Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 28, 2021

1,148 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 steers $151.69/cwt -0.93 vs last sale · ≈ $1,225/hd at 808 lb · 271 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.70/cwt -1.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,273/hd at 868 lb · 121 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $137.48/cwt +3.48 vs last sale · ≈ $1,328/hd at 966 lb · 118 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,148 1,425 1,186
Feeder cattle 1,077 1,329 1,170
Slaughter cattle 62 96 14
Replacement cattle 9 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers under 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with moderate demand; more new crop fleshy bawling calves coming to town this week putting downward pressure on the calf market. Good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows sold steady with good demand. Slaughter bulls lightly tested.

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
325 fancy 325 1 175.00 $175.00 $569 —
395 395 1 164.00 $164.00 $648 —
440 value added 440 1 163.00 $163.00 $717 -2.43
442 442 2 144.00 $144.00 $636 —
460 value added 460 1 162.00 $162.00 $745 -8.00
470 470 1 145.00 $145.00 $682 -7.02
510 510 1 147.00 $147.00 $750 -9.00
501–520 value added 514 13 157.00–158.50 $157.97 $812 -3.51
591 value added 591 8 158.00 $158.00 $934 -4.75
630–640 value added 634 13 145.00–159.50 $155.78 $988 -1.19
676–696 686 8 136.00–140.00 $137.97 $946 -5.53
690 value added 690 1 143.00 $143.00 $987 -15.96
705 705 2 134.00 $134.00 $945 —
712–724 value added 723 74 138.00–159.50 $158.08 $1,143 +12.72
765–790 value added 782 4 138.00–144.00 $141.75 $1,108 -1.25
803–813 fancy 806 253 152.00–152.95 $152.47 $1,229 -0.43
823–847 830 18 140.00–141.00 $140.72 $1,168 -1.28
850 fancy 850 60 152.50 $152.50 $1,296 —
885 885 61 141.00 $141.00 $1,248 -7.41
935 935 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,225 -4.50
950–976 966 118 130.00–140.00 $137.48 $1,328 +3.48
1000 1000 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,280 +3.00
1063 1063 56 124.25 $124.25 $1,321 +11.25
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 134.00 $134.00 $482 —
620–645 629 8 127.00–134.00 $131.86 $829 —
810–832 825 6 124.00–138.00 $133.42 $1,101 —
856 856 8 133.00 $133.00 $1,138 —
962 962 2 115.00 $115.00 $1,106 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 2 127.00 $127.00 $845 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 130.00 $130.00 $585 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 5 136.00 $136.00 $400 —
365–370 368 3 136.00–137.50 $136.50 $502 +1.50
405–445 429 7 129.00–139.00 $133.07 $571 -2.30
450–481 471 9 131.00–137.00 $135.37 $638 -1.64
450–483 value added 475 4 138.00–140.00 $138.47 $658 —
500–545 525 32 126.00–137.00 $132.60 $696 -2.50
555–578 567 9 129.00–134.00 $131.92 $748 —
601 value added 601 5 134.00 $134.00 $805 -13.63
600–637 615 11 119.00–129.00 $126.02 $775 -2.02
658 value added 658 85 145.00 $145.00 $954 -3.84
660–667 665 3 117.00–120.00 $117.99 $785 -5.28
712–728 value added 715 25 133.00–137.00 $136.19 $974 -9.50
765 765 2 111.00 $111.00 $849 —
805 805 1 109.00 $109.00 $877 -14.00
894 894 10 108.00 $108.00 $966 -18.54
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–425 422 3 120.00–124.00 $121.31 $512 +1.31
475–487 483 3 120.00–125.00 $121.64 $588 -7.69
500 500 5 123.00–125.00 $123.80 $619 —
610 610 1 100.00 $100.00 $610 -17.63
662 662 2 105.00 $105.00 $695 -16.00
705 705 1 105.00 $105.00 $740 —
810 810 1 94.00 $94.00 $761 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 146.00 $146.00 $423 —
380 380 1 155.00 $155.00 $589 -1.00
395 fancy 395 1 159.00 $159.00 $628 —
435 435 2 145.00 $145.00 $631 —
452–495 466 3 147.00–151.00 $149.58 $697 +3.58
502 fancy 502 2 154.00 $154.00 $773 +2.00
505 505 2 134.00 $134.00 $677 —
570 fancy 570 3 146.00 $146.00 $832 —
593 593 3 128.00 $128.00 $759 -13.04
628 628 3 116.00 $116.00 $728 -13.27
655–676 671 4 115.00–122.00 $116.71 $783 —
725–735 730 2 101.00–111.00 $105.97 $774 -17.03
775 775 2 100.00 $100.00 $775 -19.98
830 830 1 110.00 $110.00 $913 -4.00
917 917 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,018 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 130.00 $130.00 $630 -9.00
580 580 1 120.00 $120.00 $696 -10.00
600 600 1 110.00 $110.00 $660 —
665 665 1 110.00 $110.00 $732 —
755–770 766 4 90.00–95.00 $91.23 $699 -12.77
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 2 120.00 $120.00 $558 —
500–535 523 3 116.00 $116.00 $607 —
595 595 1 116.00 $116.00 $690 —
665 665 1 104.00 $104.00 $692 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1375 1181 80-85% 9 53.00–61.00 $58.76 $694 —
1265–1485 1338 80-85% 8 62.00–67.00 $64.66 $865 -5.74
1405–1465 1428 80-85% 4 68.00–70.00 $69.25 $989 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1610 1449 75-80% 8 62.00–67.00 $65.01 $942 +0.33
1200–1755 1518 75-80% 6 68.00–74.00 $71.36 $1,083 +1.08
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895–1165 1031 85-90% 5 54.00–57.00 $56.07 $578 —
980–1140 1060 85-90% 2 63.00–67.00 $65.15 $691 +6.17

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215 1215 1 74.00 $74.00 $899 —
1970–2350 2160 2 84.00–85.00 $84.54 $1,826 —
2200 2200 1 94.00 $94.00 $2,068 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1045–1200 1123 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 825.00 $825.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1025 1025 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 575.00 $575.00

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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.