Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, September 18, 2023

194 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 $253.91/cwt ≈ $1,039/hd at 409 lb · 12 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $220.00/cwt +8.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,364/hd at 620 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 194 196 187
Feeder cattle 157 160 144
Slaughter cattle 21 21 24
Replacement cattle 16 15 19

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold steady. Feeder heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher. Good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows steady. No test on slaughter bulls. Good demand for Slaughter cows.

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
320 320 1 260.00 $260.00 $832 —
363 fancy 363 2 299.00 $299.00 $1,085 —
453 453 2 252.00 $252.00 $1,142 -1.20
509 509 4 260.00 $260.00 $1,323 +17.00
591 591 4 247.00 $247.00 $1,460 +8.00
660 660 1 241.00 $241.00 $1,591 -4.00
802 802 3 226.00 $226.00 $1,813 —
975 975 1 203.00 $203.00 $1,979 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 2 237.50 $237.50 $499 —
273 273 2 231.00 $231.00 $631 —
305–325 309 5 244.00–251.00 $249.53 $771 —
375 375 2 257.00 $257.00 $964 +16.23
403 fancy 403 8 264.00 $264.00 $1,064 —
417–435 422 4 233.00–234.00 $233.74 $986 —
457 457 9 242.50 $242.50 $1,108 +1.25
522 522 5 233.50 $233.50 $1,219 -6.76
589 589 4 231.00 $231.00 $1,361 +1.00
608–630 620 12 215.00–221.00 $220.00 $1,364 +8.00
660 660 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,336 +2.50
720 720 1 217.00 $217.00 $1,562 +31.00
755 755 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,502 -5.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318 318 3 221.00 $221.00 $703 —
400 400 1 220.00 $220.00 $880 —
490 490 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,029 +20.00
560–580 573 3 195.00–205.00 $198.26 $1,136 -12.24
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 192.50 $192.50 $703 +37.50
425 425 1 170.00 $170.00 $722 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,738 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 298 2 290.00 $290.00 $864 —
355 fancy 355 1 291.00 $291.00 $1,033 —
355–385 370 2 270.00–272.50 $271.20 $1,003 —
405–430 413 3 258.00–265.00 $262.57 $1,084 —
465 465 2 244.00 $244.00 $1,135 -16.00
517 517 6 240.00 $240.00 $1,241 +2.54
565–598 580 9 234.00–235.50 $234.69 $1,361 -0.31
645 645 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,393 -10.95
660 660 1 223.00 $223.00 $1,472 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
228 228 3 240.00 $240.00 $547 —
340 340 1 232.50 $232.50 $790 —
395 395 7 230.00–231.00 $230.29 $910 +10.29
448 448 2 238.00 $238.00 $1,066 —
478–498 491 8 218.00–228.00 $221.95 $1,090 +22.44
615 615 1 197.00 $197.00 $1,212 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,216 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 170.00 $170.00 $867 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1180 1134 80-85% 4 83.00–91.00 $87.40 $991 -24.64
1140 1140 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $855 -37.04
1125–1405 1266 80-85% 8 97.00–109.00 $103.78 $1,314 —
1330–1335 1333 80-85% 2 112.00–115.50 $113.75 $1,516 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–960 909 85-90% 4 83.00–89.00 $84.82 $771 -5.63
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1670 1670 75-80% 1 109.50 $109.50 $1,829 -9.50

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015 1015 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 960.00 $960.00
1125 1125 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,035.00 $1,035.00
1350 1350 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00
1390 1390 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00

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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
955 955 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —

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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.