Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 20, 2023

148 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $203.30/cwt -18.70 vs last sale · ≈ $864/hd at 425 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 148 176 458
Feeder cattle 124 144 221
Slaughter cattle 18 23 28
Replacement cattle 6 9 209

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold 4.00-6.00 lower with a few being sharply lower. Feeder heifers traded 2.00-4.00 higher and bull calves were mostly steady. An overall lower quality offering of feeder calves saw lighter demand from buyers. Slaughter cows sold steady on a light test and no trend on slaughter bulls due to low receipts.

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
390 fancy 390 1 230.00 $230.00 $897 —
474 fancy 474 6 221.00 $221.00 $1,048 -44.84
525–530 fancy 529 4 210.00–212.00 $211.50 $1,119 —
587 587 5 199.00 $199.00 $1,168 —
605 fancy 605 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,222 —
622–645 628 4 192.00–198.00 $196.46 $1,234 +31.05
685–690 688 2 185.50–189.00 $187.24 $1,288 +7.73
715 715 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,358 —
810 810 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,426 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 171.00 $171.00 $821 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 2 210.00 $210.00 $588 —
350 fancy 350 1 225.00 $225.00 $788 -1.56
395 395 1 200.00 $200.00 $790 +9.00
419 fancy 419 6 219.50 $219.50 $920 -2.50
420–445 430 7 188.00–190.00 $189.41 $814 —
461 fancy 461 5 208.00 $208.00 $959 —
470 470 2 197.00 $197.00 $926 +8.50
538 538 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,022 +2.00
566 566 4 182.50 $182.50 $1,033 —
605–610 606 6 170.00–181.50 $177.82 $1,078 —
650–663 659 3 164.00–170.00 $168.03 $1,107 +15.03
725–743 737 3 140.00–156.00 $150.75 $1,111 —
1115 1115 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,505 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570–573 572 3 147.00–155.00 $152.34 $871 -9.66

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 210.00 $210.00 $546 —
305–340 fancy 323 2 240.00–260.00 $250.54 $809 —
418 fancy 418 3 250.00 $250.00 $1,045 —
435 435 1 220.00 $220.00 $957 —
455 fancy 455 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,119 +2.13
475–490 480 3 183.50–194.00 $187.07 $898 -10.93
520–530 527 3 182.00–194.00 $185.95 $980 —
558 558 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,060 +2.50
607–632 620 8 177.00–193.50 $184.31 $1,143 —
665–680 670 3 180.00–185.50 $183.64 $1,230 +4.28
775 775 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,085 —
955 955 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,242 +2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 1 170.00 $170.00 $648 —
445 445 1 161.00 $161.00 $716 —
465 465 1 177.50 $177.50 $825 +14.90
500–505 503 2 170.00–170.50 $170.25 $856 —
575 575 1 145.00 $145.00 $834 -33.00
613 613 2 160.00 $160.00 $981 —
675 675 1 147.50 $147.50 $996 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1655 1453 75-80% 4 91.00–97.50 $93.34 $1,356 +2.19
1410–1575 1493 75-80% 2 83.50–85.50 $84.44 $1,261 -6.71
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–945 877 85-90% 3 51.50–59.00 $55.65 $488 +8.36
965 965 85-90% 1 85.00 $85.00 $820 —
1010 1010 85-90% 1 62.50 $62.50 $631 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1235 1167 80-85% 3 77.00–81.50 $79.50 $928 —
1235 1235 80-85% 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,087 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1880 1880 1 117.00 $117.00 $2,200 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1235 1235 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
735 735 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725 725 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1080 1080 (<2 yrs)Open 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —

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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.