Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report, Bowling Green, KY

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, September 25, 2023

337 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $239.50/cwt +13.50 vs last sale · ≈ $2,014/hd at 841 lb · 36 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $205.90/cwt -14.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,262/hd at 613 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $234.50/cwt -9.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,170/hd at 499 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 337 194 384
Feeder cattle 272 157 265
Slaughter cattle 37 21 45
Replacement cattle 28 16 74

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: No trend on feeder steers due to a lack of comparable weights and quality. Feeder heifers sold sharply lower and bull calves were 7.00-9.00 lower. Feeder calf prices are starting to reflect the buyers concerns of calf health during the month of October. Slaughter cows sold sharply lower 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
415 415 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,120 —
503–545 529 6 244.00–249.00 $246.33 $1,303 -13.67
646 646 4 234.00 $234.00 $1,512 —
841 value added 841 36 239.50 $239.50 $2,014 —
880 880 1 226.00 $226.00 $1,989 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035 1035 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,811 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 2 230.00 $230.00 $816 -27.00
410–433 419 10 236.00–239.00 $237.76 $996 +4.02
493 493 3 224.00 $224.00 $1,104 —
511–543 525 14 217.00–230.00 $223.68 $1,174 -9.82
571 571 7 214.00 $214.00 $1,222 -17.00
600–635 613 24 201.50–212.50 $205.90 $1,262 -14.10
678 678 6 203.00–209.00 $207.00 $1,403 +4.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 2 210.00 $210.00 $536 —
390 390 3 207.50 $207.50 $809 —
475–490 487 5 200.00–205.00 $204.02 $994 -5.98
665 665 2 194.00 $194.00 $1,290 —
756 756 5 183.00 $183.00 $1,383 —
915 915 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,565 —
1040 1040 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,560 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 182.50 $182.50 $721 -10.00
443 443 2 188.00 $188.00 $833 +18.00
450–480 465 5 175.00–190.00 $178.31 $829 —
555–565 562 3 167.00–182.50 $172.11 $967 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 3 163.00 $163.00 $880 —

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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 1 260.00 $260.00 $598 —
338 338 3 251.00 $251.00 $848 —
360 fancy 360 5 277.00 $277.00 $997 -14.00
406 406 11 261.00 $261.00 $1,060 -1.57
499 499 16 234.50 $234.50 $1,170 -9.50
555–598 573 16 220.50–224.00 $221.54 $1,269 -13.15
640 640 3 212.00 $212.00 $1,357 -4.00
703 703 6 204.00 $204.00 $1,434 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 2 207.50 $207.50 $747 -22.79
400–413 411 6 220.00–231.00 $221.78 $912 —
478–493 487 8 206.00–213.00 $208.57 $1,016 -13.38
533 533 3 198.00 $198.00 $1,055 —
580 580 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,131 —
665 665 4 190.50 $190.50 $1,267 —
770 770 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,440 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
513–530 523 5 170.00–185.00 $175.88 $920 +5.88
561–563 562 8 168.00–184.00 $177.99 $1,000 —
630 630 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,090 —
660 660 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,188 —
723 723 2 172.00 $172.00 $1,244 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1195 1049 85-90% 6 57.50–68.00 $61.60 $646 —
1105 1105 85-90% 1 85.00 $85.00 $939 —
1010–1235 1122 85-90% 3 70.00–75.00 $71.84 $806 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1275 1190 80-85% 4 97.00–102.50 $99.23 $1,181 —
1105–1385 1263 80-85% 6 86.00–93.00 $89.84 $1,135 -13.94
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390–1785 1484 75-80% 8 87.00–95.00 $91.94 $1,364 —
1765–1830 1798 75-80% 2 83.50–85.00 $84.24 $1,515 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1980 1980 1 125.50 $125.50 $2,485 —
2005 2005 1 113.50 $113.50 $2,276 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850–915 883 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 825.00–1,075.00 $954.60
975 975 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
995–1020 1008 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 860.00 $860.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170 1170 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1185 1185 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1235 1235 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
1250 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1445 1445 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,310.00 $1,310.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
745 745 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00

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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
1255 1255 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
1325 fancy 1325 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,925.00 $1,925.00 —
1125–1480 1343 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 6 1,410.00–1,725.00 $1,535.87 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
860 860 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
695 695 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 675.00 $675.00 —

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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.