Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 14, 2021

654 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.80/cwt -5.61 vs last sale · ≈ $984/hd at 670 lb · 95 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.02/cwt +8.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,241/hd at 833 lb · 78 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.80/cwt +22.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,053/hd at 717 lb · 65 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 654 1,625 902
Feeder cattle 561 1,508 855
Slaughter cattle 51 102 43
Replacement cattle 42 15 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady with good demand. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 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
365–380 373 2 159.00–162.00 $160.47 $599 —
405 405 1 152.00 $152.00 $616 —
420 value added 420 1 159.00 $159.00 $668 -1.00
460 460 1 155.00 $155.00 $713 -2.00
463 value added 463 7 165.00 $165.00 $764 -1.95
500–511 value added 508 8 155.00–166.00 $162.30 $824 +4.09
550–566 562 8 150.00–154.00 $151.74 $853 +2.30
560–595 value added 581 5 157.00–164.00 $159.70 $928 —
600–645 value added 627 5 141.00–159.00 $154.00 $966 -3.11
650–676 value added 659 10 141.00–152.00 $147.52 $972 -5.49
700–725 717 7 130.00–135.00 $133.27 $956 -3.55
706–733 value added 726 12 141.00–142.00 $141.76 $1,029 -9.71
752 752 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,008 -2.01
802–841 833 78 141.75–150.95 $149.02 $1,241 +8.28
861 861 3 125.00 $125.00 $1,076 —
876 thin fleshed 876 60 152.25 $152.25 $1,334 +10.50
962 962 2 120.00 $120.00 $1,154 -6.50
1165 1165 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,363 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 3 148.00 $148.00 $700 —
565–570 568 2 140.00–141.00 $140.50 $798 +5.97
620 620 1 128.00 $128.00 $794 -1.13
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,175 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 value added 440 1 151.00 $151.00 $664 +8.90
475–482 480 3 138.00–142.00 $140.68 $675 +5.68
460–490 value added 481 10 149.00–156.00 $151.75 $730 +5.26
530–535 value added 533 5 145.00–149.00 $147.59 $787 —
552–585 value added 568 16 145.00–148.00 $146.56 $832 -4.29
641 value added 641 8 144.00 $144.00 $923 -6.52
656–679 value added 670 93 135.00–149.10 $147.15 $986 -6.09
665–680 673 2 129.00–132.00 $130.48 $878 +0.81
717 value added 717 65 146.80 $146.80 $1,053 —
752 value added 752 31 142.00 $142.00 $1,068 +2.60
758–760 759 4 117.00–120.00 $119.25 $905 +0.52
805 805 2 113.00 $113.00 $910 -8.00
855 855 19 113.50 $113.50 $970 -1.50
880 value added 880 4 124.00 $124.00 $1,091 —
920 920 2 108.00 $108.00 $994 -4.28
933 933 6 111.00 $111.00 $1,036 -1.28
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 125.00 $125.00 $419 —
485 485 1 130.00 $130.00 $630 -0.25
645 645 1 101.00 $101.00 $651 -5.90
655–685 672 3 108.00–121.00 $114.73 $771 -2.27
700–730 718 3 103.00–114.00 $108.39 $778 -5.60
760 760 1 93.00 $93.00 $707 -14.49

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 146.00 $146.00 $438 —
425 fancy 425 1 157.00 $157.00 $667 —
435 435 1 148.00 $148.00 $644 -0.66
450 fancy 450 1 153.00 $153.00 $688 -8.00
490 490 1 140.00 $140.00 $686 -11.00
557 557 2 144.00 $144.00 $802 -2.61
640 640 1 131.00 $131.00 $838 -4.70
675 675 1 122.00 $122.00 $824 -14.69
745 745 1 110.00 $110.00 $820 —
750–785 768 2 108.00–120.00 $113.86 $874 -10.02
860 860 2 100.00 $100.00 $860 +3.99
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 123.00 $123.00 $603 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1870 1467 75-80% 13 63.00–68.00 $64.98 $953 -1.69
1295–1840 1516 75-80% 4 70.00–71.00 $70.24 $1,065 —
1870 1870 75-80% 1 52.00 $52.00 $972 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1220 1140 80-85% 4 54.00–62.00 $59.92 $683 —
970–1595 1202 80-85% 9 63.00–67.00 $65.28 $785 -0.68
1240–1595 1370 80-85% 3 69.00–73.00 $70.55 $967 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140 1140 1 77.00 $77.00 $878 —
1165–1515 1340 2 87.00–93.00 $90.39 $1,211 —
1620–2195 1859 5 96.00–107.00 $103.49 $1,924 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
905 905 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 83.00 $83.00 $751

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1040–1060 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 700.00–750.00 $725.24
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035 1035 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1220 1220 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 75.00 $75.00 $915
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030 1030 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00

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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
1412–1615 1476 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 1,550.00–1,650.00 $1,608.19 —
1485–1730 1555 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 10 1,950.00–1,975.00 $1,967.84 —
1608–1860 1671 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 1,525.00–1,900.00 $1,795.65 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
833 833 3 86.00 $86.00 $716 —
971 971 8 88.50 $88.50 $859 —

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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.