150.00 $150.00 $855 —
600–605 602 5 135.00–137.00 $136.20 $820 -2.80
615–640 value added 623 13 144.00–166.00 $155.18 $967 +3.63
655–686 value added 676 10 140.00–146.00 $142.36 $962 +1.95
703 value added 703 9 144.00 $144.00 $1,012 —
730 730 1 135.00 $135.00 $986 +2.46
825 825 4 137.00 $137.00 $1,130 -14.13
827 fancy 827 64 156.50 $156.50 $1,294 —
875 875 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,181 —
900 900 1 110.00 $110.00 $990 -21.99
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
710 710 1 131.00 $131.00 $930 +8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 1 130.00 $130.00 $806 +3.03
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 122.50 $122.50 $490 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 136.00 $136.00 $449 +4.73
352 value added 352 2 141.00 $141.00 $496 +1.00
350–390 382 8 132.00–140.00 $133.28 $509 -1.17
405–440 419 7 128.00–135.00 $131.68 $552 -2.35
435–438 value added 437 6 139.00–145.00 $141.99 $620 -2.37
450–470 463 3 125.00–127.50 $125.81 $583 -7.18
458–475 value added 465 12 136.00–145.00 $140.48 $653 -2.30
502–547 value added 534 31 141.00–148.00 $145.09 $775 +4.60
550 550 2 127.00 $127.00 $698 -1.70
562–572 value added 568 9 130.00–138.00 $135.67 $771 -1.16
606–616 value added 610 11 131.00–134.00 $132.10 $806 +2.33
651 651 3 125.00 $125.00 $814 +4.68
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–220 218 2 120.00–122.50 $121.26 $264 —
295 295 1 105.00 $105.00 $310 -17.00
315 315 1 115.00 $115.00 $362 -4.46
350–375 363 2 112.00–122.50 $117.07 $425 —
457 457 2 122.00 $122.00 $558 +4.61
505 505 1 117.00 $117.00 $591 +4.65
575–595 588 3 111.00–115.00 $112.30 $660 -6.04
630–635 633 2 112.00–115.00 $113.51 $719 +10.15
735 735 1 79.00 $79.00 $581 -24.14
830 830 1 74.00 $74.00 $614 —
915–932 927 5 76.00–80.00 $78.41 $727 —
985–990 988 2 74.00 $74.00 $731 -13.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 1 120.00 $120.00 $768 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 100.00 $100.00 $300 ±0.00

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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 1 158.00 $158.00 $379 —
330 330 1 144.00 $144.00 $475 -12.01
388 388 5 163.50 $163.50 $634 +3.50
470–495 483 2 148.00–149.00 $148.49 $717 +5.14
511 fancy 511 8 155.00 $155.00 $792 -3.84
505–530 513 3 138.00–151.00 $142.47 $731 -0.73
590 590 2 132.00 $132.00 $779 -6.19
620 620 1 134.00 $134.00 $831 +4.36
660–680 667 3 117.00–131.00 $126.24 $842 +3.61
836 836 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,062 —
970 970 2 90.00 $90.00 $873 —
1000 1000 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,060 -4.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561–575 564 5 130.00–132.00 $131.59 $742 +0.91
642 642 2 108.00 $108.00 $693 -5.75
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 147.00 $147.00 $706 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 113.00 $113.00 $237 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1690 1420 75-80% 9 54.00–60.50 $56.92 $808 -0.31
977–1985 1472 75-80% 14 60.50–70.00 $65.42 $963 —
1510 1510 75-80% 1 49.00 $49.00 $740 -4.00
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1435 1259 80-85% 8 54.00–58.00 $56.65 $713 -5.89
1050–1480 1263 80-85% 7 44.00–53.00 $49.71 $628 -12.83
1215–1315 1282 80-85% 3 62.00–63.00 $62.34 $799 -0.20
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1150 1035 85-90% 7 36.00–49.00 $44.90 $465 —
1080–1305 1177 85-90% 6 50.00–54.00 $52.25 $615 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1280 1250 3 68.00–69.00 $68.67 $858 —
1345–1585 1465 2 85.00–90.00 $87.30 $1,279 -1.40
1605–2165 1988 4 95.00–106.00 $100.59 $2,000 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
985 985 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 810.00 $810.00
1080 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
835–1050 943 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 600.00–610.00 $605.57
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1600 1600 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1045 1045 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00 —
1060 1060 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1480 1480 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 382 2 85.00 $85.00 $325 —
470 470 3 77.00 $77.00 $362 —
545 545 3 75.00 $75.00 $409 —
590 590 1 64.00 $64.00 $378 —
620 620 1 62.00 $62.00 $384 —
755 755 1 56.00 $56.00 $423 —

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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.