Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 8, 2023

805 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $240.43/cwt +34.43 vs last sale · ≈ $2,128/hd at 885 lb · 160 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $222.25/cwt ≈ $1,827/hd at 822 lb · 38 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $243.65/cwt +0.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,601/hd at 657 lb · 36 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 805 488 1,689
Feeder cattle 717 410 1,606
Slaughter cattle 83 78 62
Replacement cattle 5 — 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand. Very good demand for yearlings in a limited comparison. Slaughter cows and 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
265–292 287 5 275.00–287.50 $277.31 $796 —
310 310 1 272.00 $272.00 $843 —
370 370 1 258.00 $258.00 $955 —
392 value added 392 2 268.00 $268.00 $1,051 —
458–480 value added 470 13 257.00–269.00 $265.23 $1,247 —
487 487 2 246.00 $246.00 $1,198 +2.00
530 value added 530 2 255.00 $255.00 $1,352 —
552–595 value added 561 18 251.00–273.00 $265.56 $1,490 +2.02
605–635 value added 617 29 237.00–277.00 $266.27 $1,643 +21.07
660 value added 660 3 238.00 $238.00 $1,571 -23.23
680–690 685 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,507 -4.00
710 710 1 226.00 $226.00 $1,605 —
700–742 value added 715 26 240.00–271.00 $260.79 $1,865 +24.79
865–897 fancy 885 160 238.00–245.00 $240.43 $2,128 —
955 955 1 227.50 $227.50 $2,173 —
1028 fancy 1028 55 226.85 $226.85 $2,332 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 239.00 $239.00 $753 —
350 350 1 225.00 $225.00 $788 +30.00
502 502 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,205 —
580 580 2 238.00 $238.00 $1,380 +53.00
655 655 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,415 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1213 1213 3 162.00 $162.00 $1,965 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–280 267 3 200.00–225.00 $208.75 $557 —
312 value added 312 2 232.50 $232.50 $725 —
335 335 1 217.50 $217.50 $729 +11.03
425 425 1 220.00 $220.00 $935 —
410–440 value added 430 9 255.00 $255.00 $1,096 +16.31
455 455 1 207.50 $207.50 $944 —
453–495 value added 471 7 237.00–244.00 $239.40 $1,128 +6.43
502–546 value added 524 23 229.00–258.00 $246.91 $1,294 +18.15
550–594 value added 587 31 220.00–263.00 $249.29 $1,463 +14.71
570–597 589 4 217.00–221.00 $219.52 $1,293 +10.52
606–635 value added 616 18 223.00–254.00 $245.87 $1,515 +17.42
610–630 620 2 189.00–190.00 $189.49 $1,175 —
651–695 value added 652 32 224.00–248.00 $247.11 $1,611 —
698 698 4 216.00 $216.00 $1,508 —
710–740 725 2 170.00–184.00 $176.86 $1,282 -5.14
748 value added 748 3 216.00 $216.00 $1,616 —
779 value added 779 8 202.50 $202.50 $1,577 -32.50
822 fancy 822 38 222.25 $222.25 $1,827 —
850 850 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,470 —
920 920 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,573 —
980 980 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,529 —
1055 1055 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,646 —
1200 1200 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,644 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 194.00 $194.00 $766 —
420–445 433 2 177.50–201.00 $189.59 $821 —
475 475 2 189.00–202.00 $195.50 $929 —
560–595 578 2 196.00–210.00 $203.21 $1,175 —
700–725 713 2 155.00–163.00 $158.93 $1,133 +9.93

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–298 292 7 233.00–280.00 $268.28 $783 —
320 320 1 275.00 $275.00 $880 —
388 388 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,048 +50.00
430 value added 430 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,032 -5.61
455 455 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,046 -5.00
483–488 value added 486 8 245.00–246.00 $245.37 $1,192 —
502 value added 502 4 252.00 $252.00 $1,265 —
520–535 525 3 227.00–237.00 $233.60 $1,226 +12.60
570 value added 570 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,396 +0.96
615 value added 615 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,408 —
620–630 625 2 185.00–211.00 $197.90 $1,237 —
650–670 662 5 198.00–213.00 $203.89 $1,350 +22.89
700–740 708 10 187.50–210.00 $201.76 $1,428 —
768 768 5 215.00 $215.00 $1,651 —
833 833 5 191.00 $191.00 $1,591 —
897 897 7 191.00 $191.00 $1,713 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 230.00 $230.00 $828 —
415 415 1 190.00 $190.00 $788 -9.00
510 510 1 178.00 $178.00 $908 -14.00
565–587 580 3 220.00–223.00 $222.03 $1,288 —
625 625 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,131 -3.88

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1360 1186 80-85% 15 103.00–113.00 $108.49 $1,287 —
1040–1585 1279 80-85% 12 116.00–131.00 $121.92 $1,559 -2.57
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1830 1369 75-80% 7 108.00–113.00 $110.06 $1,507 -0.19
1235–1930 1480 75-80% 17 113.00–136.00 $122.06 $1,806 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1265 1053 85-90% 5 94.00–106.00 $100.17 $1,055 -10.49
960–1175 1053 85-90% 8 85.00–94.00 $89.15 $939 -21.51
990–1190 1092 85-90% 5 107.00–114.00 $111.33 $1,216 +0.67

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,062 —
1505 1505 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,896 —
1590–2145 1860 7 127.00–143.00 $136.93 $2,547 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
965–1040 1003 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 105.00–108.00 $106.56 $1,069

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1105 1105 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 715 5 168.00 $168.00 $1,201 —
888 888 26 172.00 $172.00 $1,527 —
987 fancy 987 57 180.10 $180.10 $1,778 —

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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.