Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, February 27, 2024

767 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $250.87/cwt +25.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,729/hd at 689 lb · 88 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $239.25/cwt +32.24 vs last sale · ≈ $2,141/hd at 895 lb · 62 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $233.60/cwt +42.60 vs last sale · ≈ $2,149/hd at 920 lb · 56 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 767 1,039 625
Feeder cattle 722 942 556
Slaughter cattle 44 88 66
Replacement cattle 1 9 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold steady on similar quality however several plainer odds and ends today compared to yesterday and last week. Feeder heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with lightweight weaned heifer packages sharply higher with very good demand. Yearling steers and heifers 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 4.00 to 5.00 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
375–395 value added 388 3 312.50–333.00 $324.76 $1,260 -4.35
405 405 1 277.50 $277.50 $1,124 -25.50
404–421 value added 411 9 320.00–337.50 $326.26 $1,341 +0.24
452–495 value added 474 8 274.00–315.00 $293.14 $1,389 -25.05
480 480 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,248 -40.39
515–540 value added 538 15 279.00–297.00 $292.86 $1,576 -3.88
556 556 3 269.00 $269.00 $1,496 +19.00
560–592 value added 579 15 268.00–290.00 $275.74 $1,597 -0.53
600–640 value added 621 40 250.00–289.00 $267.05 $1,658 -7.20
655–691 667 9 238.00–249.00 $244.22 $1,629 +1.22
682 value added 682 5 266.00 $266.00 $1,814 +3.81
705–738 value added 718 32 225.00–255.00 $235.94 $1,694 -22.88
742 742 12 220.00 $220.00 $1,632 —
755 755 3 225.00 $225.00 $1,699 —
755–785 value added 781 24 230.00–235.00 $230.83 $1,803 -8.38
807 value added 807 2 231.00 $231.00 $1,864 -0.24
807–810 807 19 218.50–220.00 $218.58 $1,764 +13.18
849 fancy 849 10 229.00 $229.00 $1,944 —
895 fancy 895 62 239.25 $239.25 $2,141 —
920 fancy 920 56 233.60 $233.60 $2,149 —
1000 1000 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,910 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1126–1130 1127 4 156.00–170.00 $166.49 $1,876 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
526 526 3 257.00 $257.00 $1,352 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,086 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–380 377 3 295.00–305.00 $301.73 $1,138 +44.19
400–440 value added 427 7 275.00–307.00 $289.51 $1,236 +10.35
450–495 value added 461 16 262.50–291.00 $285.97 $1,318 +10.96
500–545 value added 526 24 256.00–272.00 $264.15 $1,389 +6.26
552–595 value added 575 32 243.00–276.00 $261.81 $1,505 +7.60
577 577 2 241.00 $241.00 $1,391 +8.89
600–640 value added 623 11 225.00–256.00 $238.25 $1,484 +1.60
610–635 623 2 191.00–224.00 $207.83 $1,295 -2.17
650–698 value added 663 14 229.00–250.00 $242.11 $1,605 +11.73
694 694 71 254.75 $254.75 $1,768 +55.61
696 696 3 200.00 $200.00 $1,392 +0.86
700–737 723 13 186.00–208.00 $196.12 $1,418 -14.16
719–736 value added 723 14 229.00–231.50 $230.95 $1,670 +17.39
760 760 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,512 -1.09
781–796 value added 786 16 203.00–221.00 $208.70 $1,640 -16.39
940–948 946 7 159.00–160.00 $159.72 $1,511 -4.08
1215 1215 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,640 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 250.00 $250.00 $712 +23.96
315 315 1 275.00 $275.00 $866 +61.36
370 370 1 230.00 $230.00 $851 +4.71
422 422 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,013 +20.00
480–485 483 2 217.50–240.00 $228.81 $1,105 -6.73
597 597 2 215.00 $215.00 $1,284 +4.28
693 693 3 170.00 $170.00 $1,178 —
706–730 712 4 167.00–175.00 $169.05 $1,204 +0.13

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430–445 value added 439 4 285.00–305.00 $293.88 $1,290 -16.86
455–495 478 3 260.00–272.50 $264.22 $1,263 +8.22
462–497 value added 482 8 275.00–301.00 $288.13 $1,389 -13.76
520 520 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,274 -19.00
515–545 value added 525 3 269.00–282.00 $277.50 $1,457 +14.45
570 570 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,402 -2.59
552–590 value added 574 9 263.00–280.00 $270.77 $1,554 +5.85
600–645 value added 631 4 221.00–236.00 $231.99 $1,464 —
650–660 655 2 215.00–221.00 $218.02 $1,428 +11.54
662 value added 662 2 233.00 $233.00 $1,542 +9.00
700 value added 700 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,617 +9.03
705–735 720 6 197.00–225.00 $210.70 $1,517 -4.30
785 785 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,507 -10.46
815 815 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,581 —
865–887 880 7 189.00–202.00 $193.81 $1,706 -7.19
1010 1010 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,525 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 2 291.00 $291.00 $1,135 +28.50
472 472 2 247.50 $247.50 $1,168 —
570 570 1 249.00 $249.00 $1,419 +23.03
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–335 330 2 197.00–200.00 $198.52 $655 —
595 595 1 204.00 $204.00 $1,214 +11.50

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1480 1367 75-80% 5 108.00–114.00 $110.31 $1,508 —
1145–1990 1417 75-80% 12 115.00–121.00 $118.51 $1,679 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1570 1255 80-85% 4 110.00–114.00 $112.37 $1,410 -7.69
1205–1495 1358 80-85% 4 120.00–126.00 $122.31 $1,661 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 85-90% 1 88.00 $88.00 $849 —
1045 1045 85-90% 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,076 +8.03

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525 1525 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,800 —
1145–2460 1743 5 119.00–129.00 $126.00 $2,196 —
1570–2075 1770 7 130.00–145.00 $136.15 $2,410 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1290 1290 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 160.00 $160.00 $752 —
576 576 3 171.00 $171.00 $985 —

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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.