Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 19, 2021

599 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $126.85/cwt -3.08 vs last sale · ≈ $936/hd at 738 lb · 113 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $134.19/cwt -2.57 vs last sale · ≈ $848/hd at 632 lb · 79 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.94/cwt +6.07 vs last sale · ≈ $684/hd at 566 lb · 52 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 599 1,187 1,149
Feeder cattle 537 1,133 1,064
Slaughter cattle 56 50 77
Replacement cattle 6 4 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday market mixed with feeder steers trading steady on good quality weaned packages to 2.00 lower on fleshy offerings. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher. Yearling steers and heifers over 700 lbs sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 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
320 fancy 320 1 170.00 $170.00 $544 —
372 fancy 372 4 164.00 $164.00 $610 -6.00
402–427 value added 415 5 160.00–168.00 $163.93 $680 +10.61
425–445 435 2 141.00–144.00 $142.53 $620 -4.52
479 value added 479 5 156.50 $156.50 $750 +0.99
510–546 533 5 135.00–136.00 $135.62 $723 -7.72
505–545 value added 538 12 151.00–152.00 $151.33 $814 -1.09
601–649 value added 631 71 131.50–137.00 $135.20 $853 -2.22
620–642 639 8 125.00–127.00 $125.24 $800 -2.62
700–740 734 44 116.00–120.50 $118.37 $869 +0.38
740 value added 740 69 132.25 $132.25 $979 +2.07
758–785 763 14 117.00–119.50 $119.10 $909 -7.18
793 value added 793 5 124.50 $124.50 $987 -9.08
806–824 809 33 118.25–120.00 $118.52 $959 -9.98
900–918 916 10 110.00–113.50 $113.16 $1,037 -1.84
1070 1070 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,070 -0.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 142.50 $142.50 $385 —
487 487 5 137.00 $137.00 $667 ±0.00
730–735 733 3 110.00 $110.00 $806 -3.05
819 819 11 105.00 $105.00 $860 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 fancy 250 1 140.00 $140.00 $350 —
265 265 1 135.00 $135.00 $358 —
300 300 1 135.00 $135.00 $405 -1.00
340 fancy 340 1 146.00 $146.00 $496 —
360 fancy 360 1 137.00 $137.00 $493 —
370–380 377 3 133.00–134.00 $133.67 $504 +0.45
400 400 1 122.00 $122.00 $488 -1.76
400–432 value added 423 7 131.00–133.00 $132.17 $559 —
465–475 468 3 120.00–124.00 $121.35 $568 +4.31
500 500 3 113.00–116.00 $114.00 $570 +1.27
528 value added 528 3 121.00 $121.00 $639 +0.54
560–575 value added 564 38 117.00–128.50 $124.03 $700 +6.89
562–590 571 14 109.00–115.00 $112.57 $643 -0.76
617–637 627 10 114.00 $114.00 $715 -4.63
612–643 633 6 109.00–111.00 $110.36 $699 -8.27
660–680 666 11 104.00–111.00 $108.01 $719 -5.36
660–696 671 10 114.00–116.00 $115.38 $774 +2.01
745 745 3 110.00 $110.00 $820 -8.40
766 766 15 113.50 $113.50 $869 -4.66
790 790 3 100.00 $100.00 $790 +8.91
855 855 2 112.00 $112.00 $958 —
921 921 9 107.50 $107.50 $990 +4.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 116.00 $116.00 $528 +4.06
510–542 531 3 103.00–109.00 $107.08 $569 +6.08
600–635 622 3 95.00–102.00 $98.40 $612 -0.20
765 765 2 81.00 $81.00 $620 +2.01
810–845 828 2 80.00–87.00 $83.57 $692 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 150.00 $150.00 $450 —
365–380 376 4 149.00–159.00 $152.74 $574 —
405 fancy 405 1 151.00 $151.00 $612 —
485–490 488 2 133.00–142.00 $137.48 $671 +5.48
500–543 535 6 124.00–130.00 $128.21 $686 -6.97
555–595 582 7 125.00–127.00 $126.16 $734 -8.54
630–647 641 5 109.00–115.00 $111.79 $717 -1.38
670 670 3 113.00 $113.00 $757 +2.50
730 730 1 105.00 $105.00 $766 -2.34
750–765 760 3 110.00–111.00 $110.33 $839 +4.66
840 840 1 102.00 $102.00 $857 +3.65
867 fancy 867 2 102.00 $102.00 $884 —
850–882 869 4 89.00–99.00 $93.43 $812 —
1085 1085 1 60.00 $60.00 $651 —
1095 fancy 1095 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,172 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 148.00 $148.00 $496 +16.00
365–375 368 3 140.00–141.00 $140.66 $518 —
610 610 1 105.00 $105.00 $640 —
655–659 658 7 106.00–109.00 $108.15 $712 +18.15
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720 720 1 106.00 $106.00 $763 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 110.00 $110.00 $594 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1415 1199 80-85% 7 52.00–56.00 $54.37 $652 —
1235–1390 1295 80-85% 6 40.00–51.00 $46.59 $603 +0.01
1115–1685 1386 80-85% 6 57.00–63.00 $60.62 $840 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1580 1410 75-80% 5 52.00–56.00 $54.47 $768 —
1310–1685 1543 75-80% 3 44.00–48.00 $46.30 $714 —
1410–2015 1696 75-80% 11 58.00–66.00 $59.77 $1,014 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1190 1031 85-90% 4 35.00–41.00 $39.10 $403 —
1035–1105 1070 85-90% 2 50.00–51.00 $50.52 $541 +2.52

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525 1525 1 72.00 $72.00 $1,098 —
1695–1885 1790 3 87.00–92.00 $89.63 $1,604 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1800–1895 1848 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,075.00–1,100.00 $1,087.82

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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
985–1510 1248 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,075.00 $1,075.00 —

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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.