Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 27, 2021

605 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 heifers $143.45/cwt +20.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,087/hd at 758 lb · 77 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $152.90/cwt +3.90 vs last sale · ≈ $940/hd at 615 lb · 60 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $156.90/cwt +14.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,341/hd at 855 lb · 60 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 605 863 713
Feeder cattle 533 837 609
Slaughter cattle 69 23 62
Replacement cattle 3 3 42

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand for weaned offerings. Yearlings sold sharply higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows and 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
305 value added 305 1 173.00 $173.00 $528 —
352–355 value added 353 3 180.00 $180.00 $635 ±0.00
415–440 value added 428 6 167.00–175.00 $170.00 $728 ±0.00
465 value added 465 1 173.00 $173.00 $804 +2.00
500–533 value added 511 18 160.00–174.00 $168.71 $862 +9.05
515–520 519 4 153.00–157.00 $156.01 $810 +0.01
600–645 value added 612 36 150.00–167.00 $161.67 $989 +5.59
617 617 2 148.00 $148.00 $913 —
688 value added 688 13 153.00 $153.00 $1,053 +6.00
700–727 value added 714 11 150.00–152.50 $150.93 $1,078 +1.88
735 735 2 143.00 $143.00 $1,051 +5.00
767 value added 767 2 148.00 $148.00 $1,135 +0.89
755–780 768 2 137.00–139.00 $138.02 $1,060 —
840 840 9 135.00 $135.00 $1,134 -10.40
855 fancy 855 60 156.90 $156.90 $1,341 —
930 930 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,200 +3.00
969 fancy 969 55 140.00 $140.00 $1,357 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 value added 362 2 155.00 $155.00 $561 —
415–441 value added 435 4 147.00–151.00 $150.04 $653 +0.04
485 value added 485 2 153.00 $153.00 $742 +0.25
495 495 1 144.00 $144.00 $713 -2.00
505–546 value added 527 16 148.00–156.00 $152.35 $803 +3.36
530 530 2 145.00 $145.00 $768 +6.00
553–583 value added 564 8 142.00–154.00 $149.35 $842 —
575 575 1 131.00 $131.00 $753 —
600–625 613 4 133.00–135.00 $134.02 $822 +7.04
606–647 value added 615 56 139.00–158.75 $154.25 $949 +4.75
650–673 value added 671 54 142.50–154.00 $151.26 $1,015 +8.77
700 700 1 121.00 $121.00 $847 +1.00
735 value added 735 2 127.00 $127.00 $933 -2.59
757–782 value added 758 75 128.00–145.00 $144.13 $1,093 +20.94
760 760 2 118.00 $118.00 $897 —
880–895 885 3 105.00–108.00 $106.01 $938 +0.01
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 126.00 $126.00 $435 -0.33
350 350 1 120.00 $120.00 $420 -7.00
405 405 1 137.00 $137.00 $555 +7.00
450–480 465 2 122.00–132.00 $127.16 $591 —
510 510 1 125.00 $125.00 $638 —
600 600 1 125.00 $125.00 $750 —
700 700 2 103.00 $103.00 $721 -8.00
800 800 1 93.00 $93.00 $744 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 142.00 $142.00 $774 —
587 587 2 150.00 $150.00 $880 +5.76
610–637 628 3 132.00–134.00 $133.35 $837 —
650 650 3 134.00 $134.00 $871 -1.00
715–743 733 8 122.00–123.00 $122.37 $897 -12.63
750 750 1 119.00 $119.00 $892 —
872–880 875 3 115.00 $115.00 $1,006 -4.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 148.00 $148.00 $340 —
560–565 563 3 130.00–133.00 $132.01 $743 -3.99
670 670 1 111.00 $111.00 $744 -9.32
727 727 2 100.00 $100.00 $727 —
757–780 769 4 100.00–108.00 $104.06 $800 -11.44
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 2 142.00 $142.00 $710 —
592 592 2 139.00 $139.00 $823 —
630 630 2 129.00 $129.00 $813 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 114.00 $114.00 $678 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1785 1404 75-80% 9 66.00–69.00 $67.33 $945 —
1025–1665 1444 75-80% 10 70.00–76.00 $72.01 $1,040 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1310 1222 80-85% 5 70.00–72.00 $71.24 $871 —
1000–1615 1310 80-85% 11 64.00–68.00 $66.38 $870 —
1220–1425 1323 80-85% 2 62.00–63.00 $62.46 $826 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1190 898 85-90% 5 48.00–59.00 $53.56 $481 —
885–1130 963 85-90% 4 61.00–66.00 $63.61 $613 —
1060 1060 85-90% 1 68.00 $68.00 $721 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185 1185 1 75.00 $75.00 $889 —
1250–1590 1420 2 92.00–97.00 $94.80 $1,346 —
1540–1985 1763 2 103.00–107.00 $105.25 $1,856 —

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
805 805 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 675.00 $675.00

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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
1400 1400 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,625.00 $1,625.00 —

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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.