Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 1, 2020

1,671 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 steers $138.70/cwt ≈ $1,082/hd at 780 lb · 539 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $128.64/cwt +27.64 vs last sale · ≈ $915/hd at 712 lb · 158 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $134.84/cwt +11.99 vs last sale · ≈ $920/hd at 682 lb · 122 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,671 610 1,887
Feeder cattle 1,537 527 1,778
Slaughter cattle 99 80 106
Replacement cattle 35 3 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday all feeder and slaughter classes sold mostly steady.

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
335 335 1 157.50 $157.50 $528 —
375 fancy 375 1 168.00 $168.00 $630 —
405–410 value added 408 2 160.00–161.00 $160.50 $655 —
455–487 value added 475 7 150.00–154.00 $152.30 $723 —
475 475 2 142.00 $142.00 $674 —
510–535 516 4 137.00–140.00 $138.26 $713 -1.25
500–545 value added 524 34 142.00–159.00 $154.22 $808 —
563–586 value added 573 23 141.00–145.00 $142.05 $814 —
580 580 4 133.50 $133.50 $774 -7.50
608–645 629 24 124.50–132.00 $128.63 $809 +1.45
625–637 value added 637 84 136.00–144.50 $144.20 $919 —
660–676 673 17 131.00–131.50 $131.41 $884 +8.56
652–695 value added 684 105 134.00–136.00 $135.40 $926 —
710–747 731 6 123.00–128.00 $126.04 $921 +4.70
710–745 value added 733 66 128.00–133.75 $132.56 $972 —
753–773 763 6 121.00–122.00 $121.51 $927 —
751–795 value added 779 400 129.00–139.00 $137.86 $1,074 —
785 fancy 785 133 142.00 $142.00 $1,115 —
811 fancy 811 59 139.80 $139.80 $1,134 -2.20
810–848 828 45 129.00–138.00 $135.21 $1,120 +13.21
909–917 fancy 913 116 134.95–137.50 $136.30 $1,244 —
916 916 5 124.00 $124.00 $1,136 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 132.00 $132.00 $713 —
675 675 1 124.00 $124.00 $837 —
725 725 1 110.00 $110.00 $798 —
750 750 1 115.00 $115.00 $862 —
915 915 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,052 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 133.00 $133.00 $692 +11.00
655 655 1 117.00 $117.00 $766 —
815 815 2 123.00 $123.00 $1,002 +13.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302 fancy 302 2 130.00 $130.00 $393 —
355 fancy 355 2 130.00 $130.00 $462 —
395 395 2 127.00 $127.00 $502 +12.00
400–410 405 2 119.00–125.00 $122.04 $494 +2.04
442 value added 442 4 129.50 $129.50 $572 —
468 value added 468 3 130.00 $130.00 $608 —
470–487 483 5 121.00–125.00 $123.22 $595 +0.96
505–540 523 3 116.00–119.00 $117.35 $614 -4.53
509–542 value added 526 43 120.00–134.00 $125.13 $658 —
558–585 value added 567 21 120.00–131.00 $124.19 $704 —
560–580 570 4 110.00–119.00 $114.75 $654 -6.24
602–605 604 5 118.00–119.00 $118.40 $715 -7.26
600–625 621 7 108.00–115.00 $114.03 $708 -11.63
641 value added 641 35 125.00 $125.00 $801 -8.95
665–683 670 20 117.00–117.50 $117.25 $786 —
671 value added 671 11 121.50 $121.50 $815 —
655–683 677 5 112.00–114.00 $112.39 $761 —
711 value added 711 139 130.50 $130.50 $928 —
702–748 716 19 112.50–120.00 $115.04 $824 +14.04
775–786 781 6 117.00–119.00 $117.99 $922 —
781 781 3 105.00 $105.00 $820 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 103.00 $103.00 $443 —
490 490 2 100.00 $100.00 $490 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 110.00 $110.00 $638 —
625 625 1 103.00 $103.00 $644 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 2 110.00 $110.00 $390 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–385 fancy 378 2 160.00–162.50 $161.23 $609 —
470–490 480 2 136.00–139.00 $137.47 $660 -4.29
502–545 515 4 124.00–129.00 $127.18 $655 -15.82
590 590 1 124.00 $124.00 $732 -12.41
638 638 3 124.00 $124.00 $791 +1.13
650 650 1 121.00 $121.00 $786 —
762–765 764 7 120.00–124.00 $121.14 $926 —
880 880 1 90.00 $90.00 $792 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 137.50 $137.50 $529 -7.50
432 432 2 127.00 $127.00 $549 —
460–495 475 3 120.00–131.00 $125.56 $596 —
585 585 1 117.00 $117.00 $684 +7.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 123.00 $123.00 $713 —
605–615 610 2 109.00–116.00 $112.53 $686 —
650–652 651 3 101.00–111.00 $107.67 $701 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 120.00 $120.00 $288 —
475 475 1 106.00 $106.00 $504 —
535 535 2 113.00 $113.00 $605 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1330 1198 80-85% 6 57.00–61.00 $58.68 $703 —
1005–1700 1227 80-85% 16 52.00–55.00 $53.68 $659 +7.33
1070–1430 1276 80-85% 9 44.00–51.00 $47.91 $611 -6.07
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1560 1381 75-80% 6 56.00–61.00 $58.14 $803 —
1235–1750 1403 75-80% 16 52.00–56.00 $54.52 $765 —
1425–1430 1428 75-80% 2 52.00 $52.00 $743 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1245 945 85-90% 7 34.00–45.00 $39.90 $377 -4.93
1000–1055 1028 85-90% 2 55.00–56.00 $55.51 $571 —
1045–1170 1125 85-90% 3 47.00–50.00 $48.72 $548 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070 1070 1 67.00 $67.00 $717 —
1675–2385 1943 4 91.00–98.00 $95.21 $1,850 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1052 fancy 1052 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,225.00 $1,225.00
1190–1285 1237 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 700.00–760.00 $722.57
1165–1367 1268 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,030.00–1,125.00 $1,092.99
1227–1416 fancy 1291 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 12 1,200.00–1,275.00 $1,238.84
1275–1400 1334 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 900.00–1,125.00 $1,026.41
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1215–1395 1333 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 650.00–670.00 $662.49

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090 1090 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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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.