Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, July 28, 2026

520 head sold ·Official USDA report

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $321.07/cwt ≈ $2,260/hd at 704 lb · 83 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $313.50/cwt ≈ $2,509/hd at 800 lb · 65 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $319.10/cwt +4.10 vs last sale · ≈ $2,885/hd at 904 lb · 58 head
Lexington 7-weight heifers sold at $321/cwt, in line with the state average—$1/cwt above the KY average ($320) and $6/cwt under Stanford, KY ($327). KY 7-weight heifers are down $31/cwt from their late June peak of $346. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 520 317 295
Feeder cattle 481 288 266
Slaughter cattle 38 29 29
Replacement cattle 1 0 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday the feeder market was mostly lower with an average quality offering. Light weight steers 350 lbs and under appeared sharply lower with a lite test, while the 400-700 lbs steers were steady to 3 lower in spots with a good supply and good demand for weaned and pre-conditioned calves. Feeder heifers 600 lbs and under were sharply lower across all weight classes with a good supply and moderate demand. Slaughter cows and bulls were steady to 2.00 higher with 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
305–325 315 2 485.00–490.00 $487.42 $1,535 —
350 350 1 485.00 $485.00 $1,698 -32.50
450–487 475 3 447.50–467.50 $453.82 $2,156 -4.18
503–542 517 8 420.00–442.50 $429.16 $2,219 -1.84
566 value added 566 8 452.50 $452.50 $2,561 -12.50
565–596 584 14 401.00–430.00 $418.66 $2,445 -11.34
615–646 636 17 375.00–395.00 $385.21 $2,450 -0.79
650–667 657 11 360.00–400.00 $373.20 $2,452 -3.80
680 680 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,176 -57.00
710–715 712 19 342.50–370.00 $367.49 $2,617 —
750–771 756 23 340.00–360.00 $354.25 $2,678 +6.83
895 895 1 290.00 $290.00 $2,596 -26.00
896 value added 896 55 328.25 $328.25 $2,941 —
904 value added 904 58 319.10 $319.10 $2,885 —
960 960 1 287.50 $287.50 $2,760 -18.40
1020 1020 1 277.50 $277.50 $2,830 —
1060 1060 2 277.50 $277.50 $2,942 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1215 1132 3 210.00–230.00 $219.60 $2,486 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 435.00 $435.00 $1,870 -22.50
545 545 1 407.00 $407.00 $2,218 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,501 —
645 645 1 287.50 $287.50 $1,854 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 2 402.50 $402.50 $1,208 —
392 392 2 370.00 $370.00 $1,450 -48.63
500–535 516 7 364.00–382.50 $371.02 $1,914 -13.70
560–595 573 7 340.00–365.00 $350.95 $2,011 -35.63
583 value added 583 5 380.00 $380.00 $2,215 -29.36
620–644 633 13 345.00–370.00 $356.30 $2,255 -18.97
700–709 value added 701 75 321.75–332.50 $322.48 $2,261 —
720–738 731 8 300.00–317.50 $307.86 $2,250 —
800 value added 800 60 314.25 $314.25 $2,514 —
800–810 806 5 300.00–307.50 $304.52 $2,454 —
865 865 1 237.50 $237.50 $2,054 —
886 886 3 270.00 $270.00 $2,392 —
960 960 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,304 —
1010 1010 1 220.00 $220.00 $2,222 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 335.00 $335.00 $1,206 —
420 420 1 332.50 $332.50 $1,396 —
571 571 3 330.00 $330.00 $1,884 -27.50
670 670 1 315.00 $315.00 $2,110 —
740–745 743 3 252.50–285.00 $274.22 $2,037 —
880 880 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,848 -57.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
637 637 2 320.00 $320.00 $2,038 +22.50
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1150 1148 2 212.50–230.00 $221.27 $2,540 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795 795 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,146 —
875–885 883 4 235.00–245.00 $237.48 $2,097 —
990 990 3 225.00 $225.00 $2,228 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855 855 1 207.50 $207.50 $1,774 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 240.00 $240.00 $960 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1760 1520 75-80% 11 176.00–186.00 $182.12 $2,768 -14.69
1480–1725 1585 75-80% 4 189.00–199.00 $191.65 $3,038 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1180 1062 85-90% 5 158.00–167.00 $162.34 $1,724 —
885–1230 1085 85-90% 3 175.00–182.00 $178.59 $1,938 —
1275 1275 85-90% 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,798 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1445 1271 80-85% 5 176.00–188.00 $181.45 $2,306 +0.20

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1635 1518 3 212.00–226.00 $220.07 $3,341 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
965 965 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 3,400.00 $3,400.00

↑ 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.