Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 26, 2021

371 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 $133.09/cwt +14.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,103/hd at 829 lb · 179 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.61/cwt -0.02 vs last sale · ≈ $722/hd at 641 lb · 16 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $118.50/cwt +5.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,084/hd at 915 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 371 599 1,401
Feeder cattle 356 537 1,348
Slaughter cattle 15 56 53
Replacement cattle — 6 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mostly 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for 400-600 lb weaned packages. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with good demand, Heavy rain overnight slowed cattle movement today.

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
330–335 fancy 333 3 180.00–182.00 $180.66 $602 +10.66
395 fancy 395 2 175.00 $175.00 $691 +11.00
440–445 442 3 144.00–151.00 $147.32 $651 +4.79
467–493 value added 480 8 155.00–162.00 $158.34 $760 +1.84
505–545 value added 514 12 151.00–162.00 $158.09 $813 +6.76
537 537 2 146.00 $146.00 $784 +10.38
550–590 value added 571 5 145.00–151.00 $146.76 $838 —
623–632 value added 627 10 139.00–140.00 $139.40 $874 +4.20
665 value added 665 1 135.00 $135.00 $898 —
670–675 674 4 125.00 $125.00 $842 —
710–731 726 4 122.00–126.00 $122.98 $893 +4.61
775 775 1 119.00 $119.00 $922 -0.10
805 805 1 117.00 $117.00 $942 -1.52
827 fancy 827 61 134.50 $134.50 $1,112 —
830 830 117 132.50 $132.50 $1,100 +13.98
915 915 15 118.50 $118.50 $1,084 +5.34
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 129.00 $129.00 $664 —
725 725 1 110.00 $110.00 $798 ±0.00
915 915 1 100.00 $100.00 $915 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 132.50 $132.50 $378 -2.50
395 395 2 133.00 $133.00 $525 -0.67
405–417 value added 413 3 135.00–137.00 $136.35 $563 +4.18
415–425 418 4 125.00–129.00 $127.49 $533 +5.49
457 457 2 125.00 $125.00 $571 +3.65
460–475 value added 462 7 130.00–137.00 $135.97 $628 —
555–581 value added 564 13 124.00–127.00 $125.83 $710 +1.80
575 575 1 118.00 $118.00 $678 +5.43
610–646 641 16 112.00–114.00 $112.61 $722 +2.25
657 657 2 116.00 $116.00 $762 +7.99
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 120.00 $120.00 $390 —
350 350 1 124.00 $124.00 $434 —
505 505 1 110.00 $110.00 $556 +2.92

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 160.00 $160.00 $456 —
320 fancy 320 1 167.50 $167.50 $536 —
385 fancy 385 1 171.00 $171.00 $658 —
480 480 1 147.00 $147.00 $706 +9.52
550–590 574 4 125.00–131.00 $127.74 $733 +1.58
674 674 7 120.50 $120.50 $812 +7.50
810 810 1 107.00 $107.00 $867 +5.00
856–890 863 5 90.00–97.00 $95.56 $825 +2.13
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 135.00 $135.00 $351 —
400 400 1 125.00 $125.00 $500 —
450–475 463 2 126.00–132.00 $128.92 $597 —
505 505 1 119.00 $119.00 $601 —
625–645 635 2 106.00–107.00 $106.51 $676 +1.51
750–795 782 5 86.00–90.00 $88.62 $693 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
906 906 8 100.00 $100.00 $906 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 122.00 $122.00 $488 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1675 1565 75-80% 4 54.00–58.00 $56.11 $878 —
1570–1585 1578 75-80% 2 63.00 $63.00 $994 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275 1275 80-85% 1 64.00 $64.00 $816 +17.41
1120–1695 1408 80-85% 2 54.00–60.00 $57.61 $811 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280 1280 85-90% 1 36.00 $36.00 $461 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1615 1615 1 71.00 $71.00 $1,147 —
1610–1870 1740 2 84.00–88.00 $86.15 $1,499 —
1930 1930 1 104.00 $104.00 $2,007 —

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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.