Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report, Lexington, KY

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 12, 2024

651 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $265.36/cwt +24.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,621/hd at 611 lb · 109 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $230.00/cwt ≈ $2,176/hd at 946 lb · 56 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $225.80/cwt -11.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,558/hd at 690 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 651 1,271 1,437
Feeder cattle 513 1,186 1,259
Slaughter cattle 136 80 176
Replacement cattle 2 5 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers under 600 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher on weaned calves in a lite test. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold steady on similar quality in a lite test with moderate demand. Yearling steers limited comparison. Yearling heifers noticeably higher in a lite test. Quality was plain early to good late morning. Buyers showing preference for good quality weaned packages. Slaughter cows sold 10.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 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
375–390 fancy 385 3 328.00–335.00 $332.73 $1,281 —
417–445 428 5 275.00–290.00 $278.51 $1,192 +16.01
430–435 value added 433 3 302.00–316.00 $306.63 $1,328 —
465–487 value added 480 8 293.00–316.00 $302.14 $1,450 -16.86
502–505 503 3 262.50–277.00 $272.15 $1,369 +19.15
500–540 value added 513 10 279.00–308.00 $293.45 $1,505 +5.18
580–587 585 3 256.00–258.00 $257.34 $1,505 —
600–615 value added 605 3 256.00–274.00 $267.90 $1,621 +8.58
600–630 616 6 247.00–254.00 $250.33 $1,542 —
653–682 value added 660 16 261.00–272.00 $264.83 $1,748 +8.83
700–745 731 6 227.00–235.00 $232.04 $1,696 +11.04
761 761 3 228.00 $228.00 $1,735 -5.00
800–825 806 4 230.00–237.00 $235.21 $1,896 +1.70
860 860 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,978 -3.00
946 946 56 230.00 $230.00 $2,176 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 255.00 $255.00 $931 -3.63
455–485 467 3 250.00–263.00 $255.32 $1,192 +15.32
525 525 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,250 —
600–640 631 5 230.00–243.00 $239.81 $1,513 +11.04
660–685 669 4 190.00–235.00 $221.01 $1,479 —
715–740 727 3 208.00–220.00 $212.27 $1,543 -2.73
915 915 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,922 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 2 207.50–220.00 $213.75 $513 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895 895 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,951 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 260.00 $260.00 $728 -8.76
320–332 326 4 252.50–258.00 $255.20 $832 -6.50
360–382 378 5 263.00–280.00 $270.26 $1,022 +24.62
400–440 423 4 240.00–252.00 $247.43 $1,047 -7.57
400–442 value added 429 11 252.50–265.00 $261.61 $1,122 -5.55
467–488 value added 479 10 258.00–272.00 $265.14 $1,270 -10.89
485 485 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,193 -7.10
500–525 505 8 247.00–250.00 $248.37 $1,254 +2.36
507–542 value added 525 4 258.00–259.00 $258.48 $1,357 +2.69
565 value added 565 2 257.00 $257.00 $1,452 -20.17
587 587 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,438 -1.19
610 value added 610 90 270.95 $270.95 $1,653 +29.87
600–647 614 19 225.00–242.00 $238.88 $1,467 +11.88
665–695 690 17 225.00–231.00 $225.80 $1,558 +0.80
726 value added 726 7 234.00 $234.00 $1,699 +6.94
715–742 733 5 185.00–198.00 $188.42 $1,381 -11.58
788 788 3 186.00 $186.00 $1,466 -20.00
835 835 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,854 +48.00
835 835 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,561 +13.00
911 911 4 216.00 $216.00 $1,968 —
927 927 2 172.00 $172.00 $1,594 —
971 971 3 198.00 $198.00 $1,923 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 2 240.00 $240.00 $588 —
290 290 2 185.00–242.50 $213.75 $620 —
340–345 343 2 222.50–262.50 $242.35 $831 +18.10
400–432 421 3 222.50–230.00 $224.87 $947 -10.57
465–480 475 5 223.00–230.00 $226.23 $1,075 +6.23
520 520 1 237.00 $237.00 $1,232 +10.59
550–560 555 2 205.00–230.00 $217.39 $1,207 -8.61
601–640 611 4 191.00–221.00 $213.14 $1,302 +24.74
650–682 670 4 193.00–195.00 $194.02 $1,300 +11.23
700 700 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,260 +5.00
825 825 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,452 +15.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1332 1267 7 149.00–160.00 $156.08 $1,978 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 200.00 $200.00 $800 -20.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
347 347 2 291.00 $291.00 $1,010 +6.22
380–395 388 2 270.00–292.00 $280.79 $1,089 -7.47
425 425 1 288.00 $288.00 $1,224 +0.51
450–488 477 7 263.00–289.00 $282.97 $1,350 -2.03
505–510 508 2 261.00–268.00 $264.48 $1,344 +14.34
635 635 4 224.00 $224.00 $1,422 -8.83
700 700 1 198.00 $198.00 $1,386 -15.77
860 860 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,462 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 257.50 $257.50 $798 —
410 410 1 242.50 $242.50 $994 +7.32
475 475 1 241.00 $241.00 $1,145 +11.87
560 560 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,316 +7.61
651–690 668 7 193.00–209.00 $204.03 $1,363 +5.16
767 767 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,342 +2.67
955 955 1 158.00 $158.00 $1,509 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 212.50 $212.50 $1,073 +12.50
553–590 568 10 209.00–216.00 $211.85 $1,203 -2.15
675–685 680 2 176.00–180.00 $177.99 $1,210 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,086 -16.34

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1195 1150 80-85% 2 135.00–138.00 $136.44 $1,569 —
890–1395 1158 80-85% 10 139.00–147.00 $143.66 $1,664 —
1090–1530 1289 80-85% 32 148.00–166.00 $154.59 $1,993 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1650 1476 75-80% 9 149.00–155.00 $150.93 $2,228 —
1340–1745 1496 75-80% 17 142.00–149.00 $145.85 $2,182 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–920 773 85-90% 5 123.00–126.00 $124.31 $961 —
915–1230 1014 85-90% 8 126.00–137.00 $131.61 $1,335 —
900–1220 1064 85-90% 9 138.00–153.00 $145.22 $1,545 +13.36

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270 1270 1 147.00 $147.00 $1,867 —
1065–2010 1471 11 156.00–173.00 $166.75 $2,453 —
1410–2145 1802 7 173.00–193.00 $181.59 $3,272 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–1065 1010 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 142.00–150.00 $144.75 $1,462
1105–1110 1108 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 153.00–158.00 $155.51 $1,723

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170 1170 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,575.00 $1,575.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,041 —

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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.