Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 16, 2021

210 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Cattleman's Livestock report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.00/cwt +3.53 vs last sale · ≈ $742/hd at 515 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 210 110 111
Feeder cattle 151 85 93
Slaughter cattle 30 18 12
Replacement cattle 29 7 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle traded steady to 1.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls traded mostly steady. Bred cows and cow/calf pairs were met with strong 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
525–530 526 4 155.00–159.50 $158.37 $833 +1.62
580 580 2 154.00 $154.00 $893 +5.00
629–645 634 7 145.00–150.50 $148.90 $944 +3.40
655–675 668 3 140.00–144.50 $143.03 $955 —
798 798 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,069 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 2 147.00 $147.00 $669 —
588 588 2 137.50 $137.50 $808 —
620–640 630 3 130.00–137.00 $134.37 $847 +5.37

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 323 3 146.00–150.00 $148.60 $480 —
375–398 387 6 145.00–146.00 $145.51 $563 -2.49
453 453 2 145.00 $145.00 $657 +11.00
515 515 15 144.00 $144.00 $742 +3.53
588 588 3 131.00 $131.00 $770 -2.71
628 628 2 122.00 $122.00 $766 —
800 800 1 118.00 $118.00 $944 +13.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 136.00 $136.00 $564 —
455–495 490 8 133.50–139.00 $134.14 $657 —
520–528 525 3 128.00–132.00 $130.68 $686 +5.68
595 595 1 115.00 $115.00 $684 —
712 712 3 110.00 $110.00 $783 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 120.00 $120.00 $414 —
560 560 1 110.00 $110.00 $616 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 172.00 $172.00 $516 -2.41
370 370 1 176.00 $176.00 $651 +5.00
409 409 6 170.50 $170.50 $697 +5.50
459–490 463 8 153.00–164.50 $162.98 $755 +4.25
515 515 3 152.50 $152.50 $785 +3.56
555–595 568 3 148.00–150.00 $149.30 $848 +7.78
605–640 623 2 139.00 $139.00 $866 —
665–685 678 3 128.50–131.00 $129.32 $877 -4.68
780 780 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,061 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–485 465 4 150.50–151.00 $150.63 $700 —
517 517 3 147.00 $147.00 $760 —
587 587 5 141.00 $141.00 $828 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1325 1325 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,660.00 $1,660.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 130.00 $130.00 $507 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1280 1103 85-90% 3 52.50–57.00 $54.90 $606 —
1165–1390 1248 85-90% 4 60.00–64.50 $63.17 $788 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525–1650 1590 75-80% 3 68.00–73.00 $70.10 $1,115 —
1585–1620 1603 75-80% 2 64.50–65.50 $65.01 $1,042 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1465 1405 80-85% 2 68.00–70.00 $68.96 $969 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–2115 1738 2 90.50–93.50 $92.33 $1,605 —
1915–1940 1928 2 99.50–103.50 $101.51 $1,957 —
2250 2250 1 105.50 $105.50 $2,374 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065–1160 1113 (<2 yrs)Open 2 1,125.00 $1,125.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1365 1365 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 72.50 $72.50 $990

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
870–975 920 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,060.00–1,200.00 $1,122.07
1075–1420 1255 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 800.00–910.00 $861.73
1260 1260 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
1125–1500 1264 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,085.00–1,285.00 $1,199.18
1260–1300 1280 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,100.00–1,350.00 $1,226.95

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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
1040–1480 1202 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 8 1,335.00–1,675.00 $1,481.63 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 (<2 yrs)Open 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —

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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.