Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 22, 2023

183 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 $233.50/cwt -7.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,968/hd at 843 lb · 53 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $234.43/cwt -10.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,012/hd at 432 lb · 10 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $215.50/cwt -27.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,433/hd at 665 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 183 1,382 1,278
Feeder cattle 158 1,305 1,116
Slaughter cattle 24 76 158
Replacement cattle 1 1 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

No market comparison with last week due to light supply. Very hot humid weather slowed cattle movement today.

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
485 485 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,164 —
554 value added 554 5 241.00 $241.00 $1,335 -23.65
645 645 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,406 -16.00
699 value added 699 10 229.50 $229.50 $1,604 -32.94
750 750 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,500 —
770 value added 770 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,694 -22.00
843 843 53 233.50 $233.50 $1,968 -4.50
997 997 6 181.00 $181.00 $1,805 -30.00
1040 1040 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,872 —
1105 1105 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,724 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 220.00 $220.00 $836 —
410 410 1 190.00 $190.00 $779 —
685 685 2 189.00 $189.00 $1,295 -40.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 150.00 $150.00 $878 —
865 865 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,470 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 4 207.50 $207.50 $622 -12.50
370 370 1 220.00 $220.00 $814 -8.33
410–435 419 4 225.00–236.00 $229.08 $960 +5.46
440 value added 440 6 238.00 $238.00 $1,047 -16.50
460 460 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,058 -1.28
564 value added 564 5 226.00 $226.00 $1,275 -23.40
665 value added 665 10 215.50 $215.50 $1,433 -27.44
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 3 200.00 $200.00 $776 —
420 420 1 210.00 $210.00 $882 —
471 471 4 180.00 $180.00 $848 -20.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 1 184.00 $184.00 $1,178 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 167.50 $167.50 $888 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–365 360 2 192.50–225.00 $208.52 $751 +1.02
435 435 1 217.50 $217.50 $946 —
515–530 523 2 182.00–182.50 $182.25 $953 +2.25
555 555 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,215 -1.00
685 685 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,164 —
710 710 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,207 -15.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,103 +20.66
560 560 1 228.00 $228.00 $1,277 -13.24
895 895 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,665 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 125.00 $125.00 $412 —
595 595 1 172.50 $172.50 $1,026 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
745–1140 943 85-90% 4 73.00–82.00 $77.12 $727 —
1125–1210 1168 85-90% 2 94.00–98.00 $95.93 $1,120 —
1055–1445 1250 85-90% 2 85.00–86.00 $85.42 $1,068 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200 1200 80-85% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,284 +0.67
1170–1440 1277 80-85% 3 110.00–118.00 $113.64 $1,451 —
1285–1760 1520 80-85% 3 94.00–98.00 $95.71 $1,455 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1445 1383 75-80% 2 110.00–113.00 $111.43 $1,541 —
1205–2070 1673 75-80% 3 101.00–104.00 $102.58 $1,716 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1830–2385 2037 5 137.00–144.00 $139.76 $2,847 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
945 945 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,077

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1085 1085 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 1 177.50 $177.50 $1,509 —

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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.