Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report, Lexington, KY

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 30, 2022

1,153 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $189.40/cwt +3.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,464/hd at 773 lb · 213 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $199.59/cwt -1.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,275/hd at 639 lb · 157 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $182.53/cwt +9.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,025/hd at 561 lb · 154 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,153 1,278 653
Feeder cattle 1,079 1,116 629
Slaughter cattle 71 158 21
Replacement cattle 3 4 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold steady on similar quality. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher on middleweights with very good demand for weaned packages. Yearlings sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady in a light test 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
315 315 1 200.00 $200.00 $630 -1.70
480–485 483 2 178.00–180.00 $179.01 $865 -12.99
515–520 516 5 177.00–187.00 $184.98 $954 —
510–522 value added 520 5 191.00–196.00 $195.02 $1,014 -18.12
580 580 9 189.00 $189.00 $1,096 —
583 fancy 583 13 197.00 $197.00 $1,149 —
600–639 value added 639 156 170.00–200.25 $199.82 $1,277 -1.59
645 645 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,051 -10.00
650–682 value added 665 10 184.00–198.00 $189.91 $1,263 -5.69
689 thin fleshed 689 58 199.50 $199.50 $1,375 —
700–745 value added 728 8 160.00–176.00 $171.89 $1,251 -3.19
754–783 thin fleshed 769 130 191.40–194.90 $193.12 $1,485 —
757–794 value added 779 83 175.50–185.50 $183.57 $1,430 -3.14
828–848 847 49 172.75–174.00 $172.82 $1,464 -1.79
863–870 863 62 160.00–174.75 $174.45 $1,506 +10.45
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
597 597 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,045 —
715 715 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,108 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560 560 1 119.00 $119.00 $666 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367 value added 367 2 176.00 $176.00 $646 -0.53
425–440 value added 433 2 167.00–175.00 $171.07 $741 -2.37
453–470 value added 461 9 188.00–189.00 $188.45 $869 +18.04
508–545 value added 528 18 167.50–187.00 $179.83 $950 +6.74
517–545 531 5 160.00–167.00 $163.45 $868 +8.96
559–561 value added 560 142 184.25–185.00 $184.67 $1,034 +8.60
565–590 579 12 146.00–162.00 $157.24 $910 +3.69
602–613 value added 609 5 143.00–152.00 $148.44 $904 -18.42
666–690 value added 671 21 148.00–161.00 $154.53 $1,037 -7.31
667–676 672 5 145.00–146.00 $145.40 $977 —
700–747 716 8 130.00–140.00 $132.97 $952 -9.07
706–724 value added 719 21 145.00–158.00 $154.35 $1,110 —
750–769 value added 769 67 143.00–165.70 $165.37 $1,272 —
780 780 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,069 +7.00
817–820 value added 817 19 149.00–155.75 $155.39 $1,270 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222 222 2 146.00 $146.00 $324 —
260–280 270 2 130.00–145.00 $137.78 $372 —
300 300 4 144.00 $144.00 $432 —
405–420 413 2 143.00–148.00 $145.55 $601 —
470–495 482 5 130.00–141.00 $136.25 $657 -9.56
575 575 2 136.00 $136.00 $782 -6.02
625–645 638 3 122.00–135.00 $130.76 $834 +1.79
657–682 670 4 114.00–131.00 $122.34 $820 -4.11
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 116.00 $116.00 $551 —
647 647 2 110.00 $110.00 $712 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
735 735 1 121.00 $121.00 $889 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 182.50 $182.50 $575 -15.00
370 370 5 186.00 $186.00 $688 -11.63
435 435 2 189.00 $189.00 $822 -10.00
452 452 2 184.00 $184.00 $832 +5.54
505–525 value added 515 3 174.00–190.00 $180.09 $927 —
507–545 526 4 170.00–173.00 $171.55 $902 -11.11
555–587 568 5 169.00–171.00 $169.83 $965 -1.44
602–640 value added 620 4 168.00–169.00 $168.49 $1,045 +0.69
675 675 1 148.00 $148.00 $999 —
695 value added 695 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,133 +0.20
755 755 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,034 —
900 900 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,080 —
1017 1017 2 84.00 $84.00 $854 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
165 165 2 160.00 $160.00 $264 —
210–245 228 2 160.00–165.00 $162.69 $371 —
312 312 2 166.00 $166.00 $518 +6.44
610 610 1 134.00 $134.00 $817 +3.00
665 665 1 120.00 $120.00 $798 —
805 805 1 100.00 $100.00 $805 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 180.00 $180.00 $711 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665–850 758 85-90% 2 40.00–57.00 $49.54 $376 —
805–1035 928 85-90% 4 68.00–71.00 $69.39 $644 —
660–1120 933 85-90% 12 72.00–78.00 $75.46 $704 —
855–1050 956 85-90% 4 81.00–83.00 $82.29 $787 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1080 1038 80-85% 4 77.00–79.00 $78.23 $812 —
930–1350 1181 80-85% 10 83.00–88.00 $85.73 $1,012 -4.30
1155–1400 1240 80-85% 3 91.00–97.00 $93.63 $1,161 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1315 1246 75-80% 8 85.00–89.00 $87.75 $1,093 —
1310–1470 1383 75-80% 5 90.00–99.00 $93.71 $1,296 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1665 1403 2 116.00–123.00 $120.16 $1,686 —
1450 1450 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,160 —
1400–2000 1573 6 100.00–115.00 $109.47 $1,722 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1005 1005 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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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
1110 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 2 101.00 $101.00 $586 —
945 945 1 112.50 $112.50 $1,063 —
1255 1255 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,117 —

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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.