Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Corrected report

928 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $312.34/cwt -11.23 vs last sale · ≈ $3,008/hd at 963 lb · 284 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $354.20/cwt +10.33 vs last sale · ≈ $2,846/hd at 804 lb · 127 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $319.43/cwt -36.07 vs last sale · ≈ $2,439/hd at 764 lb · 126 head
Lexington 9-weight steers sold at $312/cwt, near the bottom of the state — $7/cwt below the KY average ($319) and $31/cwt under Mt. Sterling, KY ($343). The class is down $33/cwt from its early July peak of $346. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 928 1,436 750
Feeder cattle 897 1,396 716
Slaughter cattle 22 38 30
Replacement cattle 9 2 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday: No trend on feeder calves due to low comparable receipts. Yearling steers and heifers sold 6.00 to 10.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 5.00 to 8.00 lower.

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
445 445 1 447.00 $447.00 $1,989 -58.00
472–482 477 4 447.50–462.50 $454.92 $2,170 -22.58
515 515 2 440.00 $440.00 $2,266 -12.50
570–577 575 8 418.00–422.50 $421.39 $2,423 -10.99
605–638 634 9 397.00–410.00 $398.38 $2,526 +7.71
665–695 680 2 367.50–375.00 $371.17 $2,524 -24.70
685 value added 685 22 395.00 $395.00 $2,706 —
702–715 705 6 347.50–365.00 $361.21 $2,547 -19.59
760–787 779 22 330.00–344.00 $342.54 $2,668 -17.05
803 value added 803 124 355.00 $355.00 $2,851 +11.13
825 825 3 321.00 $321.00 $2,648 —
893 893 22 318.00 $318.00 $2,840 -6.97
897 value added 897 56 329.50 $329.50 $2,956 -14.08
909 value added 909 15 310.00 $310.00 $2,818 -5.91
955–980 value added 963 284 309.75–314.25 $312.34 $3,008 -11.23
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
486 486 3 427.50 $427.50 $2,078 —
520 520 1 397.50 $397.50 $2,067 +10.00
780 780 1 322.00 $322.00 $2,512 -5.50
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 1 285.00 $285.00 $2,366 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–475 468 2 385.00–390.00 $387.54 $1,814 -44.41
505–517 509 6 355.00–365.00 $361.61 $1,841 -18.39
608–625 615 20 322.50–340.00 $335.88 $2,066 -40.38
615 value added 615 83 383.00 $383.00 $2,355 —
688–692 value added 691 25 342.50–348.00 $346.47 $2,394 -29.53
697 697 2 310.00 $310.00 $2,161 -55.91
700–710 706 4 307.50–321.00 $312.72 $2,208 -10.33
757–771 value added 763 124 307.50–329.25 $319.86 $2,441 -36.64
797 797 2 293.00 $293.00 $2,335 +10.50
865 865 1 293.00 $293.00 $2,534 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 410.00 $410.00 $840 —
380 380 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,311 —
425 425 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,488 —
500–535 518 2 340.00–342.50 $341.29 $1,768 -16.21
600 600 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,860 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 360.00 $360.00 $954 —
520–535 528 2 300.00–312.50 $306.16 $1,617 —
580 580 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,624 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 2 320.00 $320.00 $1,478 —
650 650 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,820 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,262 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,485 —
385 385 2 440.00 $440.00 $1,694 -45.00
420 420 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,785 —
505–520 513 2 380.00–402.50 $391.41 $2,008 -58.59
665 665 1 327.50 $327.50 $2,178 -50.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 420.00 $420.00 $1,260 —
375–380 378 2 415.00–425.00 $420.03 $1,588 —
545 545 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,908 —
790 790 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,995 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1335–1640 1516 75-80% 7 157.00–167.00 $163.31 $2,476 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910 910 85-90% 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,483 —
1115 1115 85-90% 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,171 -61.44
1165–1315 1240 85-90% 2 143.00–145.00 $144.06 $1,786 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1370 1241 80-85% 4 163.00–168.00 $166.12 $2,062 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1285 1275 2 191.00–192.00 $191.50 $2,442 —
1320–2110 1753 3 202.00–211.00 $206.39 $3,618 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1165 1165 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 3,200.00 $3,200.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1205 1205 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,400.00 $2,400.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
945 945 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 2,450.00 $2,450.00 —

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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.