Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 20, 2021

863 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.88/cwt -0.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,326/hd at 935 lb · 169 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.00/cwt -4.86 vs last sale · ≈ $917/hd at 616 lb · 90 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $147.11/cwt -5.31 vs last sale · ≈ $1,143/hd at 777 lb · 78 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 863 1,871 1,366
Feeder cattle 837 1,828 1,295
Slaughter cattle 23 36 57
Replacement cattle 3 7 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady with good demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 lower with moderate demand in a light test. Slaughter bulls sold steady with 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
360 value added 360 1 180.00 $180.00 $648 —
425 value added 425 2 169.00–171.00 $170.00 $722 —
438 438 3 159.00 $159.00 $696 —
463 value added 463 4 171.00 $171.00 $792 +9.67
500–505 value added 502 3 157.00–161.00 $159.66 $801 -12.11
539 539 5 156.00 $156.00 $841 —
565–579 575 10 150.00–151.00 $150.29 $864 —
628–646 value added 640 17 150.00–166.00 $156.08 $999 -12.80
660 value added 660 2 147.00 $147.00 $970 -7.01
705 705 1 138.00 $138.00 $973 —
720–746 value added 746 72 145.00–149.10 $149.05 $1,112 +7.05
760–781 value added 777 78 140.00–148.00 $147.11 $1,143 -6.12
811 811 60 145.40 $145.40 $1,179 —
861–875 862 71 133.00–143.80 $142.87 $1,232 -1.38
900 900 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,134 -14.60
917–946 fancy 935 168 140.90–143.90 $141.97 $1,327 +0.22
969 969 46 133.75 $133.75 $1,296 —
1021 fancy 1021 52 135.80 $135.80 $1,387 -1.20
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 151.00 $151.00 $687 —
560 560 1 148.00 $148.00 $829 —
685 685 3 139.00 $139.00 $952 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
486 486 3 151.00 $151.00 $734 —
560 560 1 142.00 $142.00 $795 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 110.00 $110.00 $539 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
449 value added 449 8 150.00 $150.00 $674 —
481–485 value added 483 8 152.00–154.00 $152.75 $738 +2.75
490 490 2 146.00 $146.00 $715 —
500 500 1 139.00 $139.00 $695 —
535–545 value added 537 10 140.00–150.00 $148.99 $800 +2.80
600–610 605 2 124.00–130.00 $126.98 $768 -33.52
600–640 value added 616 88 134.00–151.20 $149.50 $921 +4.44
655–670 value added 658 6 140.00–143.00 $142.49 $938 -3.77
700–730 715 2 120.00 $120.00 $858 -9.00
725–740 value added 733 5 125.00–134.00 $129.59 $950 —
753–770 value added 756 5 120.00–124.00 $123.19 $931 -14.52
890 890 2 106.00 $106.00 $943 —
997 997 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,107 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 133.00 $133.00 $319 —
310–330 320 2 121.00–132.00 $126.33 $404 —
380 380 1 127.00 $127.00 $483 +7.00
415 415 2 130.00 $130.00 $540 —
725 725 1 111.00 $111.00 $805 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 2 115.00 $115.00 $554 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 131.00 $131.00 $720 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 176.00 $176.00 $598 —
365–395 389 5 161.00–174.00 $169.45 $659 —
460–490 475 2 149.00–154.00 $151.58 $720 -3.42
560–586 580 4 144.00–145.00 $144.24 $837 —
670 670 2 135.00 $135.00 $904 —
713 713 6 135.00 $135.00 $963 +8.68
872 872 2 119.00 $119.00 $1,038 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 151.00 $151.00 $528 —
582 582 2 136.00 $136.00 $792 —
675–680 677 3 115.00–123.00 $120.32 $815 -6.35
785 785 6 115.00–116.00 $115.50 $907 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1740 1490 75-80% 6 64.00–69.00 $66.94 $997 —
1365–1690 1584 75-80% 4 70.00–72.00 $71.28 $1,129 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1415 1286 80-85% 6 67.00–69.00 $67.54 $869 -8.98
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $558 +1.00
925–1170 1048 85-90% 2 46.00–47.00 $46.56 $488 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520 1520 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,353 —
2075 2075 1 113.00 $113.00 $2,345 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 69.00 $69.00 $794

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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
1845 1845 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 2 81.00 $81.00 $539 —
850 850 4 81.00 $81.00 $688 -20.00

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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.