Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 24, 2021

607 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 $155.44/cwt +4.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,337/hd at 860 lb · 188 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.00/cwt +4.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,372/hd at 927 lb · 79 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.39/cwt +4.79 vs last sale · ≈ $1,127/hd at 770 lb · 67 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 607 1,835 1,182
Feeder cattle 556 1,793 1,134
Slaughter cattle 51 41 48
Replacement cattle — 1 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold unevenly steady with good demand; very good demand for yearling 600-700 lbs 5.00 to 10.00 higher; over 700 lbs sold 5.00 higher with very good demand. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 lower with good demand; decline on lightweights. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 lower 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
345 345 1 165.00 $165.00 $569 —
470–495 value added 479 7 168.00–170.00 $168.99 $809 +0.87
511–535 value added 521 5 155.00–158.00 $156.23 $814 -10.24
580–581 value added 581 6 159.00–167.00 $165.67 $963 -6.37
585 585 1 144.00 $144.00 $842 —
607–647 value added 617 18 163.00–171.00 $169.72 $1,047 +14.65
695 value added 695 11 164.00 $164.00 $1,140 +10.06
700–722 value added 719 8 149.00–155.00 $154.27 $1,109 -1.48
750 value added 750 4 151.00 $151.00 $1,132 -2.36
775 775 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,062 -3.98
853 fancy 853 61 158.20 $158.20 $1,349 —
857–871 864 127 153.75–154.50 $154.11 $1,332 +11.10
927 fancy 927 79 148.00 $148.00 $1,372 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 2 149.00 $149.00 $745 +1.70
595 595 1 137.00 $137.00 $815 —
805 805 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,046 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 330 3 139.00–142.00 $139.98 $462 —
382–397 386 8 130.00–139.00 $134.70 $520 —
430–437 435 6 132.00–135.00 $134.01 $583 -9.76
500–505 value added 502 3 137.00–144.00 $141.65 $711 -9.06
548 548 3 133.00 $133.00 $729 —
576 576 6 135.00 $135.00 $778 +2.02
595 value added 595 12 140.00 $140.00 $833 -6.01
630 630 1 130.00 $130.00 $819 -2.00
615–641 value added 638 22 138.00–145.00 $143.79 $917 -0.80
671 671 8 130.00 $130.00 $872 —
650–687 value added 675 3 133.00–139.00 $134.93 $911 -8.17
707–710 708 5 125.00–129.00 $128.20 $908 +8.20
760 760 3 111.00–114.00 $112.00 $851 -14.00
770 value added 770 64 148.00 $148.00 $1,140 +5.44
815 815 1 113.00 $113.00 $921 -25.00
900 900 1 99.00 $99.00 $891 -8.00
1143 1143 4 90.00 $90.00 $1,029 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318 318 1 118.00 $118.00 $375 —
385–387 386 3 120.00–127.00 $124.67 $481 —
485 485 1 125.00 $125.00 $606 -10.00
523 523 3 130.00 $130.00 $680 —
580 580 1 125.00 $125.00 $725 -4.28
710 710 1 109.00 $109.00 $774 —
755 755 1 100.00 $100.00 $755 —
840 840 1 87.00 $87.00 $731 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 461 3 135.00 $135.00 $622 —
570 570 6 134.00 $134.00 $764 —
720 720 1 112.00 $112.00 $806 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 157.00 $157.00 $502 —
367 fancy 367 2 168.00 $168.00 $617 —
425 425 1 158.00 $158.00 $672 +12.00
472 fancy 472 4 175.00 $175.00 $826 +12.72
500 500 3 140.00 $140.00 $700 -4.00
600–605 603 2 130.00–136.00 $133.01 $802 —
880 880 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,100 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402 402 2 140.00 $140.00 $563 —
460–490 475 2 136.00–137.00 $136.52 $648 —
640 640 1 120.00 $120.00 $768 —
765 765 1 99.00 $99.00 $757 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
532 532 2 134.00 $134.00 $713 —
905 905 2 84.00 $84.00 $760 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1860 1447 75-80% 10 63.00–68.00 $65.93 $954 —
1275–1685 1510 75-80% 3 71.00–73.00 $72.44 $1,094 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1280 1108 80-85% 9 64.00–69.00 $66.94 $742 —
1285–1290 1288 80-85% 2 62.00–63.00 $62.50 $805 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685–1155 873 85-90% 4 55.00–62.00 $58.06 $507 -3.94
1220 1220 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $781 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 1 68.00 $68.00 $850 —
1275–1545 1410 2 89.00–95.00 $92.29 $1,301 —
1340–2005 1740 6 100.00–112.00 $105.78 $1,841 —

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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.