Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 17, 2021

1,835 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 $151.40/cwt +3.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,309/hd at 864 lb · 202 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.51/cwt -1.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,350/hd at 954 lb · 181 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.06/cwt +4.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,147/hd at 774 lb · 166 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,835 867 2,206
Feeder cattle 1,793 811 2,149
Slaughter cattle 41 49 57
Replacement cattle 1 7 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality with good demand for weaned packages. Very good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher 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
350–380 358 4 168.00–172.00 $170.94 $612 —
380 fancy 380 2 171.00 $171.00 $650 —
458–484 value added 471 14 163.00–172.00 $168.12 $792 -1.88
482 482 6 150.00 $150.00 $723 -2.70
500–530 510 3 150.00–153.00 $151.04 $770 -1.99
503–541 value added 531 32 157.00–170.00 $166.47 $884 +8.92
558–596 value added 590 106 159.00–175.00 $172.04 $1,015 +9.62
611–643 621 10 142.00 $142.00 $882 -3.00
600–648 value added 627 42 149.00–165.00 $155.07 $972 -9.93
650–690 666 5 139.00–148.00 $144.53 $963 -3.47
655–698 value added 687 40 152.00–156.00 $153.94 $1,058 -1.40
707–726 value added 717 152 149.00–157.00 $155.75 $1,117 +9.44
725–745 739 4 134.00–140.00 $137.28 $1,014 -0.72
757–793 value added 768 95 144.50–155.75 $153.36 $1,178 +9.54
765–785 783 71 135.00–141.25 $140.98 $1,104 —
805–826 812 76 140.00–150.75 $150.02 $1,218 +18.02
841 fancy 841 60 152.95 $152.95 $1,286 —
851 thin fleshed 851 125 152.00 $152.00 $1,294 —
857–875 873 18 139.00–143.50 $143.01 $1,248 +13.50
890 fancy 890 59 152.70 $152.70 $1,359 +2.75
924 fancy 924 40 148.00 $148.00 $1,368 —
924 924 40 139.00 $139.00 $1,284 —
952–954 fancy 953 176 140.00–146.00 $142.01 $1,353 -0.86
995 995 5 124.00 $124.00 $1,234 —
1185 1185 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,244 —
1205 1205 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,205 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502–545 516 3 146.00–148.00 $147.30 $760 +17.30
610 610 1 130.00 $130.00 $793 —
675 675 1 137.00 $137.00 $925 —
745 745 1 132.00 $132.00 $983 —
995 995 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,094 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820 820 6 133.00 $133.00 $1,091 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 fancy 340 1 150.00 $150.00 $510 —
385 fancy 385 3 157.00–162.00 $160.33 $617 —
412–441 value added 430 9 148.00–149.00 $148.43 $638 —
415–438 430 11 140.00–145.00 $143.77 $618 —
462–486 value added 470 27 147.00–151.00 $148.54 $698 —
480–496 489 6 137.00–146.00 $143.05 $700 +6.00
505–535 value added 516 16 149.00–153.00 $150.71 $778 +4.18
559–595 value added 571 48 139.00–150.00 $146.01 $834 —
575–595 588 3 132.00–135.00 $132.98 $782 —
600–640 value added 628 31 137.00–146.50 $144.59 $908 +4.32
630 630 1 132.00 $132.00 $832 +3.03
687 value added 687 75 143.10 $143.10 $983 -4.74
720 720 1 120.00 $120.00 $864 -3.58
723–745 value added 731 131 121.00–154.95 $152.36 $1,114 —
765 765 2 126.00 $126.00 $964 +11.38
755–795 775 2 90.00–116.00 $102.66 $796 -11.96
784–792 value added 789 114 140.00–147.00 $142.56 $1,125 —
801–827 value added 811 15 134.00–143.00 $137.67 $1,117 —
844 844 12 138.00 $138.00 $1,165 +35.55
931 931 4 107.00 $107.00 $996 +3.50
1001 1001 4 95.00 $95.00 $951 -2.59
1012 1012 7 106.00 $106.00 $1,073 +8.41
1135 1135 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,022 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 2 135.00 $135.00 $621 —
574–597 589 23 128.00–133.00 $129.28 $761 +0.28
600 600 1 125.00 $125.00 $750 —
905 905 1 86.00 $86.00 $778 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340–345 fancy 344 4 178.00–182.50 $179.11 $616 —
365–395 378 4 160.00–169.00 $165.25 $625 —
430 430 1 146.00 $146.00 $628 -12.00
450–475 fancy 460 5 157.00–166.00 $162.28 $746 —
500 fancy 500 4 157.50 $157.50 $788 —
521 521 4 144.00 $144.00 $750 +4.00
565 565 1 146.00 $146.00 $825 +11.00
640–642 641 4 133.00–135.00 $134.00 $859 —
680 680 2 132.00 $132.00 $898 -7.00
810 810 1 97.00 $97.00 $786 -18.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685 685 2 124.00 $124.00 $849 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 137.00 $137.00 $466 +17.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1590 1245 80-85% 11 64.00–71.00 $67.77 $844 -0.74
1200–1445 1323 80-85% 2 74.00–82.00 $78.37 $1,037 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 75-80% 1 67.00 $67.00 $827 —
1205–1890 1456 75-80% 9 72.00–81.00 $75.84 $1,104 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795–960 878 85-90% 2 62.00 $62.00 $544 +13.52
1035 1035 85-90% 1 61.00 $61.00 $631 —
910–1180 1041 85-90% 4 65.00–71.00 $67.54 $703 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1810–2350 2083 3 110.00–112.00 $111.25 $2,317 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1235 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.