Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, June 18, 2024

855 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $277.73/cwt -1.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,728/hd at 622 lb · 210 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $238.50/cwt ≈ $2,248/hd at 943 lb · 134 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $238.42/cwt +4.67 vs last sale · ≈ $2,284/hd at 958 lb · 112 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 855 556 614
Feeder cattle 801 507 552
Slaughter cattle 54 47 62
Replacement cattle — 2 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mostly steady with very good demand. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with good demand; over 600 lbs sold steady with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher; lean cows 5.00 to 8.00 higher in a lite test with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 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
401–446 424 6 290.00–308.00 $298.52 $1,266 —
485 value added 485 1 321.00 $321.00 $1,557 -12.77
492 492 2 302.00 $302.00 $1,486 —
520 520 2 285.00–286.00 $285.50 $1,485 —
502–543 value added 531 27 316.00–330.00 $321.09 $1,705 -7.30
575 575 1 299.00 $299.00 $1,719 —
586–592 value added 590 12 303.00–312.00 $305.98 $1,805 +14.60
600–615 value added 602 9 296.00–301.00 $299.66 $1,804 -2.63
625 625 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,781 —
660–690 value added 679 24 292.00–295.00 $293.26 $1,991 +13.81
700–707 value added 701 17 263.00–295.00 $290.34 $2,035 +1.34
740 740 2 249.00–255.00 $252.00 $1,865 +2.00
756 value added 756 23 258.00 $258.00 $1,950 —
857 fancy 857 53 249.00 $249.00 $2,134 —
942 fancy 942 59 247.25 $247.25 $2,329 —
920–945 943 75 226.25–233.75 $231.61 $2,184 —
953–963 958 112 237.50–239.50 $238.42 $2,284 +4.67
1055–1065 1060 2 197.00–205.00 $200.98 $2,130 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
552 552 4 269.00 $269.00 $1,485 —
610–639 635 7 257.00–260.00 $257.41 $1,635 +3.66
735 735 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,690 —
810 810 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,895 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 1 220.00 $220.00 $2,123 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 2 280.00 $280.00 $588 —
305–340 323 2 290.00–300.00 $295.27 $954 +10.27
417 value added 417 2 286.00 $286.00 $1,193 -4.00
480 480 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,308 -2.64
460–493 value added 487 31 278.00–290.00 $284.03 $1,383 -1.97
500–546 value added 536 8 271.00–285.00 $276.45 $1,482 -6.82
537 537 2 269.00 $269.00 $1,445 +19.00
570 570 1 266.00 $266.00 $1,516 +6.30
577–580 value added 578 3 264.00–272.50 $266.84 $1,542 -14.84
612–630 617 6 251.00–253.00 $252.34 $1,557 +10.14
612–635 value added 619 126 262.00–279.50 $273.27 $1,692 -7.71
628 thin fleshed 628 78 286.90 $286.90 $1,802 —
655–680 668 2 245.00–252.50 $248.68 $1,661 +5.68
677–694 value added 687 15 254.00–256.00 $254.79 $1,750 —
700 700 2 213.00–222.50 $217.75 $1,524 —
705 705 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,678 —
820 820 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,484 —
905–945 925 2 187.50–190.00 $188.78 $1,746 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 247.50 $247.50 $495 —
380–385 383 3 222.00–277.00 $250.38 $959 —
415–422 420 3 240.00–260.00 $253.41 $1,064 —
521 521 3 262.00 $262.00 $1,365 +12.00
555–589 582 12 238.00–250.00 $240.32 $1,399 —
620 620 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,488 +25.00
715–720 719 5 200.00–211.00 $208.81 $1,501 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010 1010 1 182.50 $182.50 $1,843 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316 value added 316 3 365.00 $365.00 $1,153 —
440 value added 440 2 320.00 $320.00 $1,408 -42.50
480 480 1 296.00 $296.00 $1,421 -27.61
525–530 528 3 260.00–285.00 $276.72 $1,461 -3.28
566 value added 566 3 287.00 $287.00 $1,624 -3.00
550–578 567 5 284.00–289.00 $285.94 $1,621 -9.06
675–678 677 5 245.00–264.00 $252.58 $1,710 —
825 825 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,939 +15.00
1100 1100 1 157.50 $157.50 $1,732 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,521 -4.00
605–611 610 5 240.00–256.00 $252.83 $1,542 +29.33
655–665 660 6 240.00–250.00 $245.69 $1,622 +36.69
905 905 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,538 -6.00

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1595 1501 75-80% 4 135.00–137.00 $136.29 $2,046 —
1205–2015 1566 75-80% 20 141.00–153.00 $146.92 $2,301 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1405 1203 80-85% 7 134.00–139.00 $137.12 $1,650 —
1075–1525 1295 80-85% 14 140.00–160.00 $147.06 $1,904 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1120 1085 85-90% 2 132.00–135.00 $133.45 $1,448 +21.45
1050–1165 1113 85-90% 3 139.00–149.00 $143.75 $1,600 +10.99

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1520 1270 2 164.00–166.00 $164.80 $2,093 —
1505–1930 1732 3 178.00–185.00 $181.76 $3,148 +13.21

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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.