Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 20, 2020

1,256 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $130.13/cwt -4.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,132/hd at 870 lb · 220 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $117.68/cwt +9.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,028/hd at 874 lb · 97 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $125.51/cwt -6.85 vs last sale · ≈ $834/hd at 665 lb · 94 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,256 1,519 1,322
Feeder cattle 1,209 1,455 1,228
Slaughter cattle 47 61 94
Replacement cattle — 3 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with most decline on 500-600 lbs with light to moderate demand. Yearlings sold 3.00 to 6.00 lower with light to moderate demand. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 6.00 lower with most decline on 500-600 lbs. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher with light to moderate 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
305 fancy 305 1 170.00 $170.00 $518 —
350–380 365 3 152.50–160.00 $157.27 $574 —
420 420 1 148.00 $148.00 $622 +5.51
527 527 2 136.00 $136.00 $717 -2.07
557–592 575 4 131.00 $131.00 $753 -7.01
587 587 4 125.00 $125.00 $734 -13.01
601–625 value added 607 4 136.00–137.00 $136.74 $830 -11.43
607–647 621 31 124.00–133.00 $130.88 $813 -0.11
650–680 660 6 123.00–127.75 $126.12 $832 -3.66
710–730 728 12 127.00–127.50 $127.46 $928 -0.54
752–781 759 16 125.00 $125.00 $949 —
776 thin fleshed 776 72 140.60 $140.60 $1,091 —
782 value added 782 5 130.00 $130.00 $1,017 -9.54
808 fancy 808 63 131.00 $131.00 $1,058 -6.64
826 826 3 123.00 $123.00 $1,016 -10.30
853–870 862 6 120.00–123.50 $121.73 $1,049 +7.73
850–895 fancy 870 214 127.70–132.30 $130.37 $1,134 -5.63
906 906 3 115.00 $115.00 $1,042 —
938 fancy 938 55 126.10 $126.10 $1,183 -3.21
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402–445 424 4 132.00–139.00 $135.32 $574 +2.32
480 480 1 127.00 $127.00 $610 +2.00
506 506 4 125.00 $125.00 $632 —
661 661 3 119.00 $119.00 $787 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
522 522 4 130.00 $130.00 $679 —
735 735 1 110.00 $110.00 $808 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 3 137.00 $137.00 $342 —
310–345 320 9 120.00–126.00 $124.15 $397 +4.15
360–377 371 3 120.00–121.00 $120.32 $446 -7.09
405–425 410 10 119.00–121.00 $119.70 $491 -1.30
468 468 3 116.00 $116.00 $543 -9.84
468–472 470 5 119.00–124.00 $121.99 $573 -3.85
515 value added 515 1 121.00 $121.00 $623 -3.00
505–540 517 14 115.00–118.00 $115.94 $599 -6.06
561–583 value added 565 15 120.00 $120.00 $678 -10.71
555–598 577 11 110.00–118.00 $113.98 $658 -6.32
632–637 637 28 108.00–119.00 $118.22 $753 +3.22
644 value added 644 59 129.00 $129.00 $831 -5.50
664 value added 664 89 126.00 $126.00 $837 -8.19
672 672 2 121.00 $121.00 $813 -1.82
675 675 3 114.00 $114.00 $770 -8.82
707 707 8 117.50 $117.50 $831 —
720–731 726 6 104.00–107.00 $105.51 $766 —
761–793 777 11 110.00–118.00 $115.36 $896 -3.80
873 fancy 873 94 118.50 $118.50 $1,035 —
895 895 3 92.00 $92.00 $823 -16.00
950 950 8 95.00 $95.00 $902 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 3 114.00–117.00 $115.29 $380 +0.29
360–390 376 4 110.00–118.00 $115.05 $433 +5.05
440 440 3 116.00 $116.00 $510 +1.00
455 455 1 115.00 $115.00 $523 -0.69
515–540 529 4 105.00–113.00 $107.53 $569 -4.98
585 585 1 113.00 $113.00 $661 —
650–655 652 3 92.00–95.00 $93.01 $606 —
796 796 4 91.00 $91.00 $724 +1.00
915 915 1 76.00 $76.00 $695 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 117.00 $117.00 $491 —
560 560 1 112.00 $112.00 $627 —
650 650 1 107.00 $107.00 $696 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 106.00 $106.00 $450 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–393 382 4 146.00–148.00 $147.54 $564 —
420–440 430 2 136.00–146.00 $140.88 $606 -1.12
450 450 3 133.00 $133.00 $598 -5.00
525–537 531 4 120.00 $120.00 $637 -6.52
550–560 555 4 120.00–131.00 $125.45 $696 +0.45
617–630 621 3 116.00–125.00 $121.96 $757 +2.85
740 740 2 107.00 $107.00 $792 -4.35
755 755 2 107.00 $107.00 $808 —
810 810 1 102.00 $102.00 $826 +11.00
990 990 1 80.00 $80.00 $792 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 120.00 $120.00 $378 —
355 355 1 130.00 $130.00 $462 —
437 437 2 125.00 $125.00 $546 —
465–485 475 2 121.00 $121.00 $575 -5.54
600–615 607 3 100.00–111.00 $107.01 $650 +1.85
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505–515 510 2 110.00–113.00 $111.51 $569 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 1 108.00 $108.00 $697 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1955 1462 75-80% 13 53.00–57.00 $55.56 $812 +4.00
1415–1980 1665 75-80% 7 57.50–63.00 $60.37 $1,005 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270 1270 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $737 +6.38
1040–1475 1293 80-85% 5 50.00–56.00 $53.60 $693 +1.98
1170–1555 1318 80-85% 3 43.00–49.00 $47.13 $621 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1090 1040 85-90% 2 42.00–45.00 $43.57 $453 -2.77

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1745–2115 1920 3 84.00–92.00 $86.94 $1,669 —
1940–2075 2008 2 79.00–83.00 $81.07 $1,628 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805 805 2 96.00 $96.00 $773 —
863 fancy 863 61 102.00 $102.00 $880 —
923 fancy 923 57 99.50 $99.50 $918 —

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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.