Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 21, 2021

354 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 $146.00/cwt +48.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,183/hd at 810 lb · 60 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $149.59/cwt +19.98 vs last sale · ≈ $948/hd at 634 lb · 22 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.09/cwt +10.84 vs last sale · ≈ $992/hd at 624 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 354 1,735 431
Feeder cattle 294 1,678 389
Slaughter cattle 56 57 37
Replacement cattle 4 — 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trends due to limited amount of comparisons and light receipts due to the upcoming holiday break.

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
316 316 3 160.00 $160.00 $506 —
415 415 2 179.00 $179.00 $743 +26.00
475 475 2 150.00 $150.00 $712 —
514–525 517 8 158.00–160.00 $159.49 $825 +8.66
555–595 572 10 147.00–154.00 $150.91 $863 —
622 622 2 146.00 $146.00 $908 +7.00
624 value added 624 9 162.00 $162.00 $1,011 +13.61
652 652 5 140.00 $140.00 $913 +2.34
710 710 2 149.00 $149.00 $1,058 +18.60
767 767 2 120.00 $120.00 $920 —
825 825 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,138 -8.75
865 865 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,211 -1.98
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 120.00 $120.00 $480 —
555 555 1 137.00 $137.00 $760 ±0.00
715 715 1 120.00 $120.00 $858 -6.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
453 453 3 150.00 $150.00 $680 +17.74
518 518 3 146.00 $146.00 $756 +11.00
550–590 567 5 120.00–130.00 $124.88 $708 -1.10
610 610 3 138.00 $138.00 $842 +18.22
650 650 1 134.00 $134.00 $871 +15.00
810 value added 810 60 146.00 $146.00 $1,183 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 4 114.00 $114.00 $274 —
422–445 430 3 110.00–113.00 $111.96 $481 —
575 575 1 116.00 $116.00 $667 +1.00
680 680 1 100.00 $100.00 $680 -10.00
755 755 1 95.00 $95.00 $717 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 150.00 $150.00 $668 —
515 515 3 122.50 $122.50 $631 -20.37
595 595 1 126.00 $126.00 $750 -21.00
625 625 1 120.00 $120.00 $750 -3.57
634 value added 634 21 151.00 $151.00 $957 +17.50
700 700 1 122.00 $122.00 $854 +2.76
765–775 770 2 118.00–123.00 $120.48 $928 +10.48
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
637 637 2 109.00 $109.00 $694 -11.00
705 705 1 104.00 $104.00 $733 -6.00
920 920 1 96.00 $96.00 $883 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1420 1210 80-85% 9 46.00–52.00 $49.78 $602 -7.41
1175–1325 1265 80-85% 3 62.00–64.00 $62.70 $793 +0.39
1110–1430 1311 80-85% 14 53.00–61.00 $56.31 $738 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530 1530 75-80% 1 53.00 $53.00 $811 +14.00
1470–1815 1591 75-80% 7 55.00–62.00 $58.12 $925 —
1630–2100 1772 75-80% 5 64.00–68.00 $66.06 $1,171 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 85-90% 1 62.50 $62.50 $441 —
1010 1010 85-90% 1 52.00 $52.00 $525 +12.52

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345 1345 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,063 —
1620–1965 1793 2 91.00–92.00 $91.55 $1,641 —
2225 2225 1 96.00 $96.00 $2,136 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
805–960 895 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 70.00–74.00 $71.20 $637

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
965–1040 1003 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 490.00–570.00 $531.50
1030 1030 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
427 427 2 105.00 $105.00 $448 —
457 457 2 110.00 $110.00 $503 —
710 value added 710 68 116.25 $116.25 $825 —

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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.