Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 23, 2025

1,254 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 $366.65/cwt +2.34 vs last sale · ≈ $3,018/hd at 823 lb · 253 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $389.53/cwt +18.39 vs last sale · ≈ $2,275/hd at 584 lb · 181 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $354.75/cwt +7.93 vs last sale · ≈ $3,093/hd at 872 lb · 180 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,254 1,154 1,667
Feeder cattle 1,180 1,083 1,539
Slaughter cattle 74 69 128
Replacement cattle — 2 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday the feeder market was mixed and spotty with an increased variability of quality throughout the sale. Feeder steers and heifers 650 lbs and under were steady to 6.00 lower or greater in spots with a good supply and moderate demand, while the yearling steers and heifers were 2.00 to 6.00 higher with a good supply and strong demand. Buyers were active today and willing to pay premiums for weaned packages and groups, while showing a very limited interest in the increased supply of bawling calves and plainer quality feeders that are hitting the market. Slaughter cows and bulls were steady to 2.00 higher with a good supply and 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
380 380 1 402.50 $402.50 $1,530 -95.28
457–480 460 8 385.00–390.00 $389.35 $1,791 -50.16
465 465 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,534 -109.51
506 506 3 370.00 $370.00 $1,872 -16.54
576–580 value added 578 6 390.00–405.00 $397.47 $2,297 -4.11
565–598 583 13 365.00–375.00 $372.28 $2,170 +5.31
600–630 615 2 370.00–387.50 $378.96 $2,331 -0.30
632 value added 632 2 392.50 $392.50 $2,481 -10.09
655 655 1 347.50 $347.50 $2,276 -6.18
693 value added 693 60 379.75 $379.75 $2,632 —
712 712 2 347.50 $347.50 $2,474 +7.51
727 value added 727 5 372.50 $372.50 $2,708 —
816–848 value added 823 253 347.25–372.25 $366.65 $3,018 -0.85
856–881 value added 872 174 354.50–355.75 $355.33 $3,098 +8.36
872 872 6 338.00 $338.00 $2,947 +15.00
906 906 3 329.00 $329.00 $2,981 +9.01
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
346 346 5 365.00 $365.00 $1,263 -68.32
416–435 421 7 360.00–372.50 $368.90 $1,553 -11.10
542 542 2 342.50 $342.50 $1,856 —
607–640 626 6 320.00–340.00 $323.75 $2,027 +3.75
720–730 725 2 290.00–305.00 $297.45 $2,157 —
810 810 2 295.00 $295.00 $2,390 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 312.50 $312.50 $1,188 —
430 430 1 282.50 $282.50 $1,215 -37.50
500 500 1 282.50 $282.50 $1,412 —
610 610 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,738 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 2 362.00 $362.00 $996 —
397 397 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,489 —
406–440 421 14 362.50–387.50 $372.83 $1,570 —
454–482 460 30 351.00–370.00 $357.74 $1,646 -23.23
512–545 534 17 342.50–357.50 $348.87 $1,863 -23.67
543 value added 543 93 395.75 $395.75 $2,149 —
550–581 570 13 334.00–350.00 $344.13 $1,962 -20.96
577–594 value added 585 168 389.00–397.00 $393.04 $2,299 —
625 625 1 232.00 $232.00 $1,450 -38.00
635 635 2 312.00 $312.00 $1,981 +42.00
728 728 5 327.50 $327.50 $2,384 +2.50
750 750 1 285.00 $285.00 $2,138 -37.50
909 909 15 293.00 $293.00 $2,663 —
1035 1035 1 269.00 $269.00 $2,784 —
1118–1132 1124 5 264.00–270.00 $266.42 $2,995 —
1175 1175 2 285.00 $285.00 $3,349 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 4 310.00 $310.00 $884 —
315–322 321 5 360.00 $360.00 $1,156 -15.04
362–390 371 3 355.00–360.00 $356.75 $1,324 -0.67
400–435 412 5 315.00–350.00 $336.06 $1,385 -32.87
460–495 482 6 320.00–342.00 $334.31 $1,611 -10.81
526 526 3 331.00 $331.00 $1,741 —
612–613 613 6 297.00–300.00 $298.00 $1,827 -22.00
655–660 658 2 262.00–290.00 $275.95 $1,816 —
770 770 1 251.00 $251.00 $1,933 -32.00
805 805 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,932 —
855 855 1 255.00 $255.00 $2,180 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 295.00 $295.00 $1,047 -38.97
430 430 1 287.50 $287.50 $1,236 —
715 715 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,587 —
815 815 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,630 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,129 —
555 555 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,471 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,106 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 415.00 $415.00 $1,722 —
485 485 1 395.00 $395.00 $1,916 —
500–540 508 5 357.50–365.00 $360.45 $1,831 —
555–588 572 12 347.50–355.00 $351.93 $2,013 -2.43
605–610 608 2 312.50–320.00 $316.23 $1,923 +3.73
650–655 653 3 290.00–295.00 $292.67 $1,911 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 335.00 $335.00 $787 —
335 335 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,172 —
442 442 4 341.00 $341.00 $1,507 -58.00
460 460 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,656 —
500 500 1 312.50 $312.50 $1,562 -26.46
610–641 636 7 280.00–290.00 $284.65 $1,810 —
690 690 1 253.00 $253.00 $1,746 -30.00
720 720 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,872 —
942 942 2 160.00 $160.00 $1,507 —
1128–1130 1129 4 140.00–150.00 $147.50 $1,665 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
631 631 4 280.00 $280.00 $1,767 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,762 +62.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 335.00 $335.00 $821 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–960 898 85-90% 2 82.00–91.00 $86.81 $780 —
1060–1065 1063 85-90% 2 153.00–162.00 $157.49 $1,674 +34.85
940–1330 1098 85-90% 8 118.00–129.00 $125.76 $1,381 -23.59
745–1615 1130 85-90% 13 133.00–149.00 $142.30 $1,608 +3.85
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015 1015 80-85% 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,898 —
1190–1360 1300 80-85% 3 147.00–149.00 $148.00 $1,924 -8.00
1180–1465 1308 80-85% 12 150.00–162.00 $155.60 $2,035 -0.40
1140–1510 1326 80-85% 5 166.00–177.00 $170.76 $2,264 +14.76
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1440 1390 75-80% 2 168.00–170.00 $169.04 $2,350 —
1345–1905 1634 75-80% 7 152.00–161.00 $155.34 $2,538 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1535 1263 4 151.00–171.00 $161.79 $2,043 -5.84
1300–1480 1395 4 178.00–189.00 $181.68 $2,534 —
1620–2065 1871 4 195.00–206.00 $200.93 $3,759 -0.07
YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2035 2035 1 215.00 $215.00 $4,375 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 value added 900 51 311.00 $311.00 $2,799 —

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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.