Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 22, 2022

1,230 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $181.91/cwt +6.55 vs last sale · ≈ $1,170/hd at 643 lb · 258 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $175.63/cwt +2.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,333/hd at 759 lb · 166 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $173.11/cwt ≈ $1,444/hd at 834 lb · 114 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,230 1,078 733
Feeder cattle 1,124 1,014 686
Slaughter cattle 105 64 41
Replacement cattle 1 — 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality. Buyers showing preference for long-weaned packages. Fleshy, off-colored and bawling calves facing discounts. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady in a light test with moderate 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
300–335 318 2 176.00–180.00 $177.89 $566 —
360–390 375 2 181.00–190.00 $185.68 $696 —
395 value added 395 3 195.00 $195.00 $770 —
410–425 value added 418 2 180.00 $180.00 $752 -7.56
435 435 4 154.00 $154.00 $670 —
450–483 465 8 153.00–160.00 $156.89 $730 —
472–480 value added 475 3 171.00–181.00 $174.37 $828 -13.52
516 516 3 162.00 $162.00 $836 -0.03
538 value added 538 14 169.00 $169.00 $909 -6.32
565 565 2 154.00 $154.00 $870 -5.00
565–587 value added 578 7 163.00–179.00 $172.29 $996 -1.62
610–632 629 15 145.00–151.50 $150.49 $947 -2.51
642–644 value added 644 243 154.00–184.60 $183.85 $1,184 +8.23
665–692 value added 689 82 154.00–174.75 $172.48 $1,188 —
695 695 3 145.00 $145.00 $1,008 —
700 thin fleshed 700 73 176.85 $176.85 $1,238 —
711–720 value added 717 13 155.00–156.00 $155.62 $1,116 -2.94
757–765 value added 757 72 165.00–174.85 $174.71 $1,323 +1.71
756–795 thin fleshed 760 91 176.00–178.00 $177.44 $1,349 —
786 786 3 143.00 $143.00 $1,124 —
821–845 834 114 171.00–174.90 $173.11 $1,444 —
852–895 855 69 154.00–171.00 $169.58 $1,450 +20.64
910 910 58 170.70 $170.70 $1,553 +5.45
1062 1062 4 123.00 $123.00 $1,306 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
538 538 4 144.50 $144.50 $777 —
600 600 3 131.00 $131.00 $786 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630 630 1 123.00 $123.00 $775 —
670 670 1 138.00 $138.00 $925 +11.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170 1170 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,638 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 2 145.00 $145.00 $508 +0.79
400 value added 400 3 150.00–155.00 $151.67 $607 -5.24
405 405 2 149.00 $149.00 $603 +5.43
455 value added 455 6 154.00 $154.00 $701 -1.68
466–476 471 6 144.00–149.00 $146.53 $690 +0.53
513 value added 513 8 146.00 $146.00 $749 -6.33
530–531 531 6 136.00–143.00 $141.84 $753 -4.02
550–565 value added 561 4 144.00–146.00 $144.49 $811 -10.55
575–587 580 6 140.00–142.00 $140.99 $818 -6.42
615–628 626 6 135.00–139.00 $135.66 $849 +1.66
617–641 value added 635 8 140.00–141.00 $140.76 $894 -10.04
714 thin fleshed 714 71 164.00 $164.00 $1,171 —
825 825 1 105.00 $105.00 $866 -27.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 133.00 $133.00 $439 +8.29
380–385 383 2 121.00–130.00 $125.53 $481 -4.47
459–485 462 9 119.00–132.00 $120.52 $557 —
515–535 520 4 120.00–130.00 $122.82 $639 -13.18
600–610 605 2 120.00–133.00 $126.55 $766 +4.01
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 value added 485 6 141.00 $141.00 $684 —
800 800 1 97.00 $97.00 $776 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 152.00 $152.00 $692 -5.84
465–485 value added 475 2 166.00–172.00 $169.06 $803 —
500–542 531 10 150.00–161.00 $155.20 $824 +7.16
555–565 560 2 149.00–150.00 $149.50 $837 +4.01
707–730 715 3 126.00–136.00 $132.60 $948 +3.59
755 755 1 120.00 $120.00 $906 —
830–840 833 3 120.00–121.00 $120.66 $1,005 -7.34
900–911 909 5 101.00–126.00 $105.95 $963 —
1047 1047 2 96.00 $96.00 $1,005 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 140.00 $140.00 $469 —
402 402 2 135.00 $135.00 $543 —
455 455 1 140.00 $140.00 $637 —
530 530 1 136.00 $136.00 $721 -1.50
695 695 3 123.00 $123.00 $855 +3.00
765 765 1 117.00 $117.00 $895 —
1050 1050 1 76.00 $76.00 $798 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815 815 1 119.00 $119.00 $970 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1380 1310 75-80% 4 65.00–66.00 $65.51 $858 +8.51
1185–1630 1475 75-80% 11 67.00–75.00 $69.70 $1,028 -8.64
1255–1755 1483 75-80% 21 77.00–91.00 $81.98 $1,216 +3.64
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1470 1242 80-85% 15 67.00–74.00 $70.89 $880 —
1175–1360 1269 80-85% 6 64.00–66.00 $65.16 $827 —
1090–1545 1314 80-85% 13 75.00–89.00 $80.87 $1,063 +1.61
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1110 1044 85-90% 7 65.00–67.00 $66.01 $689 —
885–1275 1049 85-90% 7 43.00–55.00 $49.41 $518 —
995–1180 1083 85-90% 3 58.00–63.00 $60.52 $655 —
1145–1200 1176 85-90% 4 71.00–75.00 $72.96 $858 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1875 1538 8 90.00–106.00 $97.52 $1,500 —
1765 1765 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,536 —
1740–1995 1868 2 108.00–109.00 $108.53 $2,027 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155 1155 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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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.