Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 12, 2021

1,187 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 $132.79/cwt +4.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,039/hd at 783 lb · 213 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.92/cwt +1.27 vs last sale · ≈ $945/hd at 727 lb · 94 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.76/cwt -1.84 vs last sale · ≈ $854/hd at 625 lb · 87 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,187 1,229 1,454
Feeder cattle 1,133 1,137 1,355
Slaughter cattle 50 65 89
Replacement cattle 4 27 10

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 2.00 lower with moderate demand; yearling steers sold steady in a limited comparison. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with moderate demand; except yearling heifers sold 3.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter cows sand slaughter bulls sold mostly steady with moderate demand for slaughter cows and good demand for slaughter bulls.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 fancy 375 1 170.00 $170.00 $638
390 390 1 153.00 $153.00 $597 -17.00
400–445 value added 422 5 151.00–158.00 $153.32 $647 -9.97
415–445 425 4 144.00–150.00 $147.05 $625 -2.95
470–475 value added 473 4 153.00–158.00 $155.51 $736 -3.99
502–530 507 6 140.00–144.00 $143.34 $727 -1.32
505–547 value added 527 46 147.00–161.00 $152.42 $803 -2.44
560–577 value added 564 15 148.00–151.00 $149.34 $842 -2.36
580–598 595 7 138.00–143.00 $140.71 $837 -4.80
602–635 619 6 124.00–130.00 $127.86 $791 -3.60
600–649 value added 625 81 131.00–145.00 $137.42 $859 -1.97
651–661 value added 653 41 136.00–137.00 $136.83 $893
700–705 703 2 116.00–120.00 $117.99 $829 -7.01
722–747 value added 728 92 125.50–131.50 $130.18 $948 -0.07
758–799 value added 782 190 128.50–136.80 $133.58 $1,045 +3.58
765–789 787 23 118.00–127.00 $126.28 $994 +4.69
800 800 66 128.50 $128.50 $1,028
825 825 2 118.00 $118.00 $974 -4.00
850–880 868 11 112.00–117.00 $113.70 $987
865–889 869 70 116.00–132.00 $129.43 $1,125
900 900 12 115.00 $115.00 $1,035
985 985 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,074
1055–1075 1065 2 100.00–101.00 $100.50 $1,070
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 137.00 $137.00 $671
545 545 1 132.00 $132.00 $719 -4.00
568 568 7 134.00 $134.00 $761 +4.00
645 645 2 114.00 $114.00 $735
700–725 713 2 110.00–116.00 $113.05 $806 -2.95
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 132.00 $132.00 $752
790 790 1 113.00 $113.00 $893
825–835 830 2 115.00–117.00 $115.99 $963
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 2 106.00 $106.00 $684
703 703 1 103.00 $103.00 $724

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 136.00 $136.00 $456
370–395 384 5 131.00–136.00 $133.22 $512 +2.27
425–440 434 9 120.00–127.00 $123.76 $537 +0.76
450–483 value added 473 16 127.00–130.00 $128.39 $607
465–497 486 3 115.00–118.00 $117.04 $569 -4.74
500–518 value added 509 27 118.00–122.00 $120.46 $613 -3.30
510–545 525 28 108.00–116.00 $112.73 $592 -4.56
562–590 value added 570 17 116.00–119.00 $117.14 $668 -9.13
555–590 571 25 110.00–116.00 $113.33 $647 -3.18
616 616 3 105.00 $105.00 $647 -4.03
605–641 627 16 113.00–122.00 $118.63 $744 +9.60
643 value added 643 20 125.50 $125.50 $807 -1.78
650–685 656 8 100.00–108.00 $105.01 $689 -2.38
662–690 671 11 112.00–116.00 $113.37 $761 +5.98
674 value added 674 20 121.00 $121.00 $816 +3.50
730 730 1 109.00 $109.00 $796 +10.00
730–743 741 20 116.00–119.00 $118.40 $877 +19.40
753–773 757 18 117.00–118.50 $118.16 $894 +21.16
770–795 778 3 87.00–99.00 $91.09 $709 -8.41
810 810 4 118.00 $118.00 $956 +19.00
940 940 2 103.00 $103.00 $968 +8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–480 465 2 110.00–114.00 $111.94 $521 -2.89
535 535 2 101.00 $101.00 $540 -6.00
575 575 1 106.00 $106.00 $610 -3.78
600–640 620 3 94.00–102.00 $98.60 $611 -6.40
770–785 778 2 78.00–80.00 $78.99 $615
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480–485 483 2 110.00–114.00 $112.01 $541
550 550 1 108.00 $108.00 $594
657 657 2 101.00 $101.00 $664

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
498 498 4 132.00 $132.00 $657
520–527 523 5 131.00–138.00 $135.18 $707
535 fancy 535 1 144.00 $144.00 $770
555–595 569 7 127.00–138.00 $134.70 $766
600–645 626 7 109.00–125.00 $113.17 $708 -7.83
665–685 676 8 109.00–117.00 $110.50 $747
700–747 719 15 104.00–109.00 $107.34 $772 -6.66
755–766 764 6 103.00–110.00 $105.67 $807 -0.08
807–842 823 5 95.00–101.00 $98.35 $809
915–940 928 2 86.00–96.00 $91.07 $845
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 135.00 $135.00 $351
300 300 1 132.00 $132.00 $396
410 410 1 121.00 $121.00 $496
450 450 1 131.00 $131.00 $590
690 690 1 90.00 $90.00 $621
735 735 1 93.00 $93.00 $684
842 842 2 82.00 $82.00 $690
890 890 1 74.00 $74.00 $659
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475–495 482 3 103.00–105.00 $103.69 $500
500 500 1 111.00 $111.00 $555
550–585 568 3 110.00–115.00 $113.04 $642
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 650 1 100.00 $100.00 $650

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1310 1208 80-85% 9 51.00–56.00 $53.53 $647
1100–1510 1293 80-85% 6 36.00–50.00 $46.58 $602
1175–1435 1310 80-85% 3 57.00–59.00 $58.03 $760 +4.35
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1720 1503 75-80% 9 52.00–54.00 $53.26 $800
1330–1875 1568 75-80% 3 58.00–60.00 $58.57 $918 +0.82
1435–1670 1570 75-80% 4 48.00–51.00 $49.80 $782 -7.95
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1105 1075 85-90% 2 48.00 $48.00 $516
925–1250 1093 85-90% 3 35.00–42.00 $39.69 $434

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1425–1830 1607 3 87.00–89.00 $88.41 $1,421 +0.03
1960–2145 2068 3 95.00–104.00 $98.74 $2,042

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1150–1770 1380 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 875.00–1,150.00 $994.14
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1355 1355 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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.