Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 16, 2023

123 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 $236.22/cwt +11.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,127/hd at 477 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 123 224 222
Feeder cattle 95 184 143
Slaughter cattle 24 29 53
Replacement cattle 4 11 26

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers and heifers sold 7.00-9.00 higher and bull calves were sharply higher. Feeder calf buyers showed much stronger demand for all classes. Slaughter cows and bulls traded mostly steady

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
310 310 2 235.00 $235.00 $728 —
395 395 2 263.00 $263.00 $1,039 —
455 value added 455 3 275.00 $275.00 $1,251 —
550 550 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,320 —
615–630 620 3 237.50–240.00 $239.15 $1,483 +5.80
655 655 3 240.00 $240.00 $1,572 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010 1010 1 172.50 $172.50 $1,742 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 3 267.00 $267.00 $916 +57.00
392 392 3 247.00 $247.00 $968 +26.00
459–498 477 13 230.00–242.00 $236.22 $1,127 +11.96
558–583 568 5 224.00–225.00 $224.59 $1,276 +9.09
613–633 620 6 223.00–227.00 $225.64 $1,399 +14.64
858 858 2 184.00 $184.00 $1,579 —
928 928 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,568 —
1183 1183 2 145.00 $145.00 $1,715 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 210.00 $210.00 $872 —
580–595 585 3 170.00–185.00 $179.91 $1,052 +5.49

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–382 381 5 230.00–245.00 $235.98 $899 —
405–442 433 8 262.00–275.00 $271.96 $1,178 +38.62
450 450 1 269.00 $269.00 $1,210 +36.46
535–540 538 2 247.00–248.00 $247.50 $1,332 +21.53
635 635 1 222.50 $222.50 $1,413 +16.50
710 710 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,420 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 201.00 $201.00 $804 ±0.00
705–730 724 7 175.00–188.00 $184.22 $1,334 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1085 993 85-90% 6 71.00–78.00 $73.80 $733 —
1060 1060 85-90% 1 83.00 $83.00 $880 —
1150 1150 85-90% 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,104 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1505 1439 75-80% 4 92.00–100.00 $96.39 $1,387 —
1410–1975 1598 75-80% 3 84.00–87.00 $85.47 $1,366 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 80-85% 1 73.00 $73.00 $788 —
1135 1135 80-85% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,056 —
1155–1315 1235 80-85% 2 83.00–88.00 $85.66 $1,058 -26.34

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,249 —
1460 1460 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,650 —
1770–1895 1833 2 121.50–123.00 $122.22 $2,240 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1105 1105 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 810.00 $810.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1215 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
730 730 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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.