Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 21, 2025

1,053 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 $419.62/cwt +40.07 vs last sale · ≈ $2,788/hd at 664 lb · 147 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $363.90/cwt -3.89 vs last sale · ≈ $3,018/hd at 829 lb · 101 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $327.61/cwt +40.61 vs last sale · ≈ $2,916/hd at 890 lb · 82 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,053 818 1,154
Feeder cattle 974 755 1,056
Slaughter cattle 76 58 91
Replacement cattle 3 5 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday the feeder market was mostly steady with a good quality offering. Light weight feeder steers and heifers 400 lbs and under appeared sharply higher with a good supply, while steers and heifer over 450 lbs were steady to 2.00 higher with a good supply and good demand for weaned and value added packages. Slaughter cows were mostly steady with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 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
321 fancy 321 4 492.50 $492.50 $1,581 —
330 330 1 435.00 $435.00 $1,436 +20.00
372 372 2 457.50 $457.50 $1,702 +12.50
385 fancy 385 1 490.00 $490.00 $1,886 —
420–446 fancy 440 4 467.50–472.50 $468.69 $2,062 —
440–445 443 2 410.00–437.50 $423.67 $1,877 +2.82
470–476 475 4 432.50–440.00 $438.14 $2,081 +16.59
470–499 fancy 496 10 453.00–457.50 $453.43 $2,249 -9.40
500–527 value added 515 17 402.00–429.00 $418.47 $2,155 -2.84
570 fancy 570 65 458.00 $458.00 $2,611 —
550–588 value added 576 7 392.50–405.00 $396.00 $2,281 -1.58
560–590 578 10 355.00–387.50 $375.31 $2,169 -1.98
615 615 1 352.50 $352.50 $2,168 -18.12
610–635 value added 616 6 387.50–393.00 $388.69 $2,394 +2.63
653 fancy 653 77 439.85 $439.85 $2,872 —
676 value added 676 52 404.50 $404.50 $2,734 —
668–686 679 18 370.00–383.00 $376.79 $2,558 -2.76
703–727 value added 705 69 405.00–418.00 $416.64 $2,937 —
715–747 736 6 330.00–357.50 $348.60 $2,566 -0.50
821–841 value added 829 99 364.00–369.50 $366.25 $3,036 -3.26
840 840 2 247.50 $247.50 $2,079 -84.59
900 900 1 337.00 $337.00 $3,033 —
910 value added 910 58 357.00 $357.00 $3,249 +1.37
971 value added 971 8 336.00 $336.00 $3,263 —
1000–1020 1010 2 315.00 $315.00 $3,182 -13.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 2 385.00 $385.00 $1,290 —
365 365 1 377.50 $377.50 $1,378 —
625 625 2 327.50 $327.50 $2,047 —
710–738 732 12 300.00–326.00 $320.53 $2,346 +10.53
830–835 833 2 285.00–287.50 $286.25 $2,384 -3.75
975 975 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,340 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,050 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 400.00 $400.00 $940 —
280 fancy 280 1 440.00 $440.00 $1,232 +17.50
300 300 1 385.00 $385.00 $1,155 —
360–390 371 6 380.00–400.00 $391.99 $1,454 —
400–440 422 13 360.00–385.00 $381.68 $1,611 -3.32
415–440 fancy 435 5 397.00–407.50 $399.00 $1,736 -6.75
456 value added 456 10 421.00 $421.00 $1,920 —
465–491 481 13 355.00–372.50 $360.94 $1,736 -14.06
450–490 fancy 482 6 393.00–402.50 $396.50 $1,911 -0.94
507–530 514 4 350.00–370.00 $355.95 $1,830 -3.31
500–545 value added 527 14 380.00–393.00 $386.38 $2,036 -9.37
535 fancy 535 42 412.00 $412.00 $2,204 —
550–593 value added 575 10 375.00–394.00 $385.43 $2,216 +1.53
569–590 575 9 342.50–367.50 $362.66 $2,085 +9.02
603–643 629 12 313.00–340.00 $330.60 $2,079 -26.90
630 630 3 352.50 $352.50 $2,221 -5.00
650–695 673 6 305.00–330.00 $316.87 $2,133 +7.35
700 700 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,240 -1.28
780 780 1 290.00 $290.00 $2,262 —
790 790 2 260.00 $260.00 $2,054 —
883–894 value added 890 80 325.50–335.00 $328.80 $2,926 —
890 890 2 280.00 $280.00 $2,492 —
965 965 3 255.00 $255.00 $2,461 +3.77
1115 1115 1 227.00 $227.00 $2,531 -8.00
1183 1183 4 271.00 $271.00 $3,206 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 340.00 $340.00 $765 —
260 260 1 350.00 $350.00 $910 -10.00
505–535 523 6 320.00–345.00 $332.44 $1,739 —
555–590 573 2 322.50–332.50 $327.35 $1,876 —
640 640 2 282.00 $282.00 $1,805 -28.00
655–661 660 6 285.00–290.00 $285.83 $1,886 —
725 725 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,921 -27.50
795 795 1 272.50 $272.50 $2,166 —
880 880 1 260.00 $260.00 $2,288 —
935 935 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,870 -31.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 305.00 $305.00 $824 —
375 375 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,162 —
563 563 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,689 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,087 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 fancy 205 1 440.00 $440.00 $902 —
215 215 1 400.00 $400.00 $860 —
290 290 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,232 —
357–395 fancy 365 7 472.50–495.00 $480.16 $1,753 —
410 410 1 411.00 $411.00 $1,685 +18.63
408–430 fancy 413 5 460.00–480.00 $475.83 $1,965 +43.33
451–462 fancy 455 5 420.00–427.00 $422.84 $1,924 —
485–495 492 5 392.50–398.00 $396.51 $1,951 +19.01
527–542 fancy 530 10 385.00–390.00 $388.98 $2,062 +4.94
530 530 1 359.00 $359.00 $1,903 +10.03
565–590 576 8 330.00–357.00 $348.47 $2,007 +13.47
570–592 fancy 589 8 365.00–387.50 $367.72 $2,166 +2.73
635–646 640 8 330.00–348.00 $339.82 $2,175 +10.53
655–695 691 16 300.00–321.00 $316.43 $2,187 +6.43
700 700 2 317.50 $317.50 $2,222 —
935 935 1 221.00 $221.00 $2,066 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
185 185 1 352.50 $352.50 $652 —
290 290 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,102 —
435 435 1 371.00 $371.00 $1,614 —
585 585 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,872 +10.00
612 612 2 302.50 $302.50 $1,851 +2.50
672 672 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,915 —
815 815 1 260.00 $260.00 $2,119 -7.50
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,170 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 355.00 $355.00 $1,349 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1485 1244 80-85% 17 153.00–165.00 $160.49 $1,996 —
1125–1565 1275 80-85% 5 169.00–176.00 $172.41 $2,198 +1.72
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1185 1007 85-90% 12 132.00–148.00 $139.80 $1,408 —
1050 1050 85-90% 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,323 —
1090–1180 1135 85-90% 4 153.00–169.00 $157.63 $1,789 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1630 1436 75-80% 9 155.00–166.00 $163.13 $2,343 —
1145–1720 1457 75-80% 5 169.00–175.00 $171.05 $2,492 +9.45

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295–1325 1310 2 164.00–173.00 $168.45 $2,207 —
1685–1855 1770 2 197.00–207.00 $201.76 $3,571 —
1715–1820 1782 3 187.00–192.00 $189.97 $3,385 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 197.50 $197.50 $1,975

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885 885 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,025.00 $2,025.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1455 1455 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,700.00 $2,700.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155 1155 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,875.00 $1,875.00

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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.