Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 16, 2024

914 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 $274.53/cwt +24.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,717/hd at 625 lb · 290 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $242.54/cwt -16.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,695/hd at 699 lb · 124 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $285.71/cwt +22.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,674/hd at 586 lb · 100 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 914 1,240 1,009
Feeder cattle 888 1,115 948
Slaughter cattle 26 97 61
Replacement cattle — 28 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady with good quality weaned packages in good demand; average quality calves facing discounts. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 6.00 lower with moderate 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
440 value added 440 3 352.50 $352.50 $1,551 +26.15
415–448 443 6 312.50–314.00 $313.77 $1,390 —
460 460 1 317.50 $317.50 $1,460 —
526–542 value added 532 6 289.00–314.00 $302.04 $1,607 +0.05
580 580 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,566 —
555–592 value added 586 15 284.00–288.00 $287.25 $1,683 -19.00
600–616 612 4 251.00–262.00 $253.70 $1,553 -9.30
677–682 value added 679 11 272.00–289.00 $282.79 $1,920 -19.70
701–735 value added 721 12 275.00–297.00 $283.91 $2,047 +14.45
815 thin fleshed 815 56 261.75 $261.75 $2,133 —
957 957 55 239.00 $239.00 $2,287 +11.00
1017 1017 55 237.25 $237.25 $2,413 +9.34
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,104 -25.00
500–540 520 2 260.00–262.50 $261.30 $1,359 -12.70
660–680 660 57 230.00–249.00 $248.55 $1,640 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,414 —
825 825 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,832 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 297.50 $297.50 $1,026 +9.01
365 value added 365 6 302.50 $302.50 $1,104 -4.16
427 value added 427 2 283.00 $283.00 $1,208 -10.32
490 490 1 263.00 $263.00 $1,289 -3.17
505–547 value added 536 14 265.00–272.50 $270.98 $1,452 —
542 542 4 255.00 $255.00 $1,382 —
570–588 value added 586 100 263.00–290.00 $285.71 $1,674 +17.58
617–648 value added 619 104 256.00–266.00 $259.74 $1,608 +3.17
626 626 9 249.50 $249.50 $1,562 +15.16
629 fancy 629 177 284.50 $284.50 $1,790 —
675–699 value added 699 124 242.30–258.00 $242.54 $1,695 —
712–713 value added 713 12 246.00–250.00 $248.67 $1,773 —
755 755 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,676 -25.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–465 462 3 240.00–253.00 $244.36 $1,129 +3.86
525 525 1 239.00 $239.00 $1,255 -5.91
555 555 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,276 -7.00
675–690 683 2 219.00–225.00 $221.97 $1,516 —
725 725 1 203.00 $203.00 $1,472 +5.77
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030 1030 1 157.50 $157.50 $1,622 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 value added 395 1 355.00 $355.00 $1,402 —
465 465 3 280.00–303.00 $295.33 $1,373 +15.29
510 510 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,326 -1.61
500–540 value added 521 9 277.00–318.00 $288.04 $1,501 -7.86
615 615 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,476 -8.31
675 675 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,620 -3.00
700 700 2 238.00 $238.00 $1,666 +3.00
755 755 1 243.00 $243.00 $1,835 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,067 —
667 667 2 221.00 $221.00 $1,474 -17.00

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340 1340 75-80% 1 142.00 $142.00 $1,903 —
1245–1655 1389 75-80% 6 133.00–138.00 $135.27 $1,879 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985 985 85-90% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,182 —
885–1195 1065 85-90% 3 127.00–130.00 $128.95 $1,373 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1440 1205 80-85% 2 131.00–134.00 $132.21 $1,593 -2.96

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1765 1523 2 139.00–141.00 $140.16 $2,135 —
1260–2065 1563 4 152.00–168.00 $161.12 $2,518 —
1530–2235 1918 6 172.00–182.00 $175.18 $3,360 —

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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.