Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 27, 2020

776 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $117.39/cwt +2.03 vs last sale · ≈ $930/hd at 792 lb · 66 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $131.78/cwt +5.66 vs last sale · ≈ $884/hd at 671 lb · 36 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.24/cwt -0.89 vs last sale · ≈ $1,122/hd at 868 lb · 35 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 776 1,256 867
Feeder cattle 680 1,209 788
Slaughter cattle 93 47 71
Replacement cattle 3 — 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower with light demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower.

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
320–325 323 2 153.00–155.00 $153.99 $497 —
310–340 fancy 324 5 160.00–171.00 $166.65 $540 -3.35
372–390 377 12 152.00–159.00 $156.19 $589 -1.08
405–415 410 2 140.00–143.00 $141.52 $580 -6.48
450–472 468 5 139.00–140.00 $139.81 $654 —
485 value added 485 2 142.00 $142.00 $689 —
501–545 516 9 137.00–139.00 $137.70 $711 +1.70
560–595 579 16 130.00–132.00 $130.80 $757 -0.20
583 value added 583 17 135.00 $135.00 $787 —
610–613 value added 612 14 132.00–135.00 $132.64 $812 -4.10
620–623 622 5 124.00–126.00 $125.20 $779 -5.68
658–680 value added 659 18 136.00–142.00 $141.66 $934 —
673–688 683 18 119.50–124.00 $121.91 $833 -4.21
727 value added 727 4 127.00 $127.00 $923 —
745 745 1 121.00 $121.00 $901 -6.46
752–762 value added 757 13 130.00–134.00 $132.17 $1,001 +2.17
765 765 2 117.00 $117.00 $895 -8.00
790 790 2 123.00 $123.00 $972 -2.00
826 thin fleshed 826 6 134.00 $134.00 $1,107 —
868–871 868 35 128.00–129.40 $129.24 $1,122 +7.51
965 965 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,110 —
1047 1047 2 115.00 $115.00 $1,204 —
1065 1065 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,118 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 127.50 $127.50 $351 —
388–395 390 4 139.00–140.00 $139.75 $545 —
405 405 1 132.00 $132.00 $535 -3.32
570–580 575 2 117.00–121.00 $119.02 $684 —
610–620 615 3 118.00–121.00 $119.67 $736 —
665 665 2 117.00 $117.00 $778 -2.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240 1240 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,091 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–337 332 7 110.00–121.00 $118.99 $395 -5.16
362–390 377 7 118.00–129.00 $124.07 $468 +3.75
406–434 value added 411 30 128.00–129.00 $128.18 $527 —
400–440 416 4 114.00–128.00 $122.52 $510 +2.82
450–493 475 17 115.00–123.00 $117.36 $557 -4.63
462–491 value added 481 12 123.00–124.00 $123.49 $594 —
500–525 517 19 112.00–117.00 $114.38 $591 -1.56
534–547 value added 536 12 118.00–120.00 $119.66 $641 -1.34
557–587 value added 577 6 117.00–119.00 $118.36 $683 -1.64
555–596 578 11 113.00–117.00 $115.47 $667 +1.49
600–630 611 8 109.00–115.00 $111.24 $680 -6.98
601–645 612 4 118.00–120.00 $118.53 $725 +0.31
670 670 1 111.00 $111.00 $744 -10.00
650–698 684 19 118.00–121.00 $119.58 $818 +5.58
715–730 722 20 111.00–119.00 $113.92 $823 +8.41
750–755 753 2 95.00–101.00 $98.01 $738 -17.35
793 value added 793 64 118.00 $118.00 $936 —
814 value added 814 7 115.00 $115.00 $936 —
911–937 921 5 87.00–88.00 $87.59 $807 —
952 952 2 85.00 $85.00 $809 -10.00
1000 1000 2 97.00 $97.00 $970 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 105.00 $105.00 $231 —
275 275 2 100.00 $100.00 $275 —
315 315 1 100.00 $100.00 $315 -15.29
385 385 2 103.00 $103.00 $397 -12.05
405–430 422 3 105.00–111.00 $106.92 $451 -9.08
505 505 1 100.00 $100.00 $505 -7.53
625–632 630 3 100.00 $100.00 $630 —
690 690 1 96.00 $96.00 $662 —
750 750 1 84.00 $84.00 $630 —
950 950 1 80.00 $80.00 $760 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 118.00 $118.00 $531 —
815 815 1 93.00 $93.00 $758 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–335 325 2 143.00–147.00 $145.06 $471 —
365 365 4 140.00 $140.00 $511 -7.54
410–445 430 10 131.00–137.00 $133.75 $575 -7.13
455–488 472 10 125.00–136.00 $130.12 $614 -2.88
532–545 534 8 126.00 $126.00 $673 +6.00
558–580 566 8 123.00–126.00 $125.25 $709 -0.20
600–643 626 14 115.00–123.00 $117.33 $734 -4.63
680 680 1 111.00 $111.00 $755 —
735–745 739 5 107.00–113.00 $109.01 $806 +2.01
822 822 2 96.00 $96.00 $789 -6.00
867–881 874 8 88.00–96.00 $91.97 $804 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 135.00 $135.00 $425 +15.00
425–437 431 6 111.00–130.00 $120.12 $518 -4.88
477–480 478 5 119.00–120.00 $119.80 $573 -1.20
505–530 522 3 118.00–120.00 $118.65 $619 —
570 570 6 119.00 $119.00 $678 —
600 600 4 112.00 $112.00 $672 +4.99
675–690 680 7 101.00–110.00 $107.13 $728 —
778 778 3 99.00 $99.00 $770 —
815 815 1 80.00 $80.00 $652 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 110.00 $110.00 $226 —
365 365 1 115.00 $115.00 $420 —
495 495 1 114.00 $114.00 $564 —
555–585 570 2 100.00–108.00 $103.89 $592 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 123.00 $123.00 $590 —
660 660 1 105.00 $105.00 $693 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1640 1468 75-80% 4 48.00 $48.00 $705 -7.56
1260–1865 1480 75-80% 10 51.00–54.00 $52.54 $778 -3.02
1025–2195 1619 75-80% 26 55.00–62.00 $57.49 $931 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1490 1251 80-85% 8 44.00–49.00 $47.12 $589 -10.88
1045–1510 1263 80-85% 15 50.00–54.00 $52.47 $663 -5.53
1085–1665 1334 80-85% 8 55.00–62.00 $57.49 $767 +10.36
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1210 1003 85-90% 5 50.00–54.00 $52.66 $528 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1350 1192 3 64.00–70.00 $67.50 $805 —
1235–1485 1373 4 75.00–80.00 $78.36 $1,076 —
1440–1705 1573 2 87.00–88.00 $87.46 $1,376 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1500 1500 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080 1080 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
602 602 2 81.00 $81.00 $488 —

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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.