Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 22, 2020

431 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $130.91/cwt +22.27 vs last sale · ≈ $891/hd at 680 lb · 87 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.40/cwt +26.85 vs last sale · ≈ $816/hd at 612 lb · 84 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $134.50/cwt +8.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,020/hd at 758 lb · 74 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 431 982 0
Feeder cattle 389 879 0
Slaughter cattle 37 99 0
Replacement cattle 5 4 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady to firm in a light test. Good demand for yearling packages. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with 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
410 410 3 148.00 $148.00 $607 —
462–480 value added 469 4 151.00–156.00 $153.28 $719 —
505–542 value added 539 12 151.00–153.00 $151.57 $817 -1.61
580 580 2 141.00 $141.00 $818 +6.00
602–620 value added 609 17 129.00–143.50 $137.43 $837 -5.15
703–736 718 8 115.00–125.00 $119.72 $860 —
743 value added 743 64 139.90 $139.90 $1,039 +8.19
758 value added 758 74 134.50 $134.50 $1,020 +8.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950 950 1 100.00 $100.00 $950 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 2 126.00 $126.00 $472 +6.00
400–431 423 8 119.00–123.00 $120.97 $512 +2.40
460–485 468 4 115.00–117.00 $115.50 $541 -3.44
535 value added 535 3 118.00 $118.00 $631 —
563 value added 563 3 120.00 $120.00 $676 +3.37
575 575 1 116.00 $116.00 $667 +1.32
612 value added 612 84 133.40 $133.40 $816 —
671–675 673 7 103.00–110.00 $106.99 $720 -3.51
681 value added 681 80 133.00 $133.00 $906 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 114.00 $114.00 $490 +4.00
970 970 1 74.00 $74.00 $718 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 94.00 $94.00 $550 —
725 725 1 80.00 $80.00 $580 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 142.00 $142.00 $611 -3.00
725 725 1 110.00 $110.00 $798 +5.01
850 850 1 90.00 $90.00 $765 +7.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 90.00 $90.00 $490 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1715 1516 75-80% 7 54.00–60.00 $56.70 $860 —
1295–1765 1568 75-80% 8 49.00–53.00 $51.92 $814 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1320 1161 85-90% 6 34.00–41.00 $36.76 $427 —
1190 1190 85-90% 1 43.00 $43.00 $512 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 80-85% 1 59.00 $59.00 $740 +9.80
1190–1555 1344 80-85% 5 40.00–45.00 $42.39 $570 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590 1590 1 67.00 $67.00 $1,065 —
1680–1905 1793 2 90.00–93.00 $91.59 $1,642 +8.15
1565–2165 1847 3 84.00–88.00 $86.11 $1,590 -6.63

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1175 fancy 1175 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1175–1430 1303 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–850.00 $822.55
1435 fancy 1435 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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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.