Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 12, 2021

1,016 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $152.39/cwt +7.13 vs last sale · ≈ $938/hd at 616 lb · 166 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.51/cwt +9.43 vs last sale · ≈ $1,000/hd at 669 lb · 160 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $147.61/cwt +3.61 vs last sale · ≈ $1,060/hd at 718 lb · 92 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,016 1,231 1,519
Feeder cattle 973 1,184 1,455
Slaughter cattle 42 46 61
Replacement cattle 1 1 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold unevenly steady with good demand for weaned packages light demand for bawling calves. Very good demand for yearling packages with 700-900 lbs 5.00 higher in a limited comparison. Feeder heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter cows sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower with light demand. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 lower with moderate 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
400–425 value added 410 4 155.00–160.00 $157.00 $644 -4.40
410–440 423 3 151.00–153.00 $151.98 $643 —
462–496 value added 478 7 163.00–168.00 $166.34 $795 +2.34
500–542 522 10 140.00–149.00 $146.36 $764 +4.87
500–545 value added 526 22 152.00–164.00 $158.19 $832 -3.08
570–580 value added 576 19 153.00–165.00 $162.60 $937 +1.15
563–587 578 10 140.00–152.00 $143.65 $830 -2.33
600–632 value added 626 28 142.00–157.00 $147.82 $925 -4.92
615–645 630 2 136.00 $136.00 $857 —
651–680 value added 658 7 142.00–147.00 $145.92 $960 -4.95
700–720 703 6 133.00–135.00 $133.34 $937 —
700–745 value added 719 86 139.00–154.25 $148.61 $1,069 +4.61
779–790 value added 779 66 143.00–153.75 $153.42 $1,195 +8.98
800–839 831 35 135.00–150.00 $146.93 $1,221 +6.45
868 868 4 139.00 $139.00 $1,207 —
935 935 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,206 -6.00
960 960 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,286 —
964 fancy 964 56 141.90 $141.90 $1,368 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 136.00 $136.00 $626 +12.00
560 560 1 135.00 $135.00 $756 +13.00
620 620 1 135.00 $135.00 $837 +4.00
740 740 1 117.00 $117.00 $866 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 150.00 $150.00 $495 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–390 380 2 121.00–130.00 $125.38 $476 —
405–440 426 17 120.00–132.00 $125.27 $534 +3.03
455–491 471 12 125.50–127.00 $126.19 $594 +4.19
500–530 520 29 121.00–128.00 $127.14 $661 +3.81
521–533 value added 527 10 128.00–130.00 $129.21 $681 —
551–590 561 30 120.00–128.00 $126.37 $709 +1.24
600–641 value added 615 160 148.50–155.00 $153.61 $945 +5.43
600–641 630 6 119.00–121.00 $119.84 $755 +0.52
665 665 1 116.00 $116.00 $771 -8.43
661–669 value added 669 159 135.00–150.00 $149.72 $1,002 +8.24
735 value added 735 1 124.00 $124.00 $911 —
755–763 value added 757 14 126.00–132.00 $130.70 $989 -6.19
832 832 2 105.00 $105.00 $874 -32.20
834 value added 834 20 132.50 $132.50 $1,105 —
855 value added 855 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,086 —
875–895 888 6 105.00–116.00 $111.63 $991 —
890 890 2 100.00 $100.00 $890 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 111.00 $111.00 $289 -1.50
370–390 383 7 110.00–115.00 $113.62 $435 +3.62
406 406 3 115.00 $115.00 $467 —
520 520 1 116.00 $116.00 $603 +3.71
615 615 2 100.00 $100.00 $615 -8.94
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657 657 2 110.00 $110.00 $723 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 100.00 $100.00 $515 ±0.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 146.00 $146.00 $489 -8.00
400 400 2 146.00 $146.00 $584 +6.00
452–495 466 6 147.00–151.00 $149.58 $697 +2.57
500–520 503 8 135.00–145.00 $141.22 $710 -2.15
560–595 572 10 131.00–145.00 $138.65 $793 +0.14
615–648 641 5 125.00–131.00 $127.16 $815 +1.60
730 730 4 116.00 $116.00 $847 +0.56
755–780 771 6 111.00–118.00 $116.19 $896 —
915 915 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,052 —
950–968 961 6 106.00–116.00 $111.53 $1,072 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 134.00 $134.00 $476 —
442 442 4 132.00 $132.00 $583 +2.00
460 460 1 132.00 $132.00 $607 —
515–541 535 4 120.00–128.00 $121.93 $652 +0.93
606–620 609 5 110.00–113.00 $112.39 $684 -2.61
775 775 1 105.00 $105.00 $814 —
830 830 1 90.00 $90.00 $747 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1290 1100 85-90% 5 48.00–50.00 $48.47 $533 -8.48
985–1290 1129 85-90% 7 43.00–46.00 $44.76 $505 -3.24
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1290 1250 80-85% 2 42.00–48.00 $44.90 $561 —
1035–1525 1263 80-85% 8 50.00–55.00 $52.74 $666 -6.24
1270 1270 80-85% 1 57.00 $57.00 $724 -1.98
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1425–1585 1487 75-80% 3 48.00–49.00 $48.32 $719 —
1405–1680 1559 75-80% 8 51.00–54.00 $52.74 $822 -11.55

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625 1625 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,219 —
1825–2110 1920 3 95.00–99.00 $96.78 $1,858 -5.22

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
955 955 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 78.00 $78.00 $745

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 715 1 80.00 $80.00 $572 —

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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.