Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 5, 2022

903 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $156.45/cwt +12.45 vs last sale · ≈ $745/hd at 476 lb · 99 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.03/cwt +5.97 vs last sale · ≈ $776/hd at 528 lb · 79 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.61/cwt ≈ $1,099/hd at 730 lb · 48 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 903 117 768
Feeder cattle 843 88 706
Slaughter cattle 36 22 40
Replacement cattle 24 7 22

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: No test on feeder cattle due to low receipts last week. The demand was moderate on a good quality offering of feeder calves. Slaughter cows sold 6.00-8.00 lower and slaughter bulls traded 3.00-4.00 higher.

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
358–366 363 6 170.00–186.00 $180.74 $656 —
403–434 421 12 160.00–175.00 $170.89 $719 -3.11
450–475 460 22 156.00–168.00 $164.50 $757 —
506–546 528 37 155.00–172.50 $167.11 $882 —
560–595 575 46 140.00–160.00 $148.16 $852 -5.84
610–641 630 40 140.00–159.00 $152.83 $963 -6.17
670 670 1 149.00 $149.00 $998 —
708–745 730 48 146.00–155.00 $150.61 $1,099 —
779 779 6 141.00 $141.00 $1,098 —
808–840 826 7 130.00–145.00 $138.44 $1,144 -10.88
858 858 2 146.00 $146.00 $1,253 —
940 940 6 153.00 $153.00 $1,438 +13.00
983 983 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,278 —
1015 1015 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,309 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 2 152.00 $152.00 $600 —
423 423 3 140.00 $140.00 $592 —
475 475 3 140.00 $140.00 $665 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 298 2 158.00 $158.00 $471 -16.00
320–332 329 4 152.00–162.50 $154.55 $508 +0.55
355–369 364 15 153.00–164.00 $160.77 $585 -6.23
400–423 416 24 145.00–160.00 $152.04 $632 +0.54
455 455 27 147.00 $147.00 $669 +3.00
484 value added 484 72 160.00 $160.00 $774 —
513–548 516 39 136.00–144.00 $142.95 $738 +1.89
539 value added 539 40 151.00 $151.00 $814 —
604–635 624 39 135.00–140.00 $136.66 $853 —
676–690 682 10 115.00–130.00 $123.93 $845 —
719 value added 719 24 140.25 $140.25 $1,008 —
793–795 793 6 118.00–126.50 $125.08 $992 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 4 134.00 $134.00 $482 —
450–491 484 14 129.00–141.00 $139.92 $677 —
585–593 590 8 120.00–123.00 $121.88 $719 —
633 633 5 120.00–121.00 $120.40 $762 +0.40

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 180.00 $180.00 $513 +15.00
305–349 336 10 160.00–178.00 $168.02 $565 -3.88
403 fancy 403 10 168.00 $168.00 $677 —
435–449 441 10 140.00–160.00 $143.95 $635 -21.54
484–485 484 15 145.00–160.00 $149.67 $724 -3.63
509–520 511 22 149.00–163.00 $160.41 $820 +2.14
570–589 580 14 132.50–151.00 $139.92 $812 -4.36
603–641 615 41 133.00–145.00 $142.96 $879 —
666–693 680 19 135.00–144.50 $139.41 $948 -1.59
704–725 712 10 118.00–128.00 $123.93 $882 -16.57
763 763 11 127.50 $127.50 $973 —
811 811 5 123.00 $123.00 $998 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
696 696 12 124.00 $124.00 $863 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1590 1590 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1375 1200 80-85% 9 51.00–60.50 $54.37 $652 -10.13
1200 1200 80-85% 1 61.50 $61.50 $738 -3.00
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1060 981 85-90% 4 30.00–40.00 $37.02 $363 —
1050 1050 85-90% 1 47.00 $47.00 $494 -1.00
970–1210 1068 85-90% 4 51.50–55.50 $54.19 $579 +6.19
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1410 1368 75-80% 2 62.00–68.00 $65.09 $890 —
1305–1550 1371 75-80% 6 50.00–57.00 $53.78 $737 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1490–1935 1713 2 76.00–85.00 $81.08 $1,389 —
1945 1945 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,848 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–820 810 (<2 yrs)Open 2 660.00–675.00 $667.41
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 620.00 $620.00
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 675.00 $675.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1135–1140 1138 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 660.00–775.00 $717.63
1140 1140 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 585.00 $585.00
1455 1455 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1525 1525 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
790 790 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 560.00 $560.00
795 795 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
870 870 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
930 930 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —
1115 1115 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —
1130 1130 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —
1130–1180 1155 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 950.00–1,000.00 $975.54 —

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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.