Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 10, 2021

867 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 $148.03/cwt -0.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,313/hd at 887 lb · 128 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $142.87/cwt +1.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,374/hd at 962 lb · 121 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.46/cwt +0.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,007/hd at 692 lb · 103 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 867 1,603 1,036
Feeder cattle 811 1,563 872
Slaughter cattle 49 40 54
Replacement cattle 7 — 110

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mostly steady; 2.00 lower on middleweight 400-600 lbs. Feeder heifers sold steady; 3.00-5.00 lower on middleweight 400-600 lbs. Slaughter cows sold 3.00 lower with moderate demand. 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
415–420 value added 418 2 169.00–171.00 $169.99 $711 -0.01
425 425 1 154.00 $154.00 $654 —
472 value added 472 2 170.00 $170.00 $802 -3.39
480–492 488 3 148.00–155.00 $152.70 $745 —
500–530 515 4 152.00–154.00 $153.03 $788 —
505–525 value added 515 4 155.00–160.00 $157.55 $811 -14.52
550–577 value added 557 13 156.00–164.00 $162.42 $905 -3.19
555–577 573 5 152.00 $152.00 $871 —
629 value added 629 6 165.00 $165.00 $1,038 +1.14
635 635 1 145.00 $145.00 $921 -1.75
650 650 1 148.00 $148.00 $962 -2.52
657–691 value added 680 12 149.00–159.00 $155.34 $1,056 -3.02
705–745 value added 732 9 141.00–154.00 $146.31 $1,071 -2.98
745 745 2 138.00 $138.00 $1,028 -2.00
750–795 value added 787 25 140.00–145.25 $143.82 $1,132 -5.84
800 800 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,056 -8.63
887 fancy 887 116 149.95 $149.95 $1,330 -0.55
877–893 890 12 127.00–130.00 $129.51 $1,153 -14.19
956–968 fancy 962 121 142.00–143.75 $142.87 $1,374 +1.87
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 2 140.00 $140.00 $672 -6.00
525 525 1 130.00 $130.00 $682 —
765 765 3 129.00–131.00 $130.33 $997 -3.67

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–327 315 5 134.00–144.00 $139.71 $440 -12.87
355 355 3 135.00 $135.00 $479 -5.00
450–467 456 6 135.00–141.00 $137.05 $625 -7.95
500–537 531 7 130.00–138.00 $131.81 $700 -7.79
516–546 value added 533 11 144.00–148.00 $146.53 $781 -6.16
618–645 625 5 125.00–133.00 $128.97 $806 -2.90
610–644 value added 634 14 140.00–141.00 $140.27 $889 -6.39
679–685 681 10 134.00–135.00 $134.60 $917 +4.60
686 686 6 129.00 $129.00 $885 -1.00
668–698 value added 694 87 139.50–148.75 $147.84 $1,026 +1.73
712–747 730 4 120.00–127.00 $123.58 $902 —
772–795 788 13 114.00–117.00 $114.62 $903 —
806–840 815 4 113.00–114.00 $113.26 $923 -2.74
828–839 835 9 101.00–109.00 $102.45 $855 -13.55
940–944 943 6 103.00–106.00 $103.50 $976 -10.50
1002–1027 1015 4 90.00–105.00 $97.59 $991 -5.41
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–398 383 6 116.00–128.00 $123.61 $473 -5.39
515–545 525 3 121.00–127.00 $123.08 $646 -6.92
562 562 2 129.00 $129.00 $725 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
496 496 3 126.00 $126.00 $625 —
770 770 1 105.00 $105.00 $808 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 2 158.00 $158.00 $656 +4.00
460 460 1 158.00 $158.00 $727 —
542 542 2 140.00 $140.00 $759 -10.00
545 fancy 545 3 154.00 $154.00 $839 —
585 585 1 135.00 $135.00 $790 -11.63
604 fancy 604 6 142.00 $142.00 $858 —
650 650 2 137.00–141.00 $139.00 $904 —
811 811 4 115.00 $115.00 $933 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 140.00 $140.00 $553 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 1 124.00 $124.00 $800 ±0.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 120.00 $120.00 $390 ±0.00

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1455 1302 75-80% 8 63.00–67.00 $65.16 $848 —
1385–1765 1506 75-80% 7 68.00–74.00 $70.14 $1,056 -2.47
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1425 1216 80-85% 8 64.00–67.00 $65.69 $799 —
1185–1345 1239 80-85% 4 68.00–69.00 $68.51 $849 —
1260–1285 1273 80-85% 2 58.00–60.00 $58.99 $751 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–925 893 85-90% 2 48.00–49.00 $48.48 $433 -0.52
1040–1065 1053 85-90% 2 54.00–58.00 $55.98 $589 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445–1705 1575 2 95.00 $95.00 $1,496 —
1630–2070 1866 8 102.00–110.00 $105.92 $1,976 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1075 1075 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
1095–1480 1284 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 900.00–1,125.00 $990.04

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
844 fancy 844 123 118.70 $118.70 $1,002 —
852 852 40 115.50 $115.50 $984 —
962 fancy 962 55 115.00 $115.00 $1,106 —

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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.