Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 5, 2021

1,229 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $138.60/cwt +1.17 vs last sale · ≈ $879/hd at 634 lb · 202 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.23/cwt +5.23 vs last sale · ≈ $839/hd at 573 lb · 120 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $125.50/cwt +6.50 vs last sale · ≈ $700/hd at 558 lb · 102 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,229 431 1,338
Feeder cattle 1,137 389 1,236
Slaughter cattle 65 37 101
Replacement cattle 27 5 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trends due to Holiday last week.

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
247 value added 247 2 183.00 $183.00 $452 —
281 value added 281 4 190.00 $190.00 $534 —
350 value added 350 15 180.00 $180.00 $630 —
365 365 6 170.00 $170.00 $620 —
400–438 value added 421 58 158.00–164.50 $163.29 $687 —
430 430 2 150.00 $150.00 $645 +2.00
460–495 485 5 147.00–155.00 $148.92 $722 —
488 value added 488 15 159.50 $159.50 $778 +6.22
510–537 526 4 141.00–150.00 $144.66 $761 —
515–541 value added 528 40 150.00–159.00 $154.86 $818 +3.29
551–557 value added 554 14 150.00–154.00 $151.70 $840 —
560–593 576 106 138.00–146.00 $145.51 $838 +4.51
610–633 624 20 126.00–136.00 $131.46 $820 —
625–645 value added 635 182 138.50–140.50 $139.39 $885 +1.96
650–698 673 19 126.00–131.00 $129.02 $868 —
705–723 720 7 125.00 $125.00 $900 +5.28
723 value added 723 16 130.25 $130.25 $942 -9.65
760–786 775 10 121.00–122.00 $121.59 $942 —
775 value added 775 43 130.00 $130.00 $1,008 -4.50
846 846 6 122.00 $122.00 $1,032 —
863 fancy 863 65 131.95 $131.95 $1,139 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 2 140.00 $140.00 $469 —
365 365 2 137.00 $137.00 $500 —
522 522 2 136.00 $136.00 $710 —
590–595 593 2 129.00–131.00 $130.00 $771 —
670–685 676 5 117.00–125.50 $123.08 $832 —
747 747 2 116.00 $116.00 $867 —
750–770 760 2 117.00–120.00 $118.48 $900 —
850 850 1 114.00 $114.00 $969 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 136.00 $136.00 $347 —
378 fancy 378 12 135.50 $135.50 $512 —
360–390 383 6 128.00–135.00 $130.95 $502 +4.95
413–442 value added 424 13 130.00 $130.00 $551 —
445 445 1 123.00 $123.00 $547 +2.03
462–480 472 13 120.00–125.00 $121.78 $575 +6.28
510–540 522 16 114.00–119.00 $117.29 $612 —
512–544 value added 541 29 119.00–125.00 $123.76 $670 +5.76
552–582 value added 557 94 119.00–129.90 $126.27 $703 +6.27
551–590 567 8 116.00–117.00 $116.51 $661 +0.51
605–635 628 14 108.00–110.00 $109.03 $685 —
625–644 value added 629 73 118.25–130.10 $127.28 $801 -6.12
655 value added 655 8 117.50 $117.50 $770 -15.50
650–681 665 10 102.00–110.00 $107.39 $714 +0.40
725 725 5 99.00 $99.00 $718 —
751–760 753 9 96.00–109.00 $106.54 $802 —
760 760 1 97.00 $97.00 $737 —
778 778 12 99.50 $99.50 $774 —
837 837 4 99.00 $99.00 $829 —
857 857 2 99.00 $99.00 $848 —
857–870 861 3 90.00–96.00 $93.98 $809 —
945 945 2 95.00 $95.00 $898 —
975 975 3 84.00 $84.00 $819 —
1038 1038 5 92.00 $92.00 $955 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 129.00 $129.00 $310 —
395 395 1 116.00 $116.00 $458 —
440 440 1 118.00 $118.00 $519 +4.00
468–477 472 5 112.00–119.00 $114.83 $542 —
532 532 2 107.00 $107.00 $569 —
555–595 581 4 105.00–112.00 $109.78 $638 —
610 610 1 105.00 $105.00 $640 —
705 705 1 89.00 $89.00 $627 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 2 101.00 $101.00 $535 —
595 595 2 103.00 $103.00 $613 +9.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 1 121.00 $121.00 $780 —
710 710 1 114.00 $114.00 $809 +4.00
770 770 4 105.00–106.00 $105.75 $814 —
860 860 1 96.00 $96.00 $826 +6.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 141.00 $141.00 $479 —
577–587 582 4 129.00–132.00 $130.49 $759 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1700 1325 80-85% 12 52.00–56.00 $53.68 $711 +11.29
1135–1585 1376 80-85% 11 43.00–49.00 $47.00 $647 —
1015–1675 1384 80-85% 8 57.00–62.00 $58.48 $809 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445 1445 75-80% 1 56.00 $56.00 $809 —
1435–1815 1561 75-80% 4 57.00–58.00 $57.75 $901 +5.83
1280–1735 1580 75-80% 3 47.00–48.00 $47.27 $747 -4.65
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1215 1148 85-90% 2 49.00–51.00 $49.94 $573 —
1325 1325 85-90% 1 44.00 $44.00 $583 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225 1225 1 65.00 $65.00 $796 —
1475–1795 1613 3 85.00–90.00 $88.38 $1,426 —
1665–2150 1915 8 94.00–105.00 $99.28 $1,901 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
918–1460 1045 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 780.00–870.00 $829.38
830–1390 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 750.00–780.00 $768.78
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
955–1220 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–730.00 $678.14
1385 1385 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 730.00 $730.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1120–1685 1434 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 980.00–1,200.00 $1,061.39 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
905 905 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 700.00 $700.00 —
1130–1605 1368 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 830.00–850.00 $838.26 —

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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.