Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 7, 2023

929 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 $192.95/cwt +20.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,475/hd at 765 lb · 152 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $230.39/cwt +27.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,210/hd at 525 lb · 101 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $180.15/cwt +18.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,103/hd at 612 lb · 57 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 929 625 635
Feeder cattle 880 556 580
Slaughter cattle 48 66 54
Replacement cattle 1 3 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steer and heifer calves traded 8.00 to 15.00 higher with some thin-fleshed weaned packages sharply higher on a very active market. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady 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
325–340 value added 333 6 230.00–239.00 $236.87 $789 +6.87
350–377 value added 365 10 220.00–255.00 $233.45 $852 —
400–447 value added 422 46 218.00–252.00 $237.13 $1,001 +4.07
460–470 465 2 200.00–216.00 $208.09 $968 —
450–495 value added 469 24 218.00–242.00 $231.05 $1,084 +24.05
500–545 value added 525 101 212.00–240.00 $230.39 $1,210 +27.76
555–595 value added 582 27 210.00–235.00 $220.55 $1,284 +25.55
580–585 583 3 205.00–208.00 $205.99 $1,201 +18.48
600–647 value added 635 38 196.00–205.00 $199.36 $1,266 +16.15
653–697 value added 690 39 190.00–214.00 $203.58 $1,405 +20.80
745 745 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,319 +23.69
752–772 value added 764 148 185.00–195.00 $193.41 $1,478 +20.73
750–797 784 4 167.00–180.00 $175.87 $1,379 —
800–847 816 30 175.50–186.50 $182.61 $1,490 +6.29
870–871 871 5 182.00–184.00 $183.60 $1,599 +20.12
923 923 53 178.60 $178.60 $1,648 +7.60
1047 1047 49 168.80 $168.80 $1,767 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–745 730 2 161.00–165.00 $162.96 $1,190 —
895 895 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,164 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780 780 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,365 +25.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 value added 250 1 205.00 $205.00 $512 —
310–345 value added 328 9 210.00–239.00 $228.27 $749 +35.27
350–375 value added 367 9 200.00–231.00 $223.15 $819 +32.15
370 370 1 192.50 $192.50 $712 +12.50
405 405 1 180.00 $180.00 $729 —
417–442 value added 426 12 197.00–227.00 $217.53 $927 +36.53
450–498 value added 479 25 191.00–221.00 $202.47 $970 +20.20
485 485 1 183.00 $183.00 $888 —
520–548 value added 534 39 187.00–208.00 $197.29 $1,054 +16.25
545 545 2 172.00–178.00 $175.00 $954 —
560–592 value added 576 17 184.00–193.00 $190.76 $1,099 +10.91
600–647 value added 612 57 162.00–187.00 $180.15 $1,103 +15.13
657–683 value added 667 24 167.00–180.00 $175.61 $1,171 +11.77
686 686 9 163.00 $163.00 $1,118 +14.00
700–747 value added 708 32 164.00–178.00 $172.30 $1,220 +7.62
750–786 value added 782 14 157.00–173.00 $169.32 $1,324 +11.88
815 815 1 121.00 $121.00 $986 —
800–821 value added 816 23 152.00–170.00 $165.39 $1,350 +20.39
965 965 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,177 —
1065 1065 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,140 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 161.00 $161.00 $362 +11.00
250–295 273 2 159.00–160.00 $159.54 $436 +7.54
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125 1125 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,406 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 275 2 202.50–212.50 $207.14 $570 —
335 335 1 210.00 $210.00 $704 —
390 390 2 214.00 $214.00 $835 —
422–445 value added 436 5 229.00–231.00 $229.77 $1,002 +21.59
451–475 value added 457 4 222.00–234.00 $230.88 $1,055 —
490 490 1 190.00 $190.00 $931 ±0.00
500–540 value added 516 7 202.00–221.00 $208.41 $1,075 +22.06
555 555 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,060 +19.60
670 670 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,126 —
750 750 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,268 +29.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 187.00 $187.00 $935 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1410 1262 80-85% 5 84.00–91.00 $86.44 $1,091 —
1075–1475 1262 80-85% 7 91.00–108.00 $99.12 $1,251 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015 1015 85-90% 1 71.00 $71.00 $721 -4.38
920–1175 1022 85-90% 7 73.00–83.00 $78.06 $798 +2.68
985–1150 1068 85-90% 2 84.00–90.00 $86.77 $927 +27.77
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395 1395 75-80% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,130 —
1280–1910 1623 75-80% 9 91.00–108.00 $98.41 $1,597 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485 1485 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,515 —
1505–2280 1785 10 121.00–155.00 $136.48 $2,436 —
1850 1850 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,720 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
955 955 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 85.00 $85.00 $812

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
835 835 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00

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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.