Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 14, 2023

959 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 $178.12/cwt +5.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,292/hd at 725 lb · 164 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $183.83/cwt +11.66 vs last sale · ≈ $1,219/hd at 663 lb · 125 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $185.50/cwt +1.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,597/hd at 861 lb · 67 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 959 929 579
Feeder cattle 880 880 498
Slaughter cattle 75 48 81
Replacement cattle 4 1 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality with very good demand for weaned thin-fleshed calf packages. Yearlings sold steady in a limited comparison. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 lower with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 3.00 higher with very 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
320 value added 320 1 212.50 $212.50 $680 -24.37
365–385 value added 375 2 220.00–249.00 $234.89 $881 +1.44
425–437 value added 432 8 227.50–240.00 $230.61 $996 -6.52
440 440 2 200.00 $200.00 $880 —
466–494 value added 483 10 217.00–252.00 $235.82 $1,139 +4.77
510 510 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,046 —
535–542 value added 538 6 208.00–224.00 $216.36 $1,164 -14.03
550–595 value added 578 26 209.00–225.00 $220.20 $1,273 -0.35
600–637 value added 608 28 199.00–217.00 $213.12 $1,296 +13.76
610–647 640 8 185.00–191.00 $187.23 $1,198 —
650 650 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,242 —
670–695 value added 689 19 195.00–204.00 $197.86 $1,363 -5.72
710 710 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,228 -4.00
700–747 value added 727 18 182.00–195.00 $191.36 $1,391 —
750–797 value added 786 27 184.00–186.00 $185.38 $1,457 -8.03
826 fancy 826 33 186.00 $186.00 $1,536 —
828–840 832 6 172.00–173.00 $172.66 $1,437 -9.95
860–862 861 3 181.00–182.00 $181.33 $1,561 -2.27
861 fancy 861 64 185.70 $185.70 $1,599 —
965 965 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,457 —
1020 1020 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,418 -29.80
1052 1052 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,368 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 2 150.00 $150.00 $495 —
385 385 1 120.00 $120.00 $462 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685 685 1 162.00 $162.00 $1,110 —
875 875 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,321 +21.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
680 680 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,142 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–371 value added 367 6 200.00–240.00 $228.54 $839 +5.39
375–380 378 2 182.00–190.00 $186.03 $703 -6.47
412–442 value added 428 8 212.50–220.00 $215.15 $921 -2.38
450–495 value added 478 27 190.00–217.00 $201.76 $964 -0.71
465–495 484 4 181.00–189.00 $183.91 $890 +0.91
502–524 value added 513 25 193.00–204.00 $200.59 $1,029 +3.30
500–535 518 2 185.00–186.00 $185.52 $961 +10.52
553–591 value added 575 44 185.00–202.00 $193.02 $1,110 +2.26
608–640 616 4 167.00–172.00 $170.70 $1,052 —
603–631 value added 621 51 184.00–197.00 $187.80 $1,166 +7.65
650–689 value added 663 124 178.50–187.00 $183.93 $1,219 +8.32
675 675 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,154 +8.00
710–745 value added 725 159 172.00–180.10 $178.94 $1,297 +6.64
731–735 732 5 149.00–153.00 $152.20 $1,114 —
766 value added 766 14 175.50 $175.50 $1,344 +6.18
821–840 827 6 140.00–152.00 $147.94 $1,223 +26.94
925 925 2 148.00 $148.00 $1,369 —
960–975 970 3 120.00–121.00 $120.33 $1,167 -1.67
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 2 170.00 $170.00 $564 —
460 460 1 170.00 $170.00 $782 —
530–535 532 3 162.00–173.00 $169.01 $899 —
560–595 578 2 148.00–167.00 $157.79 $912 —
605 605 1 138.00 $138.00 $835 —
650–665 658 2 127.50–150.00 $138.62 $912 —
880 880 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,003 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 650 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,060 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 142.00 $142.00 $604 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
286–290 value added 288 6 220.00–225.00 $221.85 $639 —
300 300 1 192.50 $192.50 $578 -17.50
350 350 1 210.00 $210.00 $735 —
352 value added 352 2 239.00 $239.00 $841 —
480–492 value added 490 5 212.00–234.00 $229.69 $1,125 -1.19
530 530 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,034 —
520–548 value added 536 8 199.00–226.00 $213.30 $1,143 +4.89
605–620 value added 613 7 181.00–209.00 $192.95 $1,183 —
650 value added 650 3 180.00–191.00 $183.67 $1,194 —
715 value added 715 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,251 —
755 755 2 158.00 $158.00 $1,193 -11.00
863 863 3 146.00 $146.00 $1,260 —
910–945 925 5 113.00–138.00 $132.47 $1,225 —
1075 1075 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,096 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 170.00 $170.00 $782 —
545 545 1 172.50 $172.50 $940 —
670 670 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,079 —
760 760 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,011 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–420 413 2 123.00–140.00 $131.35 $542 —
485 485 1 140.00 $140.00 $679 —
535 535 1 112.50 $112.50 $602 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1415 1176 80-85% 14 80.00–89.00 $85.75 $1,008 —
1195–1260 1228 80-85% 2 78.00–79.00 $78.51 $964 —
1085–1375 1241 80-85% 11 91.00–110.00 $98.01 $1,216 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200 1200 75-80% 1 79.00 $79.00 $948 —
1085–1730 1465 75-80% 15 90.00–108.00 $97.02 $1,421 —
1540 1540 75-80% 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,263 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1110 996 85-90% 7 72.00–79.00 $75.89 $756 —
890–1170 1038 85-90% 7 82.00–97.00 $89.08 $925 +11.02
1045–1055 1050 85-90% 2 68.00–70.00 $69.00 $724 -17.77

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220 1220 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,074 —
1150–1975 1454 4 108.00–116.00 $110.61 $1,608 +8.61
1810–2165 1920 4 134.00–152.00 $144.87 $2,782 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1030–1135 1083 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 89.00 $89.00 $964

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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
1482 1482 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,530.00 $1,530.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
554 554 8 149.00 $149.00 $825 —
695 695 3 126.00 $126.00 $876 —
735 735 6 135.00 $135.00 $992 —
827 827 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,059 —

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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.