Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Wednesday) Market Report

Campbellsville, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 20, 2023

240 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $256.69/cwt -7.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,230/hd at 479 lb · 18 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $235.79/cwt -5.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,240/hd at 526 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 240 308 152
Feeder cattle 127 226 105
Slaughter cattle 81 52 36
Replacement cattle 32 30 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: No trend on the feeder cattle due to a limited number of comparison. However the feeder market appeared stronger as buyers were willing to pay premiums for good quality feeder calves with favorable body condition. Slaughter cows were 2.00 to 4.00 higher with a good supply and slaughter bulls were 2.00 higher 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
455 fancy 455 2 269.00 $269.00 $1,224 +0.50
535–540 538 2 247.00–249.00 $248.00 $1,334 +8.36
550 550 1 239.00 $239.00 $1,314 —
695 695 2 207.00 $207.00 $1,439 +7.22
840 840 2 195.00 $195.00 $1,638 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 172.50 $172.50 $906 —
580 580 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,166 +1.00
655 655 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,231 ±0.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1740–1955 1883 3 95.00–102.50 $100.19 $1,887 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–370 358 3 202.50–207.00 $204.15 $731 -4.37
385–395 fancy 388 3 225.00–235.00 $230.29 $894 +4.29
417–437 fancy 424 7 227.00–237.00 $234.98 $996 -0.02
430 430 1 200.00 $200.00 $860 -17.54
465 fancy 465 3 225.00 $225.00 $1,046 —
480 480 3 190.00–204.00 $199.33 $957 -14.14
500–525 513 9 190.00–210.00 $202.64 $1,040 +2.42
550 550 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,050 +3.89
600–635 613 4 178.00–185.00 $181.68 $1,114 —
662 662 2 187.00 $187.00 $1,238 +11.73
705 705 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,276 +40.01
975 975 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,112 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–270 265 2 200.00–202.50 $201.23 $533 —
305 305 1 157.50 $157.50 $480 -17.50
380 380 1 157.50 $157.50 $598 -24.50
430 430 1 141.00 $141.00 $606 -58.99
455–495 472 3 175.00–189.00 $182.30 $860 -11.70
505–545 525 5 170.00–175.00 $171.81 $902 -10.67
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1380 1355 2 108.00–121.00 $114.62 $1,553 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 262.00 $262.00 $603 —
285 285 1 250.00 $250.00 $712 —
305–330 318 2 245.00–250.00 $247.40 $787 +14.40
332 fancy 332 2 275.00 $275.00 $913 -22.06
355 355 1 247.50 $247.50 $879 -38.18
350–390 fancy 370 2 290.00–295.00 $292.64 $1,083 —
400–430 fancy 418 3 275.00–285.00 $279.02 $1,166 -9.32
455–491 fancy 474 9 258.00–274.00 $265.88 $1,260 -13.12
460–493 484 9 239.00–255.00 $247.51 $1,198 -12.40
510–540 526 10 229.00–247.00 $235.79 $1,240 -5.21
627 627 2 208.00 $208.00 $1,304 +13.34
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 212.50 $212.50 $436 —
390 390 1 200.00 $200.00 $780 —
435 435 2 203.00 $203.00 $883 -32.00
457 457 2 200.00 $200.00 $914 -20.00
500 500 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,025 +5.98
625 625 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,100 —
660 660 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,129 —
745 745 2 164.00–167.00 $165.50 $1,233 —
830 830 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,386 —
890 890 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,290 —
Medium 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 thin fleshed 540 1 107.50 $107.50 $580 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1420 1252 80-85% 11 84.50–92.50 $88.57 $1,109 —
1135–1350 1262 80-85% 3 72.00–81.00 $77.61 $979 —
1030–1700 1271 80-85% 17 93.00–99.00 $95.51 $1,214 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1640 1430 75-80% 13 93.00–98.00 $94.33 $1,349 —
1155–1825 1512 75-80% 11 88.00–92.00 $90.34 $1,366 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865–1135 993 85-90% 5 60.00–69.50 $63.70 $633 —
995 995 85-90% 1 90.00 $90.00 $896 —
935–1070 1000 85-90% 3 50.00–51.00 $50.33 $503 —
950–1345 1085 85-90% 6 70.50–77.00 $73.05 $793 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1945 1618 4 108.00–117.00 $113.54 $1,837 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035 1035 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00
1015–1240 1105 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,050.00–1,400.00 $1,237.10
1125 1125 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1215–1405 1319 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 900.00–1,175.00 $1,075.83
1575 1575 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,235.00 $1,235.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
710–945 854 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 800.00–875.00 $832.69
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
785–885 835 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 600.00–650.00 $626.50

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00 —
1240 1240 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 +112.15
1345 1345 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
1385 1385 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
800–915 858 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 875.00–925.00 $901.68 —
1105 1105 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 3 187.00 $187.00 $922 —

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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.