Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 21, 2021

1,425 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $140.65/cwt +27.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,138/hd at 809 lb · 261 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $148.45/cwt +1.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,005/hd at 677 lb · 198 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.15/cwt -1.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,036/hd at 714 lb · 165 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,425 654 756
Feeder cattle 1,329 561 708
Slaughter cattle 96 51 48
Replacement cattle — 42 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday all classes sold mostly 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
413–440 value added 420 4 161.00–167.00 $165.43 $695 +6.43
450–487 479 14 151.00–156.00 $152.02 $728 -2.98
488 value added 488 7 170.00 $170.00 $830 +5.00
511–518 value added 515 6 159.00–164.00 $161.48 $832 -0.82
540 540 1 156.00 $156.00 $842 —
550–555 553 2 150.00–153.00 $151.51 $838 -0.23
579–588 value added 583 17 161.00–164.00 $162.75 $949 +3.05
602–645 value added 618 10 147.00–159.00 $156.97 $970 +2.97
620–630 625 2 142.00–147.00 $144.48 $903 —
665–670 668 2 143.00–144.00 $143.50 $959 —
661–697 value added 692 30 149.00–159.50 $158.96 $1,100 +11.44
700–740 value added 733 13 141.00–147.50 $145.36 $1,065 +3.60
760 value added 760 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,087 —
813 813 3 142.00 $142.00 $1,154 -7.02
827 fancy 827 114 152.90 $152.90 $1,264 —
863–871 863 62 137.00–149.00 $148.41 $1,281 +23.41
940 940 26 135.50 $135.50 $1,274 —
986 986 19 134.00 $134.00 $1,321 +14.00
1015 1015 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,269 —
1085–1090 1088 2 112.00–114.00 $113.00 $1,229 —
1157 1157 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,273 -7.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
646 646 4 130.00 $130.00 $840 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 148.00 $148.00 $710 ±0.00
535 535 1 132.00 $132.00 $706 —
595 595 1 130.00 $130.00 $774 -10.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 2 135.00 $135.00 $493 —
405–430 414 6 130.00–139.00 $135.37 $560 —
450–455 453 3 135.00–138.00 $137.01 $621 -3.67
520 value added 520 7 148.00 $148.00 $770 +0.41
500–532 526 10 135.00–136.00 $135.10 $711 —
566 value added 566 6 142.00 $142.00 $804 -4.56
613–624 value added 618 93 140.00–149.50 $147.63 $912 +3.63
610–632 625 5 124.00–133.00 $128.04 $800 —
655–690 675 3 119.00–127.00 $123.27 $832 -7.21
670–695 value added 677 195 133.00–151.95 $148.84 $1,008 +1.69
703–723 value added 714 161 132.00–147.00 $145.69 $1,040 -1.11
700–721 716 4 123.00–125.00 $123.49 $884 —
769–791 value added 780 142 138.00–143.95 $141.33 $1,102 -0.67
805 805 1 123.00 $123.00 $990 +10.00
803–817 value added 809 258 137.25–142.80 $140.82 $1,139 —
812 812 2 127.00 $127.00 $1,031 +14.00
862–880 866 5 113.00–130.00 $126.54 $1,096 +13.04
935 935 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,122 +9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 115.00 $115.00 $299 —
415 415 1 120.00 $120.00 $498 —
460–467 465 3 129.00–130.00 $129.33 $601 -0.67
625–645 638 3 116.00–121.00 $117.63 $750 +16.63
665 665 1 121.00 $121.00 $805 +6.27
750–785 770 3 111.00–115.00 $112.34 $865 +19.34
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 130.00 $130.00 $689 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 156.00 $156.00 $616 —
470 470 2 146.00 $146.00 $686 +6.00
535 fancy 535 1 152.00 $152.00 $813 —
570–580 575 2 136.00–146.00 $141.04 $811 -2.96
600–640 615 6 125.00–133.00 $129.27 $795 -1.73
660 fancy 660 2 135.00 $135.00 $891 —
700 700 1 123.00 $123.00 $861 —
750–755 753 2 115.00–125.00 $119.98 $903 +6.12
845 845 1 114.00 $114.00 $963 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 141.00 $141.00 $486 —
490 490 1 139.00 $139.00 $681 —
530 530 1 127.00 $127.00 $673 —
550 550 1 130.00 $130.00 $715 —
640–645 643 2 113.00–115.00 $114.00 $733 —
790 790 1 104.00 $104.00 $822 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1710 1435 75-80% 14 61.00–67.00 $64.68 $928 —
1465 1465 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $864 -5.98
1290–1780 1529 75-80% 22 68.00–73.00 $70.28 $1,075 +0.04
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1455 1272 80-85% 18 62.00–67.00 $65.19 $829 —
1200–1455 1322 80-85% 3 57.00–59.00 $58.04 $767 —
1140–1505 1337 80-85% 15 68.00–74.00 $70.40 $941 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–1030 916 85-90% 6 47.00–55.00 $50.25 $460 —
940–1230 1071 85-90% 5 56.00–61.00 $58.98 $632 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480 1480 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,362 —
1580–2195 1765 5 96.00–108.00 $100.72 $1,778 —

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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.