Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 16, 2021

1,808 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 $155.92/cwt +7.92 vs last sale · ≈ $1,263/hd at 810 lb · 257 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.39/cwt +3.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,374/hd at 890 lb · 235 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.44/cwt +0.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,106/hd at 716 lb · 196 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,808 1,600 1,582
Feeder cattle 1,749 1,484 1,474
Slaughter cattle 51 116 108
Replacement cattle 8 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold steady to 2.00 higher with good demand for weaned calves and yearling packages. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with light to moderate demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 lower with moderate demand and 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
340 value added 340 1 180.00 $180.00 $612 —
370–380 375 6 170.00–173.00 $172.00 $645 -1.00
432–440 value added 436 13 162.00–169.00 $165.39 $721 -2.85
440 440 2 156.00 $156.00 $686 +2.00
455–465 458 4 148.00–153.00 $151.73 $695 +0.73
465–494 value added 486 7 155.00–168.00 $164.44 $799 +6.28
502–520 508 12 148.00–150.00 $148.58 $755 +4.35
503–536 value added 516 10 160.00–165.00 $162.92 $841 +15.92
567 value added 567 93 179.75 $179.75 $1,019 +27.75
565–580 575 15 140.00–149.00 $144.46 $831 +4.46
602–640 value added 630 39 142.00–147.00 $145.88 $919 —
630–642 632 14 137.00–137.50 $137.32 $868 +3.32
663 value added 663 10 145.00 $145.00 $961 +2.73
670–698 684 48 133.00–139.75 $138.57 $948 —
701–729 value added 707 97 140.00–160.50 $155.92 $1,102 +1.12
700–740 717 28 128.50–135.00 $130.66 $937 -0.34
729 thin fleshed 729 71 161.80 $161.80 $1,180 —
777 777 5 134.00 $134.00 $1,041 +4.00
753–796 value added 793 70 138.00–151.50 $150.58 $1,194 -0.17
802–822 thin fleshed 810 253 155.60–156.50 $156.25 $1,266 —
830 830 4 135.00 $135.00 $1,120 -13.00
887–893 thin fleshed 889 176 154.75–156.00 $155.59 $1,383 —
893 893 59 150.80 $150.80 $1,347 +1.38
958 fancy 958 60 147.95 $147.95 $1,417 +0.35
1000 1000 2 115.00 $115.00 $1,150 —
1146 1146 3 110.00 $110.00 $1,261 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 2 135.00 $135.00 $783 —
645 645 2 134.00 $134.00 $864 —
710 710 4 120.00 $120.00 $852 -5.00
905 905 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,131 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775 775 4 125.00 $125.00 $969 —
830 830 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,079 -5.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317–337 327 4 127.00–133.00 $129.91 $425 +1.52
385–397 391 6 130.00–135.00 $131.15 $513 +1.48
400–447 425 16 121.00–130.00 $125.25 $532 -0.25
452–475 value added 453 30 130.00–139.00 $138.69 $628 —
462–470 468 13 124.00–126.00 $125.00 $585 -2.18
500–540 516 10 119.00–125.00 $120.80 $623 -4.68
523 523 4 117.00 $117.00 $612 -8.48
510–545 value added 528 7 125.00–135.00 $128.52 $679 -2.48
555–585 value added 567 27 125.00–130.00 $128.60 $729 -20.65
552–596 575 11 115.00–122.00 $119.45 $687 -2.60
580–595 588 4 117.00–118.00 $117.49 $691 -4.56
608 value added 608 86 149.75 $149.75 $910 -0.75
600–635 618 16 115.00–127.00 $119.16 $736 -5.33
650–685 668 13 113.00–126.00 $119.19 $796 +1.00
672 value added 672 76 148.70 $148.70 $999 -0.19
715 715 9 119.00 $119.00 $851 +5.52
723 723 9 105.00 $105.00 $759 -8.48
710–737 value added 732 80 122.00–145.90 $143.54 $1,051 +0.92
752–781 765 12 123.00–124.00 $123.33 $943 +9.33
830 830 1 106.00 $106.00 $880 —
1028–1040 1030 6 108.00–116.00 $114.65 $1,181 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 100.00 $100.00 $315 -22.50
355 355 1 124.00 $124.00 $440 —
455 455 1 115.00 $115.00 $523 +4.00
500–533 522 6 115.00 $115.00 $600 +4.86
626–640 630 4 96.00–101.00 $99.73 $628 -3.29
660–670 667 3 105.00–114.00 $107.97 $720 +6.97
700–710 703 4 95.00–100.00 $98.49 $692 -3.51
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 118.00 $118.00 $649 —
610 610 2 115.00 $115.00 $702 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 100.00 $100.00 $475 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–285 274 4 140.00–165.00 $150.94 $414 +8.44
350–375 363 2 160.00–167.50 $163.62 $594 +19.62
440 440 1 150.00 $150.00 $660 —
443 fancy 443 3 162.00 $162.00 $718 —
470 470 1 141.00 $141.00 $663 -4.91
505–535 525 8 131.00–141.00 $135.48 $711 -6.05
568–590 575 6 129.00–134.00 $131.03 $753 -5.41
600–626 614 9 120.00–125.00 $123.79 $760 -0.72
680 680 2 112.00 $112.00 $762 -1.67
700–747 711 12 112.00–121.00 $118.26 $841 +8.42
735 fancy 735 3 125.00 $125.00 $919 —
760–770 765 2 106.00–117.00 $111.46 $853 —
800 fancy 800 1 116.00 $116.00 $928 —
820–847 836 4 104.00–125.00 $111.66 $933 +15.66
855–897 881 5 110.00–113.00 $112.42 $990 +2.44
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 131.00 $131.00 $498 -4.47
515–540 525 5 128.00–130.00 $128.99 $677 +0.98
550–580 566 7 110.00–127.00 $119.95 $679 -7.02
645 645 1 113.00 $113.00 $729 -2.36
650 650 1 110.00 $110.00 $715 -5.40
732 732 2 103.00 $103.00 $754 +5.27
810 810 1 91.00 $91.00 $737 —
930 930 1 85.00 $85.00 $790 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 102.50 $102.50 $323 —
472 472 2 110.00 $110.00 $519 -8.00
561 561 3 101.00 $101.00 $567 -19.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
662 662 2 111.00 $111.00 $735 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1540 1339 75-80% 9 52.00–57.00 $55.08 $738 —
1170–1535 1403 75-80% 3 50.00–51.00 $50.64 $710 —
1540–1665 1588 75-80% 6 58.00–62.00 $60.01 $953 -2.11
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1005 925 85-90% 3 46.00–52.00 $49.31 $456 —
805–1115 956 85-90% 8 30.00–46.00 $39.10 $374 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270 1270 80-85% 1 64.00 $64.00 $813 +14.76
1145–1480 1297 80-85% 6 52.00–55.00 $53.71 $697 —
1185–1405 1305 80-85% 3 46.00–52.00 $49.51 $646 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470 1470 1 66.00 $66.00 $970 —
1545 1545 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,344 -3.44
1875 1875 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,781 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030–1510 1222 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 825.00–1,200.00 $979.50
975–1560 1337 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 800.00–1,100.00 $949.25
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1105 1105 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
1215 1215 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785 785 1 61.00 $61.00 $479 —
835 835 1 52.00 $52.00 $434 —
945 945 1 55.00 $55.00 $520 —

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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.