Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 18, 2022

2,242 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $162.48/cwt ≈ $1,167/hd at 718 lb · 380 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.12/cwt -1.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,410/hd at 864 lb · 305 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $160.73/cwt -6.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,485/hd at 924 lb · 305 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,242 884 1,406
Feeder cattle 2,133 803 1,329
Slaughter cattle 104 72 69
Replacement cattle 5 9 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday steer calves under 600 lbs sold steady to 4.00 higher with good demand for weaned packages; yearling steers sold steady to 1.00 higher with good demand. Heifer calves sold steady with some 5-weights 3.00 to 5.00 higher with good demand for attractive quality weaned packages. Yearling heifers 5.00 higher in a limited comparison. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower under heavy supply. Slaughter bulls no test.

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
280 280 1 175.00 $175.00 $490 —
340 340 1 162.50 $162.50 $552 —
410–425 value added 418 2 166.00–170.00 $167.96 $702 -1.04
450 450 1 160.00 $160.00 $720 —
486 value added 486 4 165.50 $165.50 $804 +5.50
512–547 value added 534 13 159.00–173.00 $168.26 $899 +9.31
557 557 2 154.00 $154.00 $858 —
555–585 value added 575 26 159.00–170.00 $163.12 $938 +4.12
605 value added 605 13 168.00 $168.00 $1,016 —
656 value added 656 75 170.00 $170.00 $1,115 —
760–775 value added 767 132 159.00–168.75 $168.11 $1,289 +3.83
795 thin fleshed 795 60 174.75 $174.75 $1,389 —
823 823 20 168.00 $168.00 $1,383 +15.00
857–867 fancy 862 120 168.75–169.25 $168.99 $1,457 +1.74
863 863 5 150.00 $150.00 $1,294 -14.01
853–890 866 180 155.00–164.00 $159.57 $1,382 -4.44
913–942 917 119 152.25–156.50 $154.67 $1,418 —
925–947 fancy 928 186 162.50–165.00 $164.61 $1,528 -2.49
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 3 145.00–150.00 $148.33 $549 —
415 415 3 149.00 $149.00 $618 —
480 480 1 145.00 $145.00 $696 —
635 635 1 134.00 $134.00 $851 —
660 660 1 138.00 $138.00 $911 —
806 806 4 145.00 $145.00 $1,169 +6.00
887 887 2 135.00 $135.00 $1,197 —
972 972 2 126.00 $126.00 $1,225 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 1 132.00 $132.00 $878 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 130.00 $130.00 $422 -3.00
350–373 367 5 130.00–133.00 $130.57 $479 -9.43
430–440 434 4 130.00–139.00 $132.49 $575 +0.46
433–447 value added 441 7 147.00–148.00 $147.42 $650 —
461 value added 461 4 145.00 $145.00 $668 -2.00
466–470 467 4 135.00 $135.00 $630 -4.09
515 515 1 137.00 $137.00 $706 -1.06
510–539 value added 529 13 142.00–153.00 $149.81 $792 —
557–575 563 3 138.00–141.00 $139.98 $788 +4.35
552–590 value added 572 71 140.00–155.00 $149.60 $856 +3.56
607–647 628 9 129.00–146.00 $135.22 $849 +7.46
600–642 value added 629 120 159.00–172.00 $169.53 $1,066 +25.53
653–674 664 14 137.00–144.00 $140.56 $933 —
652–687 value added 666 147 162.00–167.00 $164.11 $1,093 +14.84
700–735 718 4 122.00–133.00 $127.76 $917 —
706–736 value added 718 376 154.85–167.95 $162.85 $1,169 —
763–783 value added 773 152 156.00–166.00 $164.88 $1,275 +4.88
775 775 1 122.00 $122.00 $946 —
803 value added 803 5 134.00 $134.00 $1,076 -5.00
910 910 1 102.00 $102.00 $928 -18.00
983 983 17 129.00 $129.00 $1,268 —
988 988 3 94.00 $94.00 $929 —
1070 1070 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,016 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–365 360 2 125.00–127.50 $126.23 $454 —
405 405 2 120.00–126.00 $123.00 $498 +0.85
495 495 1 120.00 $120.00 $594 ±0.00
545 545 2 125.00 $125.00 $681 —
555–586 577 5 124.00–125.00 $124.39 $718 -0.61
632 632 2 120.00 $120.00 $758 —
655 655 1 125.00 $125.00 $819 —
775–795 782 3 100.00–118.00 $106.10 $830 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 value added 391 4 168.00 $168.00 $657 —
412 412 2 150.00 $150.00 $618 —
472–495 480 3 145.00–151.00 $148.94 $715 +8.94
493 value added 493 3 159.00 $159.00 $784 -2.00
536 536 4 151.00 $151.00 $809 +5.97
626 value added 626 3 139.00 $139.00 $870 —
635 635 3 128.00 $128.00 $813 -0.12
697 value added 697 2 142.00 $142.00 $990 —
700 700 1 121.00 $121.00 $847 +5.68
825 825 1 112.00 $112.00 $924 +4.00
865 865 1 105.00 $105.00 $908 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 285 2 122.50–140.00 $130.94 $373 -9.06
410 410 1 138.00 $138.00 $566 —
558 558 5 130.00 $130.00 $725 ±0.00
630 630 1 119.00 $119.00 $750 —
945 945 1 95.00 $95.00 $898 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 121.00 $121.00 $363 —
505 505 1 114.00 $114.00 $576 —
560–575 568 2 114.00–116.00 $115.01 $653 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1735 1369 75-80% 12 73.00–78.00 $75.28 $1,031 —
1200–1570 1397 75-80% 10 66.00–73.00 $70.85 $990 —
1245–1695 1425 75-80% 9 79.00–89.00 $83.79 $1,194 +0.97
1590 1590 75-80% 1 76.00 $76.00 $1,208 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1200 1117 80-85% 3 70.00–72.00 $71.39 $797 —
970–1435 1258 80-85% 16 73.00–79.00 $75.51 $950 —
1040–1650 1265 80-85% 12 79.00–92.00 $83.85 $1,061 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1175 990 85-90% 4 45.00–55.00 $51.55 $510 +4.52
720–1275 1053 85-90% 8 56.00–64.00 $60.28 $635 -10.23
985–1250 1118 85-90% 2 75.00–77.00 $76.12 $851 —
965–1400 1144 85-90% 8 65.00–73.00 $67.74 $775 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1107 1107 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 850.00 $850.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
905 905 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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.