Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 16, 2022

1,241 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $174.01/cwt +1.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,606/hd at 923 lb · 247 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $165.89/cwt +2.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,115/hd at 672 lb · 204 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $176.67/cwt ≈ $1,682/hd at 952 lb · 108 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,241 1,689 1,835
Feeder cattle 1,166 1,606 1,793
Slaughter cattle 66 62 41
Replacement cattle 9 21 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher with some 500-600 lb packages 10.00 higher with very good demand for weaned and fancy calf packages. Feeder heifers sold steady in a limited comparison. Yearlings sold steady with good demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 4.00 to 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
335 335 2 205.00 $205.00 $687 —
362–395 379 4 190.00–200.00 $195.22 $740 —
415 415 1 190.00 $190.00 $788 +7.00
421–445 value added 431 5 204.00–207.00 $205.24 $885 —
455 455 1 177.00 $177.00 $805 +9.00
460–482 value added 476 7 199.00–207.00 $203.58 $969 —
510 510 1 179.00 $179.00 $913 +17.00
505–545 value added 527 10 196.00–212.00 $203.64 $1,073 +0.95
570 570 2 169.00 $169.00 $963 -1.00
550–593 value added 574 17 194.00–206.00 $200.05 $1,148 +12.62
600 thin fleshed 600 2 195.00 $195.00 $1,170 +1.28
645 value added 645 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,167 —
651–674 fancy 672 42 194.00 $194.00 $1,304 —
680–695 value added 685 5 167.00–184.00 $176.97 $1,212 +1.97
733 value added 733 3 178.00 $178.00 $1,305 +5.02
767 value added 767 2 177.00 $177.00 $1,358 —
815–840 821 66 157.00–174.00 $173.66 $1,426 +5.94
835–841 fancy 840 5 176.00–178.00 $177.60 $1,492 -1.40
855–890 856 57 170.00–175.00 $174.16 $1,491 —
910–934 fancy 923 244 170.00–176.75 $174.12 $1,607 +0.78
923 923 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,523 +18.00
952 fancy 952 105 177.00 $177.00 $1,685 —
963 963 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,589 —
1030 1030 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,545 +1.00
1055 1055 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,361 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 151.00 $151.00 $649 —
625 625 1 145.00 $145.00 $906 —
715 715 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,008 —
935 935 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,272 —
990 990 1 94.00 $94.00 $931 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 162.50 $162.50 $374 —
380 value added 380 3 172.00 $172.00 $654 -3.00
395 395 1 151.00 $151.00 $596 -9.50
430 430 2 161.00 $161.00 $692 +6.19
433–442 value added 437 5 172.00–174.00 $172.81 $755 —
455–478 value added 464 16 166.00–174.00 $169.40 $786 +1.90
452–480 471 7 150.00–163.00 $158.22 $745 +1.22
500–535 518 2 145.00–156.00 $150.69 $781 —
532–535 value added 534 5 166.00–168.00 $167.20 $893 -16.07
555–595 value added 573 88 159.00–172.00 $170.96 $980 -6.57
615 615 1 147.00 $147.00 $904 —
605–635 value added 628 24 154.00–167.00 $164.22 $1,031 +12.22
664–688 value added 672 204 162.00–168.00 $165.89 $1,115 +10.89
700 700 1 135.00 $135.00 $945 —
795 fancy 795 94 165.85 $165.85 $1,319 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 132.50 $132.50 $510 —
702 702 2 119.00 $119.00 $835 —
820–823 822 4 110.00–115.00 $113.75 $935 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328 value added 328 3 214.00 $214.00 $702 —
351 value added 351 3 201.00 $201.00 $706 —
370–385 375 4 187.00–199.00 $194.46 $729 +14.66
415 415 1 179.00 $179.00 $743 +13.71
400–445 fancy 427 19 197.00–203.00 $200.26 $855 —
460–485 475 3 168.00–183.00 $177.48 $843 +4.48
450–485 fancy 476 4 186.00–198.00 $188.83 $899 —
500–509 508 6 174.00–185.00 $183.19 $931 —
503–517 value added 511 7 188.50–193.00 $190.40 $973 +15.04
550–587 value added 559 8 179.00–187.00 $184.90 $1,034 +10.28
572–595 581 4 161.00–176.00 $166.31 $966 +7.31
670–680 675 2 159.00 $159.00 $1,073 —
735 735 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,066 +6.96
795 thin fleshed 795 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,177 —
823 thin fleshed 823 3 154.00 $154.00 $1,267 —
835 835 1 146.00 $146.00 $1,219 —
895 895 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,253 —
965–967 966 3 120.00–138.00 $125.99 $1,217 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 152.00 $152.00 $836 —
630 630 1 139.00 $139.00 $876 —
880 880 1 100.00 $100.00 $880 -1.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 97.50 $97.50 $566 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 75-80% 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,019 —
1180–1655 1433 75-80% 22 90.00–98.00 $94.74 $1,358 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1220 1094 80-85% 5 80.00–89.00 $85.86 $939 +4.89
1055–1455 1237 80-85% 12 90.00–98.00 $92.82 $1,148 +4.11
1295 1295 80-85% 1 77.00 $77.00 $997 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–995 908 85-90% 6 70.00–78.00 $74.57 $677 +0.04
1020 1020 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $653 —
1050–1120 1085 85-90% 2 80.00–87.00 $83.61 $907 +3.55

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1610 1341 4 104.00–113.00 $108.75 $1,458 -0.40
1745–2035 1853 6 118.00–127.00 $123.45 $2,288 +5.96

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
960 960 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00

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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
1445–1805 1625 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,250.00–1,600.00 $1,444.38 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1020–1200 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,100.00–1,135.00 $1,116.08 —

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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.