Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 18, 2025

1,160 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $270.17/cwt +10.26 vs last sale · ≈ $2,469/hd at 914 lb · 117 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $315.75/cwt +20.52 vs last sale · ≈ $2,279/hd at 722 lb · 115 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $296.87/cwt +28.64 vs last sale · ≈ $2,293/hd at 772 lb · 98 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,160 771 1,140
Feeder cattle 1,075 712 1,090
Slaughter cattle 67 42 48
Replacement cattle 18 17 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mostly 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand for 550-650 lbs and very good demand for yearling packages. Feeder heifers over 500 lbs sold fully 10.00 higher with several good quality and replacement quality packages sharply higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 4.00 higher with good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady with 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
360–385 378 4 390.00–399.00 $396.38 $1,498 —
409 409 5 340.00 $340.00 $1,391 -41.00
400–441 value added 416 22 380.00–425.00 $394.86 $1,643 -24.14
437 fancy 437 4 392.50 $392.50 $1,715 —
460–495 value added 478 22 359.00–390.00 $383.33 $1,832 —
470–490 479 12 322.50–342.00 $329.50 $1,578 —
514–545 value added 525 33 332.50–372.50 $354.01 $1,859 +6.11
555–560 558 2 317.50–322.50 $319.99 $1,786 +9.67
578–593 value added 580 94 348.00–369.00 $361.55 $2,097 +13.55
600–640 value added 614 55 315.00–335.00 $322.56 $1,981 +14.46
624 fancy 624 20 340.00 $340.00 $2,122 —
640 640 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,856 +7.00
658–683 value added 675 25 307.50–322.00 $316.35 $2,135 +2.30
711 fancy 711 71 329.00 $329.00 $2,339 —
710–748 value added 739 44 282.00–305.00 $294.36 $2,175 -2.03
765 fancy 765 65 310.00 $310.00 $2,372 —
755–795 782 3 255.00–262.00 $259.75 $2,031 +4.75
758–796 value added 787 30 266.00–291.00 $272.12 $2,142 -0.91
810 810 1 267.00 $267.00 $2,163 +12.52
842 842 4 244.00 $244.00 $2,054 -10.48
859 fancy 859 58 279.25 $279.25 $2,399 —
855–881 877 7 260.00–261.00 $260.86 $2,288 +8.36
900–929 fancy 914 117 269.00–271.25 $270.17 $2,469 +10.09
988 fancy 988 49 252.25 $252.25 $2,492 —
1130 1130 1 185.00 $185.00 $2,090 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 380.00 $380.00 $988 —
315 315 1 292.50 $292.50 $921 —
352–395 371 6 310.00–365.00 $339.63 $1,260 —
440 440 2 325.00 $325.00 $1,430 —
455–490 477 3 295.00–329.00 $314.98 $1,502 —
575 575 2 307.50 $307.50 $1,768 —
625 625 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,641 —
665–685 680 6 270.00–285.00 $272.78 $1,855 +15.28
745 745 1 242.00 $242.00 $1,803 —
920–935 928 2 221.00–227.00 $224.02 $2,079 —
1045 1045 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,944 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 272.50 $272.50 $886 —
390 390 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,063 —
480 480 2 255.00 $255.00 $1,224 —
730 730 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,460 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740 740 1 279.00 $279.00 $2,065 +44.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 400.00 $400.00 $1,060 +25.00
325 value added 325 2 357.50 $357.50 $1,162 —
350–362 value added 358 3 347.50–360.00 $355.93 $1,274 -4.07
395 fancy 395 9 385.00 $385.00 $1,521 —
402–445 value added 414 13 330.00–390.00 $366.43 $1,517 +30.85
417–440 425 3 310.00–317.50 $312.59 $1,329 -7.75
468–480 475 9 295.00–317.50 $308.38 $1,465 -5.95
450–495 value added 478 6 320.00–335.00 $325.32 $1,555 -21.55
500–530 513 6 295.00–312.50 $303.46 $1,557 +19.46
565–575 571 6 292.50–300.00 $297.50 $1,699 +14.24
553–594 value added 590 50 319.00–327.00 $321.09 $1,894 +22.40
600–611 606 13 320.00–327.00 $323.80 $1,962 +68.51
600–642 value added 624 7 300.00–310.00 $304.91 $1,903 +25.36
665–670 value added 667 3 300.00–310.00 $306.65 $2,045 +28.17
675–685 680 11 312.00–315.00 $313.63 $2,133 +54.54
723 value added 723 11 251.00 $251.00 $1,815 +0.05
718–744 728 32 284.00–298.00 $290.61 $2,116 +11.11
775 775 5 304.00 $304.00 $2,356 +67.74
805 805 4 250.00 $250.00 $2,012 +17.63
810 810 8 269.00 $269.00 $2,179 +36.63
910 910 1 232.50 $232.50 $2,116 +32.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 325.00 $325.00 $748 —
320 320 2 310.00 $310.00 $992 —
460 460 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,196 —
510–545 532 3 260.00–283.00 $274.62 $1,461 +14.86
587–595 590 3 265.00–284.00 $277.61 $1,638 —
605 605 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,452 —
655–695 675 2 225.00–242.50 $233.49 $1,576 -3.33
745 745 1 237.50 $237.50 $1,769 —
785 785 1 232.50 $232.50 $1,825 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 3 370.00 $370.00 $1,314 -26.20
458–477 value added 463 7 340.00–380.00 $368.24 $1,705 -16.13
505–537 522 4 320.00–340.00 $330.02 $1,723 +32.52
555–570 566 5 300.00–330.00 $305.88 $1,731 -8.39
600–607 value added 605 5 297.50–317.50 $306.51 $1,854 +24.08
630 630 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,764 —
665 value added 665 1 307.00 $307.00 $2,042 +16.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
528 528 3 283.00 $283.00 $1,494 —
625 625 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,500 +4.00
765 765 1 217.50 $217.50 $1,664 -17.50
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 1 232.00 $232.00 $1,288 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1390 1292 75-80% 3 137.00–143.00 $140.56 $1,816 —
1280–1370 1318 75-80% 3 128.00–135.00 $131.93 $1,739 —
1205–1785 1464 75-80% 16 143.00–158.00 $148.18 $2,169 +12.79
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 85-90% 1 90.00 $90.00 $752 —
775–1180 958 85-90% 6 101.00–110.00 $103.97 $996 +6.33
955–1110 1037 85-90% 5 127.00–138.00 $131.48 $1,363 +22.64
1045–1325 1175 85-90% 5 117.00–126.00 $121.72 $1,430 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215 1215 80-85% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,555 +0.15
1000–1400 1236 80-85% 7 136.00–142.00 $138.60 $1,713 +10.75
1060–1455 1264 80-85% 9 143.00–153.00 $145.71 $1,842 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365–2030 1618 3 160.00–171.00 $166.70 $2,697 —
1755–2350 2014 5 172.00–181.00 $174.53 $3,515 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1125–1175 1150 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 153.00–163.00 $158.11 $1,818

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1400 1400 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,975.00 $1,975.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1195–1505 1303 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 2,200.00–2,650.00 $2,463.08 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385 1385 85-90% 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,620 —

↑ Back to top

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.