Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 1, 2023

488 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 $237.89/cwt +73.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,692/hd at 711 lb · 74 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $235.00/cwt ≈ $2,235/hd at 951 lb · 56 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $228.45/cwt +5.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,437/hd at 629 lb · 26 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 488 717 621
Feeder cattle 410 618 580
Slaughter cattle 78 95 41
Replacement cattle — 4 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality; however quality has been uneven the last couple weeks on 400-600 lb calves. Buyers showing preference for hard long-weaned calf packages. Fleshy bawling calves and plain through average quality calves facing discounts. Very good demand for yearling packages. Slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher 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
230–235 233 2 255.00–267.00 $260.94 $608 —
250 250 1 267.50 $267.50 $669 —
435–437 value added 437 9 255.00–272.00 $256.88 $1,123 -13.81
470 470 1 244.00 $244.00 $1,147 —
505 505 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,156 -16.54
574–595 value added 582 13 242.00–268.00 $263.54 $1,534 -6.17
600 600 2 216.00 $216.00 $1,296 —
610–640 value added 624 8 234.00–251.00 $245.20 $1,530 -5.92
685 685 1 224.00 $224.00 $1,534 —
650–699 value added 689 19 238.00–267.00 $261.23 $1,800 -2.13
735 value added 735 3 236.00 $236.00 $1,735 -4.00
771–775 value added 772 9 230.00–244.00 $233.12 $1,800 -9.55
873 873 3 206.00 $206.00 $1,798 —
917 917 2 195.00 $195.00 $1,788 —
951 fancy 951 56 235.00 $235.00 $2,235 —
1022 1022 2 196.00 $196.00 $2,003 —
1053–1075 1056 7 187.00–196.00 $194.69 $2,056 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 195.00 $195.00 $682 —
490 490 1 180.00 $180.00 $882 —
595 595 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,101 —
645 645 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,193 —
810 810 2 181.00 $181.00 $1,466 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
288 value added 288 3 247.00 $247.00 $711 —
340–345 343 2 203.00–210.00 $206.47 $708 —
372 value added 372 7 235.00 $235.00 $874 +0.43
440–445 value added 443 3 232.00–242.00 $238.69 $1,057 -3.54
455–485 value added 462 25 221.00–236.00 $232.97 $1,076 +2.31
500–545 value added 517 10 223.00–236.00 $228.76 $1,183 -12.70
565 565 1 209.00 $209.00 $1,181 —
559–592 value added 569 19 226.00–237.00 $234.58 $1,335 -1.11
608–643 value added 629 26 222.00–232.00 $228.45 $1,437 +5.96
691 value added 691 3 243.00 $243.00 $1,679 —
700 700 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,358 +30.01
706–711 value added 711 72 225.00–239.90 $239.28 $1,701 —
740 740 1 182.00 $182.00 $1,347 +18.01
750 value added 750 5 235.00 $235.00 $1,762 —
785 785 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,476 +24.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 5 201.00 $201.00 $1,011 —
665 665 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,264 —
715 715 1 149.00 $149.00 $1,065 —
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456 456 3 187.00 $187.00 $853 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
615 615 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,328 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 220.00 $220.00 $869 —
410–426 value added 422 4 241.00–260.00 $245.61 $1,036 -27.11
450 value added 450 3 251.00 $251.00 $1,130 -14.00
475 475 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,116 -9.48
520 520 2 221.00 $221.00 $1,149 -11.37
556–595 value added 566 7 243.00–247.00 $244.04 $1,381 +1.04
555–580 572 3 228.00–239.00 $231.56 $1,325 -2.01
655 value added 655 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,415 —
680 680 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,231 -26.00
910 910 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,401 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442 442 2 199.00 $199.00 $880 —
515 515 1 192.00 $192.00 $989 -18.00
625–635 630 2 170.00–200.00 $184.88 $1,165 —
735 735 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,396 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 201.00 $201.00 $784 —
445 445 1 201.00 $201.00 $894 —
695 695 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,251 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1485 1369 75-80% 4 107.00–114.00 $110.25 $1,509 —
1370–1975 1601 75-80% 12 122.00–138.00 $130.08 $2,083 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025 1025 85-90% 1 91.00 $91.00 $933 +6.00
975–1190 1084 85-90% 7 106.00–117.00 $110.66 $1,200 +5.50
920–1455 1125 85-90% 6 94.00–99.00 $96.05 $1,081 —
1250 1250 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $875 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1795 1228 80-85% 6 103.00–112.00 $108.50 $1,332 —
1095–1525 1273 80-85% 7 115.00–135.00 $124.49 $1,585 —
1555 1555 80-85% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,446 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330 1330 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,463 —
1170–1540 1355 2 115.00–118.00 $116.30 $1,576 —
1240–2300 1745 13 128.00–143.00 $136.98 $2,390 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
477 477 2 112.50 $112.50 $537 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 135.00 $135.00 $418 —
1030 1030 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,246 —

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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.