Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 5, 2021

1,231 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 $149.49/cwt -2.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,236/hd at 827 lb · 148 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.03/cwt +25.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,063/hd at 781 lb · 128 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $143.39/cwt +12.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,357/hd at 947 lb · 118 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,231 1,148 1,127
Feeder cattle 1,184 1,077 1,046
Slaughter cattle 46 62 74
Replacement cattle 1 9 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold unevenly steady with good demand for weaned packages in light supply; light demand for new crop bawling calves. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold 5.00 lower in a light test. Good demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

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
265 265 1 147.50 $147.50 $391 —
265–285 fancy 278 3 160.00–171.00 $167.51 $466 —
345–346 fancy 346 4 160.00–172.00 $169.01 $585 -5.99
375–380 378 2 142.50–145.00 $143.76 $543 -20.24
410–440 value added 426 12 156.00–164.00 $161.40 $688 -1.60
450–460 value added 458 4 164.00 $164.00 $751 +2.00
470–495 488 5 144.00–155.00 $149.84 $731 +4.84
500–545 515 4 138.00–143.00 $141.49 $729 -5.51
520–548 value added 542 10 154.00–163.00 $161.27 $874 +3.30
553–595 value added 572 18 158.00–163.00 $161.45 $923 +3.45
585–595 590 2 144.00–148.00 $145.98 $861 —
625–645 value added 636 20 145.00–157.00 $152.74 $971 -3.04
651–689 value added 677 29 142.00–154.00 $150.87 $1,021 +7.87
715–735 value added 718 6 144.00 $144.00 $1,034 -14.08
761–779 value added 776 20 144.00–147.00 $144.44 $1,121 +2.69
790–791 791 7 125.00–128.00 $126.72 $1,002 —
805–846 fancy 826 122 150.00–153.00 $151.41 $1,251 -1.06
816–849 832 26 135.00–144.00 $140.48 $1,169 -0.24
900–945 915 8 135.00 $135.00 $1,235 +4.00
949 fancy 949 110 144.00 $144.00 $1,367 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 130.00 $130.00 $546 —
465 465 2 124.00 $124.00 $577 —
505–535 519 5 120.00–135.00 $131.18 $681 —
580 580 1 122.00 $122.00 $708 —
617 617 2 131.00 $131.00 $808 -0.86
665–670 668 2 131.00–133.00 $132.00 $882 —
840–841 841 8 114.00–120.00 $117.75 $990 -15.67
910–915 913 4 113.00–119.00 $115.99 $1,059 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560–582 571 4 130.00–136.00 $132.94 $759 —
795 795 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,034 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 278 5 128.00 $128.00 $356 -8.00
370 value added 370 6 133.00 $133.00 $492 —
400–427 408 7 120.00–124.00 $122.24 $499 -10.83
422 value added 422 2 134.00 $134.00 $565 —
462 462 2 122.00 $122.00 $564 -13.37
496 value added 496 3 131.00 $131.00 $650 -7.47
502–547 518 20 120.00–128.00 $123.33 $639 -9.27
554–575 value added 558 6 130.00–131.00 $130.17 $726 —
551–590 562 35 119.00–129.00 $125.13 $703 -6.79
600–616 606 9 118.00–121.00 $119.32 $723 -6.70
610–638 value added 613 80 131.00–150.00 $148.18 $908 +14.18
652–690 670 7 115.00–134.00 $124.43 $834 +6.44
682–695 value added 683 78 130.00–142.75 $141.48 $966 -3.52
725–735 733 5 100.00–108.00 $106.42 $780 —
763 763 5 115.00 $115.00 $877 +4.00
773–791 value added 782 123 135.00–138.85 $136.89 $1,070 —
835 835 63 137.20 $137.20 $1,146 +28.20
905 905 1 90.00 $90.00 $814 —
919 fancy 919 115 135.50 $135.50 $1,245 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 112.50 $112.50 $315 —
350 350 1 110.00 $110.00 $385 —
465 465 1 105.00 $105.00 $488 -16.64
500–540 524 6 110.00–116.00 $112.29 $588 -11.51
565 565 1 108.00 $108.00 $610 —
612–645 621 4 105.00–113.00 $108.94 $677 +8.94
655 655 1 110.00 $110.00 $720 +5.00
777 777 2 98.00 $98.00 $761 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 110.00 $110.00 $368 —
527 527 2 100.00 $100.00 $527 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 154.00 $154.00 $508 —
330 fancy 330 1 165.00 $165.00 $544 —
375 375 1 158.00 $158.00 $592 +3.00
435 435 1 140.00 $140.00 $609 -5.00
445 fancy 445 1 155.00 $155.00 $690 —
460–465 463 3 145.00–148.00 $147.01 $681 -2.57
487 fancy 487 5 153.50 $153.50 $748 —
500–530 512 6 139.00–146.00 $143.37 $734 +9.37
500–541 fancy 523 16 150.00–152.50 $150.90 $789 -3.10
555–570 566 4 137.00–139.00 $138.51 $784 +10.51
620 fancy 620 4 131.00 $131.00 $812 —
603–636 621 14 125.00–127.00 $125.56 $780 +9.56
680 680 1 125.00 $125.00 $850 +8.29
705–730 717 5 113.00–119.00 $115.44 $828 +9.47
855 855 1 94.00 $94.00 $804 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 130.00 $130.00 $358 —
315 315 1 130.00 $130.00 $410 —
445 445 1 130.00 $130.00 $578 —
520 520 1 121.00 $121.00 $629 —
590 590 2 121.00–128.00 $124.50 $735 +4.50
610 610 1 115.00 $115.00 $702 +5.00
675 675 2 105.00 $105.00 $709 -5.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 126.00 $126.00 $724 —
660 660 2 119.00 $119.00 $785 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185 1185 80-85% 1 67.00 $67.00 $794 +8.24
1120–1545 1296 80-85% 7 57.00–61.00 $58.98 $764 —
1210–1485 1344 80-85% 7 62.00–66.00 $64.23 $863 -0.43
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480–1570 1525 75-80% 2 59.00–62.00 $60.54 $923 -10.82
1475–1665 1569 75-80% 4 63.00–65.00 $64.29 $1,009 —
1515–1730 1600 75-80% 5 67.00–73.00 $69.16 $1,107 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1170 1103 85-90% 3 55.00–58.00 $56.95 $628 —
1125 1125 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $540 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1650 1498 3 83.00–87.00 $85.20 $1,276 —
1780–2045 1913 3 98.00–104.00 $102.00 $1,951 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1745 1745 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 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.