Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 1, 2024

959 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 steers $270.93/cwt +19.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,770/hd at 653 lb · 161 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $247.13/cwt +22.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,515/hd at 613 lb · 144 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $287.69/cwt +11.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,638/hd at 569 lb · 102 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 959 1,672 1,161
Feeder cattle 912 1,539 1,111
Slaughter cattle 41 128 44
Replacement cattle 6 5 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with good demand; some fancy weaned packages and yearlings sharply higher with very good demand. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher with good demand; yearling heifer packages noticeably higher in a limited comparison. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady 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
365 365 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,058 +7.24
380 value added 380 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,282 —
410 410 1 293.00 $293.00 $1,201 +28.15
405–448 value added 431 7 310.00–330.00 $315.78 $1,361 +27.35
450–495 value added 468 11 297.50–331.00 $321.13 $1,503 +32.23
465–480 473 2 265.00–285.00 $275.16 $1,302 +2.47
520–523 value added 523 6 291.00–292.00 $291.83 $1,526 +0.62
500–545 528 20 252.00–270.00 $259.16 $1,368 +1.71
569 value added 569 98 289.00 $289.00 $1,644 +11.20
560–585 577 4 255.00–257.50 $255.61 $1,475 -0.80
601–605 value added 603 17 261.00–273.00 $265.96 $1,604 +2.54
643 643 25 250.00 $250.00 $1,608 +15.62
652 value added 652 156 260.75–282.50 $271.76 $1,772 +19.87
694 694 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,700 —
705–717 713 5 230.00–236.00 $232.39 $1,657 -2.74
713–717 value added 715 72 265.00–270.00 $267.92 $1,916 +23.55
760–765 762 10 236.00–241.00 $238.90 $1,820 +3.18
762 value added 762 64 255.75 $255.75 $1,949 +14.25
850 850 11 240.00 $240.00 $2,040 +8.51
960 960 1 212.00 $212.00 $2,035 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 265.00 $265.00 $835 —
410 410 3 232.50 $232.50 $953 —
470 470 1 254.00 $254.00 $1,194 —
605–630 613 6 219.00–230.00 $226.44 $1,388 +13.07
715–720 718 4 184.00–210.00 $197.05 $1,415 -20.50
765–790 778 2 220.00–229.00 $224.43 $1,746 -2.57
860 860 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,720 -20.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515–530 521 5 205.00–220.00 $213.90 $1,114 +11.40
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410 1410 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,805 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–285 268 2 265.00–280.00 $272.99 $732 —
322–325 323 3 255.00–280.00 $263.38 $851 +23.38
360–395 377 5 242.50–255.00 $248.70 $938 +0.68
405 405 3 240.00–252.50 $244.17 $989 +1.34
413–448 value added 429 21 245.00–263.00 $253.66 $1,088 +4.16
454–475 value added 461 10 245.00–252.00 $249.14 $1,149 —
455–487 471 4 230.00–242.00 $236.20 $1,113 +2.20
501–545 524 21 227.50–239.00 $236.42 $1,239 +2.92
550–590 575 12 227.00–233.00 $229.99 $1,322 -0.04
606–647 value added 612 110 250.00–254.60 $253.85 $1,554 +16.85
600–638 617 34 219.00–236.00 $225.38 $1,391 +8.04
684 value added 684 6 250.00 $250.00 $1,710 +11.92
730–735 734 7 203.00–230.00 $206.83 $1,518 +5.04
815–820 818 2 190.00–194.00 $192.01 $1,571 +0.01
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–325 323 6 227.50–232.50 $231.69 $748 +11.69
352 352 2 230.00 $230.00 $810 +3.06
520–535 528 2 217.50–225.00 $221.30 $1,168 -4.29
570–575 571 4 217.50–220.00 $218.13 $1,246 -9.37
610–645 628 2 195.00–210.00 $202.29 $1,270 +7.85
650 650 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,404 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
487 487 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,071 —
600–641 623 7 212.50–218.00 $215.73 $1,344 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 2 210.00 $210.00 $813 —
445 445 1 210.00 $210.00 $934 —
555–580 568 2 190.00–207.50 $198.56 $1,128 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 4 252.50 $252.50 $866 -9.21
400–405 value added 403 3 287.50–300.00 $291.63 $1,175 +13.70
420–435 428 2 250.00–255.00 $252.54 $1,081 -3.77
465 value added 465 1 267.50 $267.50 $1,244 —
533–545 535 8 240.00–251.00 $249.60 $1,335 +5.60
566 566 3 247.50 $247.50 $1,401 +6.24
600–630 604 8 227.50–234.00 $232.19 $1,402 —
650 650 2 231.00 $231.00 $1,502 +22.51
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 237.50 $237.50 $772 —
425 425 1 227.50 $227.50 $967 —
460–485 473 2 235.00–240.00 $237.43 $1,123 —
500–520 503 8 220.00–226.00 $224.98 $1,132 —
560 560 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,288 +7.57
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
627 627 4 212.50 $212.50 $1,332 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 200.00 $200.00 $640 —
355 355 1 212.50 $212.50 $754 —
535 535 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,070 -2.50

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 85-90% 1 91.00 $91.00 $801 —
900–1070 1003 85-90% 4 113.00–118.00 $114.79 $1,151 +14.36
915–1300 1108 85-90% 12 104.00–113.00 $107.72 $1,194 -0.38
970–1260 1115 85-90% 2 96.00–103.00 $99.04 $1,104 -9.06
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1590 1326 75-80% 5 118.00–125.00 $122.38 $1,623 —
1215–1675 1478 75-80% 3 125.00–130.00 $126.72 $1,873 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 80-85% 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,288 —
1125–1355 1275 80-85% 4 127.00–134.00 $130.88 $1,669 +6.21
1420 1420 80-85% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,704 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1465 1413 2 149.00–157.00 $152.85 $2,160 —
1890 1890 1 177.00 $177.00 $3,345 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115 1115 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885 885 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1195–1240 1218 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,825.00–1,900.00 $1,863.19 —

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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.