Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 19, 2023

513 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 $228.20/cwt +31.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,844/hd at 808 lb · 65 head

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $215.70/cwt +47.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,943/hd at 901 lb · 60 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $223.00/cwt ≈ $1,907/hd at 855 lb · 59 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	513	1,495	688
Feeder cattle	479	1,315	577
Slaughter cattle	29	152	109
Replacement cattle	5	28	2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages and much improved demand for yearlings. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower with moderate demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls lightly tested.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
430–442 value added	438	3	261.00–287.50	$269.67	$1,181	-11.63
465–475	468	4	242.50–246.00	$245.11	$1,147	+0.89
486 value added	486	4	266.00	$266.00	$1,293	+6.42
519 fancy	519	6	287.00	$287.00	$1,490	—
528–542 value added	538	10	257.00	$257.00	$1,383	-8.76
544	544	11	242.00	$242.00	$1,316	-2.00
613–630	617	4	210.00–220.00	$217.45	$1,342	+15.38
600–630 value added	620	3	230.00–232.00	$230.65	$1,430	+12.07
658 value added	658	3	231.00	$231.00	$1,520	+8.97
726 value added	726	3	217.00	$217.00	$1,575	+7.00
764 value added	764	49	216.80	$216.80	$1,656	+18.54
808 fancy	808	65	228.20	$228.20	$1,844	+28.20
855 fancy	855	59	223.00	$223.00	$1,907	—
901 fancy	901	60	215.70	$215.70	$1,943	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
378	378	7	200.00	$200.00	$756	—
490	490	1	236.00	$236.00	$1,156	+1.54
615–620	618	2	181.00–200.00	$190.46	$1,177	—
868	868	2	179.00	$179.00	$1,554	+4.19

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
610	610	1	216.00	$216.00	$1,318	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
360–390 value added	370	3	200.00–218.00	$211.68	$783	—
420 value added	420	2	215.00	$215.00	$903	+18.31
400–445	436	6	194.00–204.00	$197.92	$863	+7.57
462–466	464	5	189.00–191.00	$190.20	$883	-0.27
506 value added	506	3	194.00	$194.00	$982	-10.17
565–588 value added	579	8	193.00–198.00	$196.40	$1,137	-4.19
609–640 value added	612	12	197.00–199.00	$198.83	$1,217	-8.12
630–641	637	7	170.00–182.00	$176.74	$1,126	-10.89
658	658	3	188.00	$188.00	$1,237	+14.47
655–690	676	5	160.00–164.00	$161.55	$1,092	-11.98
758	758	3	177.00	$177.00	$1,342	-9.63
862	862	30	176.00	$176.00	$1,517	—

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
270	270	1	167.50	$167.50	$452	-8.52
405–445	425	2	160.00	$160.00	$680	-20.71
475–487	482	6	170.00–185.00	$177.55	$856	+7.42
517–546	535	7	160.00–175.00	$169.33	$906	-2.09
575	575	1	185.00	$185.00	$1,064	—
770	770	1	130.00	$130.00	$1,001	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
290	290	1	120.00	$120.00	$348	—
580	580	1	120.00	$120.00	$696	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1455	1455	1	154.00	$154.00	$2,241	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
402 value added	402	2	255.00	$255.00	$1,025	—
464	464	7	220.00	$220.00	$1,021	-20.00
610	610	1	180.00	$180.00	$1,098	+0.14
614 fancy	614	5	218.00	$218.00	$1,339	—
633–640 value added	635	4	194.00–208.00	$204.47	$1,298	+14.21
671 value added	671	3	194.00	$194.00	$1,302	—
672–680	675	3	180.00	$180.00	$1,215	-6.90
728	728	3	186.00	$186.00	$1,354	+21.52

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
415	415	1	217.50	$217.50	$903	—
450	450	1	210.00	$210.00	$945	-1.30
525	525	1	228.00	$228.00	$1,197	+11.95
577–581	579	5	201.00–219.00	$211.83	$1,226	+9.43
670	670	1	160.00	$160.00	$1,072	-4.00
862	862	2	125.00	$125.00	$1,078	-5.00
925	925	1	131.00	$131.00	$1,212	—
975	975	1	130.00	$130.00	$1,268	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
255–270	263	2	142.50–155.00	$148.57	$391	—
340	340	1	150.00	$150.00	$510	+20.00
391	391	3	142.50	$142.50	$557	—
420	420	1	180.00	$180.00	$756	—
550	550	1	170.00	$170.00	$935	+18.71

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
680	680	1	170.00	$170.00	$1,156	—

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1275–1445	1357	75-80%	5	87.00–93.00	$89.84	$1,219	—
1415–1655	1504	75-80%	5	94.00–96.00	$94.98	$1,428	—
1475–1785	1603	75-80%	6	77.00–84.00	$81.56	$1,307	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1270–1480	1345	80-85%	3	86.00–88.00	$87.36	$1,175	—
1445	1445	80-85%	1	95.00	$95.00	$1,373	+16.77
1450	1450	80-85%	1	81.00	$81.00	$1,174	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1150–1265	1216	85-90%	4	71.00–76.00	$72.76	$885	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1210–1450	1330	2	99.00–106.00	$102.18	$1,359	—

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1085–1395	1240	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	1,175.00–1,200.00	$1,189.06
1375	1375	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	1,275.00	$1,275.00
1405	1405	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,325.00	$1,325.00

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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.