Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 8, 2024

928 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 $246.37/cwt ≈ $2,047/hd at 831 lb · 100 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $257.64/cwt -7.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,896/hd at 736 lb · 85 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $251.26/cwt +1.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,745/hd at 694 lb · 84 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 928 959 835
Feeder cattle 871 912 725
Slaughter cattle 53 41 102
Replacement cattle 4 6 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold steady; few light 4-weights and light 5-weights sold 5.00 higher with good demand for good quality and weaned packages. Yearling steers sold steady in a limited comparison. Feeder heifers sold steady; few good quality 4-weights 5.00 to 8.00 higher with good demand. Yearling heifers sold steady with good demand for preconditioned and open packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady with moderate to 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
305–330 value added 313 3 325.00–330.00 $328.24 $1,027 —
380 380 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,159 +15.00
370–395 value added 383 2 325.00 $325.00 $1,245 -12.50
405–427 value added 417 7 312.50–337.50 $321.35 $1,340 +5.57
450–485 value added 470 12 282.50–315.00 $296.14 $1,392 -24.99
450–485 476 4 270.00–280.00 $272.36 $1,296 -2.80
515–530 525 3 262.50–267.50 $264.13 $1,387 +4.97
510–547 value added 528 42 275.00–300.00 $285.13 $1,505 -6.70
554–590 566 36 262.50–272.00 $269.49 $1,525 +13.88
558–585 value added 572 6 281.00 $281.00 $1,607 -8.00
600–645 value added 624 49 248.00–282.50 $260.34 $1,625 -5.62
630–642 638 3 232.50–242.50 $235.79 $1,504 -14.21
656–688 value added 666 10 247.00–269.00 $263.41 $1,754 -8.35
671–680 675 17 234.00–246.00 $241.02 $1,627 -3.98
716–741 value added 736 85 255.00–269.00 $257.64 $1,896 -10.28
761 value added 761 24 246.00 $246.00 $1,872 -9.75
820–839 831 100 244.50–247.75 $246.37 $2,047 —
863 863 60 240.00 $240.00 $2,071 ±0.00
922 fancy 922 60 242.10 $242.10 $2,232 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 285.00 $285.00 $826 —
305–310 308 2 240.00–250.00 $245.04 $755 -19.96
370 370 1 260.00 $260.00 $962 —
565 565 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,398 —
660–671 668 10 220.00–229.00 $226.90 $1,516 —
885 885 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,947 +20.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 3 287.50 $287.50 $1,095 —
545 545 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,417 —
660 660 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,353 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–230 218 2 250.00–267.50 $258.25 $563 —
292 fancy 292 2 285.00 $285.00 $832 —
355–390 value added 383 6 267.50–292.50 $277.24 $1,062 —
400–440 value added 418 9 260.00–277.50 $271.57 $1,135 +17.91
430–442 438 3 232.50–245.00 $240.91 $1,055 -3.26
465–485 475 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,092 -6.20
455–493 value added 477 19 247.50–272.50 $258.06 $1,231 +8.92
507–535 value added 516 19 242.50–252.00 $246.85 $1,274 —
505–540 533 26 228.00–239.00 $232.01 $1,237 -4.41
552–575 566 5 225.00–237.00 $229.68 $1,300 -0.31
600–625 606 13 207.50–230.00 $218.00 $1,321 -7.38
652–683 672 9 206.00–231.00 $222.18 $1,493 —
697 value added 697 75 254.75 $254.75 $1,776 +4.75
835 835 2 206.00 $206.00 $1,720 +13.99
960 960 1 158.00 $158.00 $1,517 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 230.00 $230.00 $978 —
470 470 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,034 —
500–530 509 8 210.00–222.50 $218.42 $1,112 -2.88
560–585 568 3 214.00–220.00 $217.94 $1,238 -0.19
675–680 678 3 196.00–205.00 $200.32 $1,358 -15.68
755 755 1 167.50 $167.50 $1,265 —
845 845 2 160.00–161.00 $160.50 $1,356 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 2 200.00 $200.00 $924 —
530–540 533 4 200.00–210.00 $203.78 $1,086 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 267.50 $267.50 $535 —
295 295 1 295.00 $295.00 $870 —
325 325 1 300.00 $300.00 $975 +47.50
370 370 1 287.50 $287.50 $1,064 —
400–448 value added 436 4 282.50–287.50 $286.35 $1,248 -5.28
433–442 436 6 270.00–274.00 $272.65 $1,189 +20.11
493–495 value added 493 9 277.00–285.00 $277.89 $1,370 +10.39
570–585 574 8 242.50–243.00 $242.63 $1,393 -4.87
610–623 value added 620 5 231.00–235.00 $231.79 $1,437 —
620–647 638 5 210.00–226.00 $218.79 $1,396 -13.40
780 780 5 204.00 $204.00 $1,591 —
835–840 838 2 160.00 $160.00 $1,341 —
855–860 858 2 160.00–165.00 $162.51 $1,394 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 242.50 $242.50 $994 +15.00
500–510 505 2 230.00–240.00 $234.95 $1,186 +9.97
560 560 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,232 -10.00
815 815 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,141 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
477 477 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,073 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1615 1426 75-80% 4 116.00–123.00 $118.89 $1,695 —
1375–1770 1594 75-80% 4 126.00–130.00 $128.65 $2,051 —
1510–1920 1677 75-80% 3 109.00–116.00 $113.03 $1,896 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085 1085 80-85% 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,248 —
1000–1195 1098 80-85% 2 119.00–120.00 $119.46 $1,312 —
1240–1765 1459 80-85% 7 126.00–135.00 $130.19 $1,899 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920 920 85-90% 1 101.00 $101.00 $929 —
760–1130 971 85-90% 4 105.00–109.00 $106.59 $1,035 —
1105 1105 85-90% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,028 -14.72
990–1265 1113 85-90% 3 116.00–120.00 $117.56 $1,308 +18.52

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–2020 1548 8 144.00–159.00 $152.71 $2,364 —
1620–1940 1798 7 163.00–171.00 $166.37 $2,991 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00
1170–1325 1248 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,775.00–1,800.00 $1,788.28

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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.