Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 4, 2022

862 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $162.06/cwt +12.06 vs last sale · ≈ $801/hd at 494 lb · 121 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.22/cwt +15.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,031/hd at 691 lb · 93 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.83/cwt +10.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,177/hd at 736 lb · 87 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 862 354 1,229
Feeder cattle 812 294 1,137
Slaughter cattle 48 56 65
Replacement cattle 2 4 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

No market comparisons due to the Holidays, however market opened strong this week. Very active interest for weaned steer and heifer calf packages.

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
380 380 1 159.00 $159.00 $604 —
432 value added 432 2 183.00 $183.00 $791 —
447 447 2 169.00 $169.00 $755 -10.00
455–475 465 2 160.00–162.00 $160.98 $749 +10.98
485–488 value added 487 9 170.00–177.00 $175.45 $854 —
501–547 value added 516 6 161.00–165.00 $163.59 $844 —
548 548 4 156.00 $156.00 $855 -3.49
582 582 2 156.00 $156.00 $908 +5.09
588–590 value added 589 22 167.00–168.00 $167.50 $987 —
600–628 618 8 139.00–145.00 $141.19 $873 -4.81
603–641 value added 625 17 149.00–160.00 $156.08 $976 -5.92
661–680 value added 676 27 148.50–155.00 $152.46 $1,031 —
720 720 9 139.00 $139.00 $1,001 -10.00
711–740 value added 738 78 145.00–163.80 $162.23 $1,197 —
754–792 value added 758 19 143.25–150.00 $143.99 $1,091 —
780 780 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,061 +16.00
825 825 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,254 +14.00
860 860 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,152 -6.00
867 fancy 867 62 159.70 $159.70 $1,385 —
901 901 7 150.50 $150.50 $1,356 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 151.00 $151.00 $453 —
545 545 2 147.00 $147.00 $801 —
745 745 1 130.00 $130.00 $968 +10.00
785 785 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,028 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 130.00 $130.00 $488 —
410 410 1 134.00 $134.00 $549 —
417–418 value added 417 8 149.00–151.00 $149.75 $624 —
463–485 value added 474 20 143.00–151.00 $148.51 $704 —
495 495 1 139.00 $139.00 $688 —
498 fancy 498 100 165.00 $165.00 $822 —
518–540 value added 526 13 139.00–152.00 $145.54 $766 —
571 571 4 136.00 $136.00 $777 +11.12
555–583 value added 580 31 139.00–150.00 $141.64 $822 —
610–637 value added 628 38 136.00–142.50 $140.99 $885 —
653–692 value added 691 91 135.00–154.00 $149.84 $1,035 —
692 692 2 121.00 $121.00 $837 —
722 value added 722 50 144.00 $144.00 $1,040 —
770 770 1 128.00 $128.00 $986 —
817 value added 817 63 145.90 $145.90 $1,192 -0.10
855 855 1 116.00 $116.00 $992 —
870–890 880 2 114.00–120.00 $117.03 $1,030 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 117.50 $117.50 $258 +3.50
305 305 1 115.00 $115.00 $351 —
750 750 1 104.00 $104.00 $780 +9.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 333 2 160.00–165.00 $162.44 $541 —
355–395 366 8 150.00–165.00 $159.97 $585 —
415 thin fleshed 415 3 185.00 $185.00 $768 —
440 value added 440 1 173.00 $173.00 $761 —
470–480 477 3 156.00–167.00 $159.62 $761 —
555 fancy 555 1 158.00 $158.00 $877 —
565–585 value added 569 9 155.00 $155.00 $882 —
550–595 578 3 141.00–148.00 $144.58 $836 +18.58
635–640 638 2 130.00 $130.00 $829 +10.00
667 667 2 130.00 $130.00 $867 —
705–737 733 17 120.00–125.00 $124.25 $911 +2.25
835 835 1 109.00 $109.00 $910 —
855 855 1 100.00 $100.00 $855 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–295 280 2 135.00–150.00 $142.90 $400 —
395 395 1 140.00 $140.00 $553 —
415 415 3 138.00 $138.00 $573 —
490–495 493 2 131.00–145.00 $137.96 $680 —
525 525 1 125.00 $125.00 $656 —
630 630 1 125.00 $125.00 $788 +16.00
760–785 773 2 98.00–114.00 $105.87 $818 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790 790 1 112.00 $112.00 $885 —
895 895 1 100.00 $100.00 $895 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 107.50 $107.50 $371 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1460 1221 80-85% 13 57.00–62.00 $59.53 $727 +9.75
1155–1540 1345 80-85% 4 65.00–70.00 $68.13 $916 +11.82
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1105 1048 85-90% 5 29.00–49.00 $42.74 $448 —
1005–1285 1101 85-90% 5 50.00–59.00 $54.16 $596 —
1105–1210 1158 85-90% 2 62.00 $62.00 $718 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395–1895 1588 75-80% 5 58.00–62.00 $59.94 $952 +1.82
1705–1720 1713 75-80% 2 63.00–68.00 $65.49 $1,122 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420–1555 1473 3 88.00–90.00 $88.97 $1,311 —
1550–2420 1985 2 94.00–96.00 $94.78 $1,881 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080 1080 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00
1245 1245 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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.