Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 13, 2021

1,412 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.00/cwt -0.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,171/hd at 868 lb · 187 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.49/cwt +0.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,128/hd at 781 lb · 173 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.00/cwt +14.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,223/hd at 906 lb · 110 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,412 1,531 699
Feeder cattle 1,351 1,380 552
Slaughter cattle 59 139 90
Replacement cattle 2 12 57

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady with good demand for thin-fleshed weaned packages suitable for grass. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 higher with good demand and slaughter bulls sold 4.00 higher with very good 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
335 value added 335 1 170.00 $170.00 $570 —
340 340 1 175.00 $175.00 $595 -1.79
355–385 365 12 170.00–177.00 $173.32 $633 -2.45
400–442 414 10 150.00–166.00 $153.04 $634 -5.96
400–445 value added 416 22 167.00–182.00 $176.39 $734 +1.05
465–495 value added 483 21 159.00–176.00 $171.62 $829 -4.67
505–535 value added 521 45 158.00–172.00 $166.43 $867 +3.76
500–545 530 6 153.00–158.00 $156.43 $829 +3.42
555–575 value added 561 6 155.00–164.00 $158.65 $890 -11.92
565–570 567 6 150.00–153.00 $152.17 $863 -2.83
600–646 value added 621 67 145.00–160.00 $152.05 $944 -6.63
626–645 628 11 139.50–145.00 $140.01 $879 -6.12
650–672 664 4 140.00–141.00 $140.75 $935 -1.21
693 value added 693 23 144.50 $144.50 $1,001 -6.11
702–717 value added 715 74 137.00–145.00 $144.53 $1,033 -5.19
730 730 1 136.00 $136.00 $993 +6.74
765–781 773 8 125.00–132.00 $129.51 $1,001 -0.16
775–790 fancy 781 165 144.95–145.40 $145.22 $1,134 —
800 800 2 124.00 $124.00 $992 —
818 fancy 818 71 140.80 $140.80 $1,152 +5.47
867–871 867 66 122.00–131.75 $130.79 $1,134 +2.79
868 fancy 868 121 135.60–139.00 $137.29 $1,192 +2.15
906 fancy 906 110 135.00 $135.00 $1,223 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
584 584 7 147.50 $147.50 $861 —
945 945 2 115.00 $115.00 $1,087 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–543 537 4 140.00–143.00 $140.73 $756 —
620 620 1 133.00 $133.00 $825 +14.00
730–747 741 3 117.00–124.00 $121.70 $902 —
825 825 1 114.00 $114.00 $940 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 323 3 142.50–152.00 $145.83 $471 +0.83
372–395 value added 383 5 154.00–163.00 $157.64 $604 +14.29
380–395 387 3 145.00–146.00 $145.33 $562 +7.31
400 400 1 136.00 $136.00 $544 -1.00
400–443 value added 428 15 145.00–161.00 $151.40 $648 +1.83
457–460 458 3 130.00–135.00 $133.33 $611 -2.32
452–498 value added 477 51 138.00–151.00 $145.39 $694 +1.10
500–549 value added 530 38 137.00–149.00 $142.65 $756 +0.65
515–545 530 3 130.00–135.00 $131.62 $698 -4.97
550–570 559 4 130.00–135.00 $133.26 $745 -1.06
558–597 value added 567 80 135.00–155.25 $148.54 $842 +9.07
612–630 618 3 120.00–122.00 $121.32 $750 +1.31
600–645 value added 629 28 123.00–135.00 $129.76 $816 -1.75
677–680 678 3 116.00–121.00 $119.33 $809 -4.60
655–681 value added 680 89 125.00–142.75 $141.48 $962 +3.27
700–725 711 8 112.00–120.00 $118.11 $840 +15.14
737–740 739 5 100.00–110.00 $104.40 $772 -13.60
755–790 761 21 100.00–117.00 $113.35 $863 -4.65
850–892 873 9 98.00–114.00 $105.38 $920 —
1010 1010 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,060 +8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–535 528 2 120.00 $120.00 $634 -1.00
585 585 1 120.00 $120.00 $702 —
695 695 1 115.00 $115.00 $799 +20.00
700 700 1 99.00 $99.00 $693 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 1 115.00 $115.00 $765 —
740 740 1 105.00 $105.00 $777 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 160.00 $160.00 $624 -4.00
433 value added 433 3 160.00 $160.00 $693 —
455 455 1 140.00 $140.00 $637 -12.02
451–475 value added 459 6 160.00–169.00 $163.10 $749 —
507–535 517 14 147.00–156.00 $150.58 $778 +5.05
570 570 1 147.00 $147.00 $838 -1.64
605–620 value added 613 2 133.00–136.00 $134.52 $825 -4.06
700 700 1 118.00 $118.00 $826 -0.25
710 value added 710 1 120.00 $120.00 $852 -8.79
840 840 1 104.00 $104.00 $874 —
860–885 873 2 98.00–113.00 $105.61 $922 +7.06
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 140.00 $140.00 $490 —
470 470 2 130.00–145.00 $137.50 $646 +0.50
535–540 538 2 134.00–135.00 $134.50 $724 -4.50
575 575 1 138.00 $138.00 $794 +4.47
620 620 1 121.00 $121.00 $750 —
665 665 1 129.00 $129.00 $858 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 141.00 $141.00 $670 —
582 582 2 142.00 $142.00 $826 —
645 645 1 127.00 $127.00 $819 —
655 655 1 128.00 $128.00 $838 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1330 1188 80-85% 6 57.00–63.00 $59.21 $703 —
1100–1415 1239 80-85% 15 68.00–75.00 $70.58 $874 +14.71
1235–1370 1303 80-85% 2 65.00 $65.00 $847 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415 1415 75-80% 1 56.00 $56.00 $792 —
1305–1515 1421 75-80% 4 63.00–66.00 $64.80 $921 —
1105–1970 1528 75-80% 11 67.00–74.00 $70.37 $1,075 -0.25
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $643 —
1015–1105 1053 85-90% 3 64.00–67.00 $66.04 $695 +6.30
1125–1175 1150 85-90% 2 55.00–61.00 $58.07 $668 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1830 1498 5 85.00–93.00 $90.15 $1,350 —
1215–2165 1822 6 95.00–108.00 $101.75 $1,854 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
960 960 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 69.00 $69.00 $662

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1230 1230 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00

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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.