Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 15, 2020

982 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 $134.21/cwt +3.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,102/hd at 821 lb · 256 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $131.71/cwt -4.23 vs last sale · ≈ $943/hd at 716 lb · 146 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.44/cwt -20.20 vs last sale · ≈ $667/hd at 578 lb · 59 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 982 2,169 581
Feeder cattle 879 2,073 530
Slaughter cattle 99 90 47
Replacement cattle 4 6 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold mixed with good quality weaned packages steady with good demand; fleshy middleweight bawling calves 3.00 to 5.00 lower with moderate demand. Good demand for yearling steers. Light demand for heifers over 600 lbs not guaranteed open. Slaughter cows 1.00 lower with light to moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with moderate to good 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
320–335 fancy 325 3 175.00–182.00 $177.41 $577 —
375 375 1 157.50 $157.50 $591 +0.08
390 fancy 390 1 170.00 $170.00 $663 —
410–417 value added 415 7 159.00–165.00 $163.31 $678 +4.18
465–495 478 7 146.00–150.00 $147.28 $704 -0.37
501–517 value added 505 8 145.00–156.00 $153.18 $774 +1.17
505–545 523 5 135.00–141.00 $136.41 $713 -4.52
552–582 value added 562 20 140.00–149.00 $147.32 $828 -7.50
585 585 2 135.00 $135.00 $790 -3.91
600–604 value added 603 7 139.00–144.00 $142.58 $860 +5.86
610–635 618 3 121.00–125.00 $123.68 $764 -3.33
663–667 value added 664 11 130.00–137.00 $132.56 $880 -6.46
695 695 1 124.00 $124.00 $862 -0.80
705–730 value added 716 146 127.00–132.00 $131.71 $943 -5.66
775 value added 775 2 126.00 $126.00 $976 -6.06
810–839 821 256 131.70–137.60 $134.21 $1,102 +3.52
892 892 8 126.00 $126.00 $1,124 —
921 fancy 921 58 134.00 $134.00 $1,234 —
960 960 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,114 -7.00
1020–1031 1029 7 108.00–114.00 $113.15 $1,164 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 130.00 $130.00 $702 —
810–825 818 2 106.00–116.00 $110.95 $908 —
865 865 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,012 -0.67

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–375 370 2 120.00 $120.00 $444 -7.00
350–377 fancy 372 5 135.00–136.00 $135.19 $503 —
425–447 439 10 115.00–123.00 $118.57 $521 +1.04
455–489 479 23 114.00–120.00 $118.94 $570 +0.71
533–545 538 17 110.00–117.00 $113.17 $609 -2.91
564–591 574 36 114.00–115.00 $114.68 $658 -0.86
581–587 value added 584 23 115.50–121.00 $116.63 $681 -6.82
608 608 3 115.00 $115.00 $699 +0.34
611–645 624 11 101.00–106.00 $104.24 $650 -16.27
660–670 665 6 110.00–111.00 $110.50 $735 -10.80
665–690 684 4 96.00–109.00 $105.84 $724 -4.66
708–721 711 13 109.00–110.50 $110.15 $783 -3.71
730–735 731 6 90.00–98.00 $91.67 $670 -16.33
775 775 1 91.00 $91.00 $705 -15.33
809 809 16 116.00 $116.00 $938 +18.00
915 915 1 84.00 $84.00 $769 —
1099 1099 27 104.50 $104.50 $1,148 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 307 2 115.00 $115.00 $353 +0.99
375–395 380 5 100.00–119.00 $112.20 $426 +0.83
435 435 1 110.00 $110.00 $478 -1.28
460–495 475 4 105.00–111.00 $108.72 $516 +0.40
500 500 1 105.00 $105.00 $525 —
557–590 577 6 91.00–109.00 $103.42 $597 —
600–647 634 12 82.00–100.00 $91.26 $579 -1.74
650–695 674 12 81.00–100.00 $92.11 $621 -6.47
722–725 723 3 76.00–83.00 $80.66 $583 -14.34
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 101.00 $101.00 $586 —
805 805 1 76.00 $76.00 $612 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 2 94.00 $94.00 $456 -8.62

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340–345 343 3 140.00 $140.00 $480 -6.31
385 385 1 151.00 $151.00 $581 -2.00
400 400 2 145.00 $145.00 $580 +10.00
520–540 530 2 142.00–143.00 $142.51 $755 +7.51
577–595 586 7 122.00–131.00 $126.25 $740 -1.32
630 630 3 113.00 $113.00 $712 -7.10
650–660 657 3 109.00–119.00 $114.00 $749 -1.00
705–745 718 6 102.00–108.00 $104.99 $754 +0.99
765 765 1 114.00 $114.00 $872 +4.00
800 800 1 97.00 $97.00 $776 —
875 875 1 83.00 $83.00 $726 —
920 fancy 920 1 104.00 $104.00 $957 —
925 925 1 72.00 $72.00 $666 —
957 957 2 78.00 $78.00 $746 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–485 478 2 119.00–120.00 $119.49 $571 -4.51
530 530 1 120.00 $120.00 $636 —
587 587 2 120.00 $120.00 $704 -1.10
675 675 3 86.00–105.00 $92.33 $623 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
552 552 2 108.00 $108.00 $596 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 114.00 $114.00 $673 +14.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1560 1274 80-85% 15 46.00–53.00 $49.20 $627 +6.51
1095–1550 1350 80-85% 12 43.00–46.00 $44.39 $599 —
1310–1595 1454 80-85% 7 53.00–56.00 $54.57 $793 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1635 1444 75-80% 7 44.00–45.00 $44.71 $646 —
1195–1925 1479 75-80% 14 46.00–52.00 $48.37 $715 -1.74
1230–1580 1479 75-80% 7 52.00–56.00 $53.52 $792 +3.41
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1165 1078 85-90% 4 35.00–39.00 $36.69 $396 —
1065–1220 1115 85-90% 4 44.00–46.00 $44.97 $501 -2.30

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 1 75.00 $75.00 $848 —
1580–1995 1788 2 83.00–84.00 $83.44 $1,492 -12.95
1550–2130 1840 2 91.00–94.00 $92.74 $1,706 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1380 1380 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,080.00 $1,080.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
671 671 30 97.50 $97.50 $654 —

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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.