Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, February 26, 2024

242 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $262.34/cwt +19.84 vs last sale · ≈ $1,338/hd at 510 lb · 18 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $263.69/cwt +13.46 vs last sale · ≈ $1,237/hd at 469 lb · 13 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $301.00/cwt -4.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,382/hd at 459 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 242 143 109
Feeder cattle 212 135 80
Slaughter cattle 24 6 14
Replacement cattle 6 2 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers sold 2.00-4.00 lower mostly due to a lower quality offering today. Feeder heifers sold sharply higher with strong demand from the buyers. No trend on slaughter cows and bulls due to low receipts last week but slaughter cows sold very well today.

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
505–543 530 3 268.00–273.00 $271.41 $1,438 —
553–585 572 5 260.00–261.00 $260.61 $1,491 -5.19
600–645 630 3 249.00 $249.00 $1,569 —
675–683 681 4 237.50–241.00 $240.13 $1,635 -3.87
774–775 774 6 212.00–220.00 $218.67 $1,693 -5.33
815 815 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,777 —
863 863 2 217.00 $217.00 $1,873 -1.01
1210 1210 2 166.00 $166.00 $2,009 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285–287 287 4 288.00–290.00 $288.50 $828 +16.00
354–357 355 11 265.00–275.00 $270.43 $960 +26.43
408–435 415 9 265.00–270.00 $268.18 $1,113 +13.95
450–492 469 13 251.00–269.00 $263.69 $1,237 +13.46
509–510 510 18 258.00–264.50 $262.34 $1,338 +19.84
555–573 568 10 241.00–244.00 $243.20 $1,381 +11.86
621 621 6 236.00 $236.00 $1,466 +15.00
651 651 4 231.00 $231.00 $1,504 —
780 780 4 204.00 $204.00 $1,591 —
865 865 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,600 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418–425 419 5 220.00–243.00 $238.34 $999 —
450 450 2 239.00 $239.00 $1,076 —
525–540 530 3 210.00–215.00 $211.70 $1,122 —
568–572 570 6 210.00–226.00 $219.69 $1,252 —
633 633 2 214.00 $214.00 $1,355 —
685 685 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,336 —
794 794 7 161.00 $161.00 $1,278 —
885 885 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,416 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485–495 490 2 207.00–210.00 $208.52 $1,022 —
635–640 638 2 182.50–185.00 $183.75 $1,172 -27.76

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 2 302.50 $302.50 $1,022 -26.50
350 fancy 350 5 330.00 $330.00 $1,155 —
388 388 6 319.00 $319.00 $1,238 —
459 fancy 459 12 301.00 $301.00 $1,382 -8.00
506 506 10 271.00 $271.00 $1,371 +7.75
565–593 572 8 249.00–260.00 $257.15 $1,471 +21.45
653 653 2 237.00 $237.00 $1,548 —
715 715 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,587 —
803–820 809 3 192.50–195.00 $194.15 $1,571 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 290.00 $290.00 $856 —
335 335 2 245.00 $245.00 $821 —
430 430 1 266.00 $266.00 $1,144 —
495 495 6 263.00 $263.00 $1,302 —
530–540 535 2 230.00–248.00 $239.08 $1,279 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 217.50 $217.50 $696 —
415 415 1 210.00 $210.00 $872 -22.40
710 710 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,214 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 182.50 $182.50 $840 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1575 1365 75-80% 7 120.00–139.00 $127.58 $1,741 —
1275–1590 1433 75-80% 2 111.50–114.00 $112.89 $1,618 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995 995 85-90% 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,094 —
1035–1225 1130 85-90% 2 90.00–93.00 $91.37 $1,032 —
1225 1225 85-90% 1 80.00 $80.00 $980 —
1240 1240 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $868 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1150 1097 80-85% 3 100.50–106.00 $102.37 $1,123 —
1100 1100 80-85% 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,287 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1635–1650 1643 2 105.50–108.00 $106.74 $1,754 —
2035–2085 2060 2 115.00–122.50 $118.70 $2,445 —
2225 2225 1 133.50 $133.50 $2,970 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065 1065 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
1090 1090 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1380 1380 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1395 1395 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,560.00 $1,560.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
785 785 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.