Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 13, 2020

1,519 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.36/cwt ≈ $1,122/hd at 823 lb · 254 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $139.54/cwt ≈ $1,084/hd at 777 lb · 201 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.31/cwt ≈ $1,177/hd at 910 lb · 115 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,519 1,127 1,209
Feeder cattle 1,455 — 1,086
Slaughter cattle 61 — 114
Replacement cattle 3 — 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold 2.00 lower with moderate demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 lower with moderate demand . Slaughter bulls sold sharply lower with light demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
355–360 fancy 358 2 161.00–167.00 $163.98 $587
413–435 value added 419 7 152.00–161.00 $158.10 $662
410–430 420 2 142.00–143.00 $142.49 $598
470 value added 470 5 157.00 $157.00 $738
495 495 1 146.00 $146.00 $723
502–540 value added 521 15 140.00–150.00 $145.58 $758
500–545 523 14 135.00–140.00 $138.07 $722
563–598 value added 578 34 141.00–150.50 $145.97 $844
587–590 589 10 130.00–140.00 $138.01 $813
605–610 608 5 127.00–136.00 $130.99 $796
605–642 value added 612 28 139.00–152.50 $148.17 $907
650–685 656 10 126.00–133.00 $129.78 $851
651–696 value added 687 69 135.00–145.00 $139.31 $957
700–725 value added 702 97 135.00–143.10 $142.54 $1,001
715 715 5 128.00 $128.00 $915
750–797 value added 777 201 130.00–140.20 $139.54 $1,084
803–845 809 75 123.00–134.00 $133.30 $1,078
812–848 fancy 829 179 136.50–138.90 $137.64 $1,141
852 852 2 114.00 $114.00 $971
866 fancy 866 56 136.00 $136.00 $1,178
875 875 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,076
908–912 fancy 910 115 127.85–130.90 $129.31 $1,177
955–975 957 10 118.00–122.00 $121.59 $1,164
1005 1005 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,005
1065 1065 2 113.00 $113.00 $1,203
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
440 440 1 133.00 $133.00 $585
495 495 1 125.00 $125.00 $619
720 720 1 123.00 $123.00 $886
815 815 1 104.00 $104.00 $848
890 890 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,059
995 995 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,035
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
645 645 1 125.00 $125.00 $806
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
475 475 1 120.00 $120.00 $570

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
330 330 2 120.00 $120.00 $396
387–390 389 5 125.00–129.00 $127.41 $496
410 410 1 121.00 $121.00 $496
447 value added 447 2 134.00 $134.00 $599
462–495 478 26 121.00–128.00 $125.84 $602
465–496 value added 494 17 130.00–134.00 $131.00 $647
515–549 536 8 122.00 $122.00 $654
537 value added 537 6 124.00 $124.00 $666
550–595 565 9 118.00–123.00 $120.30 $680
557–577 value added 570 41 129.00–131.50 $130.71 $745
602–645 616 9 119.00–121.00 $120.31 $741
625 value added 625 11 134.50 $134.50 $841
632 632 2 115.00 $115.00 $727
650–685 660 7 118.00–127.00 $122.82 $811
665–687 value added 684 81 128.00–135.00 $134.19 $918
690–695 692 5 112.00–117.00 $116.00 $803
725 value added 725 11 125.50 $125.50 $910
768–798 783 13 115.00–120.00 $119.16 $933
792–796 value added 792 67 123.00–128.85 $128.15 $1,015
885 885 1 108.00 $108.00 $956
963 value added 963 55 119.75 $119.75 $1,153
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
340 340 1 115.00 $115.00 $391
385 385 1 110.00 $110.00 $424
428 428 3 115.00 $115.00 $492
475–482 480 3 111.00–118.00 $115.69 $555
520–530 525 2 111.00–114.00 $112.51 $591
620 620 1 105.00 $105.00 $651
765 765 1 90.00 $90.00 $688
842 842 2 89.00 $89.00 $749
975 975 1 80.00 $80.00 $780
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
235 235 1 102.50 $102.50 $241
387 387 2 101.00 $101.00 $391
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
502 502 2 115.00 $115.00 $577

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
325 325 1 146.00 $146.00 $474
410 410 1 142.00 $142.00 $582
465 465 1 138.00 $138.00 $642
527–542 535 4 125.00–128.00 $126.52 $677
550–557 555 3 125.00 $125.00 $694
600–635 622 16 117.00–122.00 $119.11 $741
650 650 1 120.00 $120.00 $780
710–722 718 3 108.00–113.00 $111.35 $799
845 845 1 91.00 $91.00 $769
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
455–485 466 6 125.00–130.00 $126.54 $590
537 537 4 129.00 $129.00 $693
565–570 568 2 122.00–123.00 $122.50 $696
608–620 611 7 104.00–108.00 $105.16 $643
672–680 673 6 106.00–111.00 $106.84 $719
840 840 1 71.00 $71.00 $596
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
555–561 559 5 110.00–116.00 $113.62 $635

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1160–1475 1310 75-80% 6 45.00–49.00 $46.68 $612
1320–1835 1479 75-80% 7 50.00–54.00 $51.56 $763
1330–1705 1567 75-80% 3 55.00–60.00 $57.17 $896
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1135–1225 1180 80-85% 2 57.00–61.00 $58.92 $695
1105–1305 1230 80-85% 3 45.00–48.00 $46.25 $569
1070–1445 1258 80-85% 9 48.00–54.00 $51.62 $649
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
945–1115 1038 85-90% 3 46.00–47.00 $46.34 $481
810–1265 1062 85-90% 6 31.00–46.00 $40.89 $434

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1555 1555 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,275
1655 1655 1 72.00 $72.00 $1,192
1200–2385 1757 6 74.00–80.00 $76.69 $1,347

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1295 1295 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 620.00 $620.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
420 420 2 92.00 $92.00 $386
702 702 2 91.00 $91.00 $639

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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.