Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 3, 2021

1,603 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 steers $149.23/cwt +6.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,164/hd at 780 lb · 226 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.31/cwt -8.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,304/hd at 879 lb · 174 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.38/cwt +22.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,049/hd at 712 lb · 141 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,603 605 932
Feeder cattle 1,563 533 878
Slaughter cattle 40 69 54
Replacement cattle — 3 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers under 600 lbs sold steady to 2.00 higher; over 600 lbs softer undertone in a limited comparison. Feeder heifers sold mostly steady with good demand. Slaughter cows sold steady in a light test. Slaughter bulls lightly tested.

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
317 317 2 171.00 $171.00 $542 —
435 value added 435 3 170.00 $170.00 $740 ±0.00
465–496 value added 483 16 163.00–181.00 $173.39 $837 +0.39
502–530 value added 515 9 159.00–177.00 $172.07 $886 +3.36
550–597 value added 588 36 159.00–169.00 $165.61 $974 —
620–646 value added 628 13 155.00–168.00 $163.86 $1,029 +2.19
645 645 4 140.00–149.00 $146.75 $947 -1.25
650–686 665 12 150.00–152.00 $150.52 $1,001 —
652–693 value added 689 49 154.00–162.00 $158.36 $1,091 +5.36
700–749 value added 741 97 146.00–158.00 $149.29 $1,106 -1.64
741 741 7 140.00 $140.00 $1,037 -3.00
760–788 value added 780 218 143.00–155.00 $149.66 $1,167 +1.66
785 785 8 137.50 $137.50 $1,079 -0.52
810–816 814 78 134.50–141.75 $140.63 $1,145 +5.63
879 fancy 879 118 150.50 $150.50 $1,323 -6.40
880 880 56 143.70 $143.70 $1,265 —
916 fancy 916 62 143.00 $143.00 $1,310 —
937 thin fleshed 937 57 141.90 $141.90 $1,330 —
966 fancy 966 58 141.00 $141.00 $1,362 +1.00
1001 fancy 1001 51 138.00 $138.00 $1,381 —
1005–1007 1005 9 120.00–125.00 $121.11 $1,217 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
799 799 7 135.50 $135.50 $1,083 —
1265 1265 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,316 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 146.00 $146.00 $715 —
710 710 1 126.00 $126.00 $895 —
780 780 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,045 —
927 927 2 124.00 $124.00 $1,149 —
960 960 2 123.00 $123.00 $1,181 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 155.00 $155.00 $333 —
250–285 fancy 268 2 162.00–165.00 $163.40 $438 —
280 280 1 145.00 $145.00 $406 —
320–329 328 7 150.00–153.00 $152.58 $500 —
365 365 2 140.00 $140.00 $511 —
402–419 value added 415 10 154.00–161.00 $159.00 $660 +8.96
451–485 value added 453 117 153.00–165.00 $163.82 $742 +10.82
485 485 2 145.00 $145.00 $703 +1.00
500–547 value added 518 41 144.00–155.25 $152.69 $791 +0.34
513–526 518 10 139.00–141.00 $139.60 $723 -5.40
550–597 value added 569 20 144.00–150.00 $147.47 $839 -1.88
590 590 1 137.00 $137.00 $808 +6.00
605–626 619 7 130.00–133.00 $131.87 $816 -2.15
600–640 value added 633 32 140.00–150.75 $146.66 $928 -7.59
660 660 2 130.00 $130.00 $858 —
659–679 value added 670 30 139.00–150.00 $146.11 $979 -5.15
708–732 value added 712 141 141.00–149.90 $147.38 $1,049 +20.38
833 833 3 116.00 $116.00 $966 —
875 875 3 113.00 $113.00 $989 +6.99
915 915 4 114.00 $114.00 $1,043 —
919 fancy 919 62 131.10 $131.10 $1,205 —
1005 1005 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,035 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 129.00 $129.00 $497 +9.00
442 442 2 136.00 $136.00 $601 —
535 535 1 130.00 $130.00 $696 +5.00
755 755 1 110.00 $110.00 $830 —
825 825 1 89.00 $89.00 $734 -4.00
860 860 2 94.00 $94.00 $808 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 fancy 260 1 179.00 $179.00 $465 —
335 fancy 335 2 176.00 $176.00 $590 —
395 395 1 164.00 $164.00 $648 —
430 430 2 154.00 $154.00 $662 —
442 fancy 442 2 166.00 $166.00 $734 —
465–480 fancy 473 2 164.00–165.00 $164.49 $778 —
535 535 1 150.00 $150.00 $802 +8.00
552 fancy 552 2 157.00 $157.00 $867 —
570–590 583 3 145.00–150.00 $146.63 $855 -3.37
685–695 688 3 139.00–142.00 $140.99 $970 —
715–745 725 3 131.00–133.00 $132.31 $959 +9.94
795 795 2 121.00–132.00 $126.50 $1,006 —
995 995 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,015 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 139.00 $139.00 $577 —
460 460 1 144.00 $144.00 $662 —
595 595 1 126.00 $126.00 $750 -6.01
630 630 2 124.00 $124.00 $781 —
935 935 1 90.00 $90.00 $842 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 120.00 $120.00 $408 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1740 1394 75-80% 10 66.00–70.00 $68.31 $952 —
1260–1825 1539 75-80% 7 71.00–75.00 $72.61 $1,117 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1310 1172 80-85% 5 66.00–71.00 $68.76 $806 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–905 898 85-90% 2 49.00 $49.00 $440 -4.56
895–995 945 85-90% 2 61.00–62.00 $61.47 $581 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1520 1423 2 93.00–94.00 $93.53 $1,331 -1.27
2270 2270 1 99.00 $99.00 $2,247 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
632 632 20 114.50 $114.50 $724 —

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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.