Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 11, 2022

888 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $145.70/cwt ≈ $1,431/hd at 982 lb · 104 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.23/cwt -4.67 vs last sale · ≈ $1,343/hd at 871 lb · 103 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $161.20/cwt +9.88 vs last sale · ≈ $1,020/hd at 633 lb · 97 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 888 862 1,187
Feeder cattle 812 812 1,133
Slaughter cattle 62 48 50
Replacement cattle 14 2 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady with good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 5.00 higher with good 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
315 value added 315 1 179.00 $179.00 $564 —
300–345 325 4 160.00–176.00 $171.30 $557 —
400–445 422 7 151.00–160.00 $155.89 $658 -13.11
407–445 value added 424 8 165.00–184.00 $174.35 $739 -8.65
450–482 value added 470 4 165.00–167.00 $166.03 $780 -9.42
475–485 480 2 154.00–156.00 $155.01 $744 -5.97
510–532 value added 517 11 159.00–164.00 $160.08 $828 -3.51
530–545 537 5 154.00–155.00 $154.41 $829 -1.59
555–567 value added 560 13 159.00–166.00 $162.23 $908 -5.27
572–583 579 6 152.00–156.00 $154.68 $896 -1.32
601–647 value added 633 97 144.00–168.00 $161.20 $1,020 +5.12
650–692 value added 670 15 140.00–151.00 $146.60 $982 -5.86
715 715 1 139.00 $139.00 $994 ±0.00
705–738 value added 718 60 140.00–155.50 $151.61 $1,089 -10.62
753–792 value added 770 55 141.00–157.00 $150.52 $1,159 +6.53
770 770 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,047 ±0.00
869–871 fancy 870 96 154.00–156.60 $155.79 $1,355 -3.91
870–884 882 7 132.00–133.00 $132.86 $1,172 -1.14
940 940 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,260 —
968 fancy 968 54 147.00 $147.00 $1,423 —
975–998 998 50 134.00–144.50 $144.29 $1,440 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
655 655 1 121.00 $121.00 $793 —
700–725 713 5 122.00–130.00 $127.64 $910 -2.36
840 840 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,042 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 150.00 $150.00 $450 —
525 525 1 145.00 $145.00 $761 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–275 fancy 265 2 149.00–151.00 $150.04 $398 —
310 310 1 141.00 $141.00 $437 —
340–341 value added 341 5 149.00–160.00 $157.81 $538 —
360–380 370 2 137.00–144.00 $140.59 $520 +10.59
400–445 value added 408 18 144.00–153.00 $147.92 $604 -1.83
430–440 433 4 138.00–139.00 $138.25 $599 +4.25
475–485 480 2 133.00–135.00 $133.99 $643 -5.01
501–533 value added 520 11 139.00–144.00 $142.36 $740 -3.18
505–541 524 18 130.00–135.00 $133.72 $701 —
557–585 value added 571 16 140.00–141.00 $140.49 $802 -1.15
550–580 573 10 130.00–137.00 $133.71 $766 -2.29
607–635 value added 621 6 133.00–138.00 $135.01 $838 -5.98
630–647 639 4 121.00–125.00 $122.97 $786 —
650–678 value added 657 15 131.00–135.50 $134.26 $882 -15.58
660–690 671 5 121.00–126.00 $124.17 $833 +3.17
701–730 708 4 101.00–104.00 $101.77 $721 —
713–740 value added 715 34 134.00–140.00 $139.63 $998 -4.37
780 value added 780 3 121.00 $121.00 $944 —
800 800 1 100.00 $100.00 $800 —
858 858 10 120.00 $120.00 $1,030 +4.00
902 902 4 107.00 $107.00 $965 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 123.00 $123.00 $387 +8.00
445 445 1 135.00 $135.00 $601 —
495 495 1 130.00 $130.00 $644 —
530–547 542 4 122.00–127.00 $124.77 $676 —
650 650 1 119.00 $119.00 $774 —
775 775 1 98.00 $98.00 $760 -6.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–276 270 4 156.00–167.00 $158.55 $428 —
327 327 2 164.00 $164.00 $536 +1.56
375–390 383 2 154.00–162.00 $158.08 $605 -1.89
457–495 478 6 150.00–160.00 $153.19 $732 -6.43
510–545 530 7 141.00–150.00 $146.39 $776 —
565–592 fancy 578 5 153.00–156.00 $154.37 $892 -3.63
572–592 588 9 147.00 $147.00 $864 +2.42
623 623 3 129.00 $129.00 $804 -1.00
670–690 681 6 124.00–134.00 $128.70 $876 -1.30
700–748 724 6 118.00–125.00 $121.94 $883 -2.31
751–765 756 6 115.00–125.00 $121.64 $920 —
805–810 808 2 100.00–107.00 $103.51 $836 -5.49
850–885 868 4 100.00–101.00 $100.51 $872 +0.51
955–960 958 2 96.00–103.00 $99.51 $953 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 142.50 $142.50 $470 —
425 425 1 130.00 $130.00 $552 -8.00
550–582 576 5 131.00–135.00 $134.24 $773 —
610–635 619 5 120.00–123.00 $121.21 $750 -3.79
650–685 668 2 118.00–120.00 $118.97 $795 —
700 700 3 111.00 $111.00 $777 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 135.00 $135.00 $297 —
270 270 1 122.50 $122.50 $331 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 121.00 $121.00 $847 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1355 1211 80-85% 7 54.00–61.00 $58.42 $707 -1.11
1170–1655 1343 80-85% 11 62.00–68.00 $63.85 $858 -4.28
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1460 1460 75-80% 1 61.00 $61.00 $891 —
1325–1800 1543 75-80% 7 62.00–67.00 $64.70 $998 —
1570–1875 1725 75-80% 10 69.00–74.00 $71.98 $1,242 +6.49
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–930 923 85-90% 2 65.00–69.00 $66.98 $618 —
885–1195 1062 85-90% 8 53.00–58.00 $54.94 $583 —
970–1160 1077 85-90% 3 42.00–48.00 $45.84 $494 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445 1445 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,272 —
1565 1565 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,283 —
1705–2125 1820 5 97.00–106.00 $100.50 $1,829 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1350–1620 1473 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 925.00–1,100.00 $997.34
1450–1715 1576 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,075.00–1,325.00 $1,187.77
1525–1725 1625 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,050.00–1,195.00 $1,126.96

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1670 1670 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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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.