Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 19, 2022

1,008 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 $170.33/cwt +8.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,397/hd at 820 lb · 253 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $159.26/cwt +13.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,246/hd at 782 lb · 190 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $166.84/cwt +5.46 vs last sale · ≈ $1,514/hd at 907 lb · 118 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,008 1,579 863
Feeder cattle 952 1,462 837
Slaughter cattle 53 104 23
Replacement cattle 3 13 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality with very good demand for yearling packages that made up the bulk of the offering. Light supply of 400-600 lb calves with buyers showing preference for long-weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower with light 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
400 400 1 164.00 $164.00 $656 +2.00
536–540 value added 537 6 166.00–179.00 $176.82 $950 +4.02
570–595 value added 584 4 164.00–168.00 $166.28 $971 -6.82
600–633 value added 617 12 155.00–175.00 $164.10 $1,012 -7.89
665–683 value added 681 11 159.00–164.50 $163.51 $1,114 -3.33
720–733 value added 724 9 155.00–161.00 $158.99 $1,151 —
728 thin fleshed 728 77 181.25 $181.25 $1,320 +2.12
767–780 value added 769 6 153.00–154.00 $153.83 $1,183 —
805–825 818 3 153.00–158.00 $155.99 $1,276 -1.53
814–841 thin fleshed 820 248 166.00–173.25 $170.74 $1,400 +7.99
830 830 2 140.00–141.00 $140.50 $1,166 -17.02
900 fancy 900 10 167.00 $167.00 $1,503 —
902–915 thin fleshed 908 108 166.75–166.90 $166.83 $1,515 +6.83
1041 fancy 1041 5 140.00 $140.00 $1,457 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 146.00 $146.00 $861 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–340 327 3 155.00–161.00 $156.84 $513 +5.00
348 value added 348 3 169.00 $169.00 $588 —
373–380 value added 376 7 160.00–164.00 $162.27 $610 -8.73
405–435 423 4 141.00–151.00 $147.00 $622 -4.00
450–487 480 6 142.00–148.00 $145.50 $698 -6.50
500 500 1 141.00 $141.00 $705 -5.21
500 thin fleshed 500 91 189.60 $189.60 $948 —
508 value added 508 6 151.50 $151.50 $770 -11.87
557–590 565 5 140.00–143.00 $141.98 $802 -6.71
576–590 value added 578 18 147.00–154.00 $152.54 $882 -8.40
617 thin fleshed 617 7 167.50 $167.50 $1,033 —
621–622 value added 621 10 144.00–151.00 $146.80 $912 -14.37
676–691 value added 684 6 149.00 $149.00 $1,019 -1.50
710–743 726 7 130.00–132.00 $131.28 $953 —
775 775 2 137.00 $137.00 $1,062 —
779 thin fleshed 779 129 162.00 $162.00 $1,262 —
752–794 value added 790 59 145.00–155.00 $154.03 $1,217 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 139.00 $139.00 $577 +4.11
450–495 458 7 131.00–135.00 $132.88 $609 —
525 525 1 111.00 $111.00 $583 —
557 557 2 125.00 $125.00 $696 —
600–635 624 7 125.00–134.00 $129.78 $810 +1.03
650–690 670 2 121.00–127.00 $124.09 $831 —
715–720 718 2 115.00–120.00 $117.51 $844 —
775 775 3 122.00 $122.00 $946 +2.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825 825 1 110.00 $110.00 $908 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–370 367 3 169.00–170.00 $169.33 $621 -1.68
405 405 1 167.00 $167.00 $676 +3.99
480 480 1 150.00 $150.00 $720 -11.85
505–546 531 9 151.00–159.00 $154.26 $819 +4.63
600–645 value added 622 6 147.00–153.00 $150.74 $938 +1.74
660 value added 660 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,010 +6.23
665–690 678 2 140.00–145.00 $142.45 $966 -0.55
720–735 value added 728 2 140.00–144.00 $142.02 $1,034 -6.98
795 value added 795 1 147.00 $147.00 $1,169 —
800–817 fancy 811 3 140.00–142.00 $141.34 $1,146 —
977 977 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,084 —
1007 1007 2 94.00 $94.00 $947 —
1070–1075 1072 3 87.00–100.00 $91.35 $979 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 146.00 $146.00 $708 —
595 595 1 133.00 $133.00 $791 —
650 650 1 135.00 $135.00 $878 —
960 960 2 90.00 $90.00 $864 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1625 1405 75-80% 12 75.00–84.00 $79.26 $1,114 -14.00
1545 1545 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $912 —
1415–1850 1597 75-80% 5 85.00–99.00 $91.43 $1,460 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1160 1026 85-90% 5 64.00–67.00 $65.20 $669 -6.88
965–1085 1040 85-90% 4 68.00–74.00 $72.23 $751 +0.15
645–1310 1085 85-90% 7 40.00–59.00 $54.42 $590 -32.27
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1275 1158 80-85% 3 75.00–80.00 $77.13 $893 —
985–1335 1178 80-85% 8 64.00–74.00 $69.67 $821 —
1120–1275 1198 80-85% 2 85.00–88.00 $86.60 $1,037 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1670 1508 2 106.00 $106.00 $1,598 —
2045 2045 1 115.00 $115.00 $2,352 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1670 1670 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1375 1375 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790 790 1 80.00 $80.00 $632 —

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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.