Cattle Market Pulse

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

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 17, 2020

1,582 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 $137.68/cwt -3.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,142/hd at 829 lb · 358 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.23/cwt -6.59 vs last sale · ≈ $932/hd at 684 lb · 90 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.37/cwt +10.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,041/hd at 804 lb · 75 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,582 1,475 1,571
Feeder cattle 1,474 1,272 1,381
Slaughter cattle 108 97 190
Replacement cattle — 106 —

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mixed with lightweights steady to 3.00 higher; over 500 lbs steady to 3.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold steady to 2.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold steady. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 higher.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 fancy 230 1 173.00 $173.00 $398 —
315–345 fancy 331 6 177.50–185.00 $181.85 $602 —
355–385 fancy 365 3 168.00–175.00 $172.54 $630 +0.40
385 385 2 159.00 $159.00 $612 +3.00
425 425 1 140.00 $140.00 $595 -6.53
402–448 value added 444 60 154.00–163.00 $158.79 $705 +7.21
467–475 value added 470 3 153.00–154.00 $153.66 $722 +4.08
455–497 476 12 139.00–149.00 $143.92 $685 +0.92
500–545 value added 519 23 140.00–145.00 $142.21 $738 -0.29
510–542 529 8 135.00–139.00 $137.23 $726 —
552–591 566 11 131.00–138.00 $134.57 $762 -2.77
566 value added 566 14 141.25 $141.25 $799 -0.98
600–639 value added 617 70 132.00–142.00 $136.37 $841 -4.40
600–628 621 4 126.00–128.00 $127.52 $792 -0.48
650–695 676 12 126.00–132.00 $129.75 $877 +2.13
650–695 value added 685 78 132.00–140.00 $137.23 $940 -6.59
700–741 value added 721 26 131.00–134.00 $131.84 $951 -12.60
772 772 2 127.00 $127.00 $980 +3.00
760–792 value added 784 20 128.50–134.00 $130.92 $1,026 -5.08
808–843 fancy 828 104 138.00–139.95 $139.13 $1,152 -5.54
800–849 830 254 124.00–137.95 $137.08 $1,138 +0.29
850–883 877 10 128.00–131.50 $130.92 $1,148 -5.42
960–973 965 11 120.00–121.00 $120.63 $1,164 +0.63
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 2 138.00 $138.00 $607 —
548 548 3 130.00 $130.00 $712 —
565–585 571 4 122.00–132.00 $126.31 $721 —
636 636 3 134.00 $134.00 $852 —
722–745 728 13 112.00–122.50 $118.86 $865 —
770 770 2 115.00 $115.00 $886 —
835 835 1 116.00 $116.00 $969 —
880 880 1 109.00 $109.00 $959 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 122.00 $122.00 $427 —
515 515 1 125.00 $125.00 $644 -9.00
575 575 1 124.00 $124.00 $713 —
670 670 1 116.00 $116.00 $777 —
700 700 1 110.00 $110.00 $770 -6.00
825 825 1 118.00 $118.00 $974 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 1 111.00 $111.00 $666 —

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–245 223 2 117.50–130.00 $123.12 $275 -6.88
250 250 1 120.00 $120.00 $300 —
255–270 fancy 263 2 137.00–151.00 $143.80 $378 —
300–330 316 4 112.50–125.00 $119.69 $378 —
385–390 389 6 113.00–120.00 $118.18 $460 -3.82
400–449 437 18 119.00–127.00 $123.51 $540 -2.49
445 value added 445 24 130.00 $130.00 $578 -7.00
460–483 472 20 118.00–125.00 $121.12 $572 -1.56
480 value added 480 6 126.00 $126.00 $605 -6.00
505–545 517 8 115.00–119.00 $116.88 $604 +0.22
500–534 value added 524 30 121.00–126.00 $123.68 $648 +0.34
550–597 value added 568 38 119.00–123.00 $120.82 $686 -2.67
550–590 572 36 114.00–119.00 $117.26 $671 -1.34
600–634 614 19 119.00–124.00 $120.72 $741 +5.29
600–647 624 27 110.00–116.00 $114.62 $715 -7.70
665–680 670 3 106.00–112.00 $109.34 $733 -13.64
657–696 675 39 117.00–124.50 $120.27 $812 -2.71
700 700 2 105.00 $105.00 $735 -14.68
712 712 7 116.00 $116.00 $826 -3.68
760–772 768 3 105.00–110.00 $108.35 $832 -2.65
804 fancy 804 68 131.00 $131.00 $1,053 —
809 809 7 113.50 $113.50 $918 -5.50
962 962 4 107.50 $107.50 $1,034 —
1067 1067 2 91.00 $91.00 $971 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
282 282 2 107.50 $107.50 $303 -6.22
315–325 318 7 90.00–105.00 $101.41 $322 -6.09
350–385 375 8 97.00–111.00 $105.11 $394 -4.89
410–435 424 8 105.00–116.00 $109.46 $464 -1.54
450 450 1 117.00 $117.00 $526 —
522 522 2 100.00 $100.00 $522 -7.07
570 570 1 105.00 $105.00 $598 -5.00
615–645 635 7 99.00–104.00 $100.84 $640 —
660–672 667 8 100.00–105.00 $102.37 $683 +4.37
700–730 719 11 84.00–96.00 $91.24 $656 +0.24
771 771 3 85.00 $85.00 $655 -9.73
883 883 3 79.00 $79.00 $698 —
946 946 3 72.00 $72.00 $681 —
975 975 2 75.00 $75.00 $731 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 93.00 $93.00 $539 —
622 622 2 100.00 $100.00 $622 —
662–675 666 4 99.00–103.00 $101.50 $676 —
722 722 2 91.00 $91.00 $657 —
765 765 2 90.00 $90.00 $688 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 100.00 $100.00 $265 —

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 fancy 210 1 155.00 $155.00 $326 —
200–245 223 2 140.00–145.00 $142.25 $317 —
270 270 1 145.00 $145.00 $392 —
375–397 390 3 149.00–152.50 $150.12 $585 +6.77
415 fancy 415 1 145.00 $145.00 $602 —
455–492 476 4 135.00–138.00 $136.55 $650 -1.30
465–492 fancy 482 6 144.00–146.00 $144.99 $699 —
500–545 525 11 131.00–137.00 $133.67 $702 -1.28
537 fancy 537 5 145.00 $145.00 $779 —
565 fancy 565 2 139.00 $139.00 $785 —
550–592 576 19 125.00–131.00 $128.59 $741 -5.78
600–615 608 12 114.00–121.00 $117.75 $716 -6.84
654–680 664 9 113.00–124.00 $116.85 $776 -2.80
710–735 723 3 113.00 $113.00 $817 +4.00
750–787 774 14 104.00–116.00 $111.42 $862 +3.42
806–840 812 8 103.00–114.00 $110.71 $899 -1.28
856–875 861 5 94.00–108.00 $102.77 $885 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 2 110.00 $110.00 $314 ±0.00
335–340 339 4 100.00–117.50 $104.33 $354 -8.17
425 425 1 100.00 $100.00 $425 -13.00
500–511 510 9 102.00–117.50 $103.69 $529 -6.31
585 585 1 110.00 $110.00 $644 -5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–425 423 2 128.00–131.00 $129.49 $548 +4.49
492 492 2 121.00 $121.00 $595 -5.00
510–545 528 2 123.00–125.00 $124.03 $655 —
570 570 1 122.00 $122.00 $695 -1.64
625–635 630 2 101.00–112.00 $106.54 $671 +4.54
675–690 680 4 102.00–107.00 $104.98 $714 -5.02
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
588 588 6 69.00 $69.00 $406 —
642 642 2 69.00 $69.00 $443 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 458 3 132.00 $132.00 $605 —
680 680 1 109.00 $109.00 $741 +6.00

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1215 1210 80-85% 2 46.00–53.00 $49.49 $599 —
1005–1795 1253 80-85% 19 58.00–63.00 $60.22 $755 +5.08
970–1545 1278 80-85% 13 53.00–58.00 $55.81 $713 +0.67
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1470 1353 75-80% 3 51.00–52.00 $51.69 $699 +1.30
1090–1635 1411 75-80% 15 54.00–58.00 $56.08 $791 -4.01
1290–1805 1515 75-80% 13 58.00–64.00 $60.61 $918 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1220 1047 85-90% 9 34.00–47.00 $40.52 $424 —
1045–1080 1063 85-90% 2 53.00–56.00 $54.52 $580 —
920–1275 1086 85-90% 8 47.00–53.00 $50.09 $544 —

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300 1300 1 75.00 $75.00 $975 —
1185–1865 1505 6 81.00–87.00 $84.04 $1,265 —
1485–2150 1892 10 91.00–102.00 $95.36 $1,804 —

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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.