Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 25, 2023

717 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $243.60/cwt +8.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,999/hd at 821 lb · 143 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $239.83/cwt +6.79 vs last sale · ≈ $2,079/hd at 867 lb · 120 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $268.15/cwt +27.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,533/hd at 572 lb · 49 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 717 1,026 362
Feeder cattle 618 948 327
Slaughter cattle 95 61 27
Replacement cattle 4 17 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers traded 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages. Yearling steers sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher with very good demand. Yearling heifers lightly tested. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 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
345 345 1 272.50 $272.50 $940 —
396 value added 396 3 290.00 $290.00 $1,148 +25.00
425–435 value added 432 5 251.00–283.00 $270.69 $1,169 +4.25
460–475 value added 465 9 256.00–267.00 $265.75 $1,236 -1.28
500–540 514 6 240.00–250.00 $245.54 $1,262 —
564–591 value added 571 46 260.00–273.00 $269.71 $1,540 +24.81
570–590 582 3 237.00–249.00 $244.30 $1,422 +19.34
600–645 value added 626 15 242.00–255.00 $251.12 $1,572 +19.12
650–680 value added 658 40 230.00–266.00 $263.36 $1,733 +10.02
705 705 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,537 —
712 value added 712 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,709 -2.22
752–775 value added 756 7 234.00–249.00 $242.67 $1,835 +3.59
802–827 810 15 231.00–233.00 $231.68 $1,877 —
806–840 fancy 822 128 239.00–247.00 $245.00 $2,014 +10.00
867–872 fancy 867 120 230.00–240.00 $239.83 $2,079 —
918 fancy 918 41 235.50 $235.50 $2,162 +6.19
1117 fancy 1117 7 225.00 $225.00 $2,513 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
745 745 1 214.00 $214.00 $1,594 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,177 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 170.00 $170.00 $748 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
135 135 2 200.00 $200.00 $270 —
210–237 value added 224 4 252.50–257.50 $254.85 $571 —
295 295 1 247.50 $247.50 $730 +32.50
308 value added 308 3 240.00 $240.00 $739 +17.70
375–392 value added 384 9 234.00–235.00 $234.57 $901 +19.17
397 397 2 217.00 $217.00 $861 +11.93
400 400 1 210.00 $210.00 $840 +5.38
400–435 value added 428 9 230.00–244.00 $242.23 $1,037 +19.43
485–488 value added 487 6 230.00–234.00 $230.66 $1,123 +0.71
511–545 520 4 220.00–223.00 $222.21 $1,155 +22.21
500–546 value added 539 26 229.00–244.00 $241.46 $1,301 +15.77
582–598 value added 594 9 231.00–237.00 $235.69 $1,400 +8.16
605–647 value added 626 10 217.00–225.00 $222.49 $1,393 -3.23
665–698 693 12 200.00–208.00 $200.80 $1,392 -0.03
715–725 720 2 163.00–165.00 $163.99 $1,181 -28.01
790 790 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,296 -23.00
927 927 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,446 +19.00
970 970 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,581 —
1040 1040 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,425 —
1060 1060 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,696 —
1100 1100 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,672 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
135 135 1 185.00 $185.00 $250 —
752 752 2 125.00 $125.00 $940 -14.00
860 860 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,118 -1.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 255.00 $255.00 $510 —
344 fancy 344 5 260.00 $260.00 $894 —
365 value added 365 1 270.00 $270.00 $986 +8.82
403–447 value added 421 8 260.00–278.00 $272.72 $1,148 -1.34
425 425 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,052 —
470 value added 470 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,246 +12.55
455–490 473 2 244.00–245.00 $244.48 $1,156 +13.08
520–545 533 2 227.00–238.00 $232.37 $1,239 -3.64
571–582 575 5 230.00–236.00 $233.57 $1,343 +1.26
575 value added 575 1 243.00 $243.00 $1,397 —
620–630 value added 625 2 229.00–231.00 $230.01 $1,438 —
625 625 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,250 -21.51
665 665 2 207.00 $207.00 $1,377 +1.30
700 value added 700 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,540 —
725–745 735 2 195.00–205.00 $199.93 $1,469 -1.54
750 750 2 199.00–203.00 $201.00 $1,508 +1.50
960 960 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,699 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 244.00 $244.00 $854 +74.00
480 480 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,056 +21.79
530 530 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,113 +5.27
555 555 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,210 —
890 890 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,273 -26.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 170.00 $170.00 $400 —
445 445 1 185.00 $185.00 $823 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–1795 1468 75-80% 6 95.00–109.00 $105.47 $1,548 —
1290–1860 1532 75-80% 27 111.00–130.00 $118.71 $1,819 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1310 1148 80-85% 8 96.00–109.00 $105.60 $1,212 —
1095–1580 1327 80-85% 21 110.00–129.00 $118.45 $1,572 +28.45
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1065 995 85-90% 3 89.00–96.00 $92.78 $923 -0.69
1025 1025 85-90% 1 85.00 $85.00 $871 +1.54
915–1265 1094 85-90% 7 101.00–111.00 $105.16 $1,150 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,362 —
1250–1310 1279 4 117.00–125.00 $120.74 $1,544 —
1370–2035 1814 8 126.00–144.00 $134.67 $2,443 —

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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
1525 1525 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,750.00 $1,750.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1120 1120 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 875.00 $875.00 -322.91

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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.