Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 21, 2024

285 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $264.54/cwt ≈ $1,312/hd at 496 lb · 24 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $301.62/cwt +6.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,270/hd at 421 lb · 22 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $251.00/cwt -8.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,245/hd at 496 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 285 262 221
Feeder cattle 259 193 189
Slaughter cattle 21 33 26
Replacement cattle 5 36 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: No test on feeder steers. Feeder heifers sold 5.00-7.00 lower. The demand for steers and bull calves remained good while the demand for heifers wasn't as strong as last week. Slaughter cows traded steady and slaughter bulls were steady to 3.00 lower.

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
451 451 5 293.00 $293.00 $1,321 +5.00
549 549 4 264.00 $264.00 $1,449 —
759 759 5 239.00 $239.00 $1,814 —
905 905 1 212.00 $212.00 $1,919 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,119 —
500–510 505 2 205.00–210.00 $207.52 $1,048 -47.48
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,058 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323–335 327 3 277.00–288.00 $284.24 $929 -8.66
373–398 390 6 290.00–291.00 $290.68 $1,134 -1.25
448 448 5 261.00 $261.00 $1,169 -25.70
496 496 16 251.00 $251.00 $1,245 -8.51
535 535 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,316 -5.25
568–573 569 12 230.00–245.00 $241.65 $1,375 -7.04
631 631 5 235.00 $235.00 $1,483 ±0.00
653–678 664 7 213.00–223.00 $217.38 $1,443 +11.38
780–795 786 8 213.00–221.00 $217.96 $1,713 —
934 934 4 199.00 $199.00 $1,859 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–285 275 2 270.00–285.00 $277.23 $762 —
333–343 339 5 224.00–226.00 $224.79 $762 —
360 360 1 260.00 $260.00 $936 +8.00
450–495 488 6 226.00–234.00 $227.23 $1,109 —
513–548 531 4 214.00–223.00 $218.35 $1,159 -6.43
573 573 3 200.00 $200.00 $1,146 -0.81
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
633 633 7 220.00 $220.00 $1,393 —

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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 1 295.00 $295.00 $678 -25.00
255 255 1 317.00 $317.00 $808 —
300–348 338 5 308.00–315.00 $313.76 $1,061 +13.38
353 353 2 299.00 $299.00 $1,055 -3.00
400–435 421 22 299.00–305.50 $301.62 $1,270 +6.34
488–498 496 24 257.00–267.00 $264.54 $1,312 —
560–567 562 9 238.00–250.00 $245.97 $1,382 +2.69
613–645 621 12 237.00–242.00 $240.70 $1,495 +8.70
665–681 679 9 229.00–232.00 $231.67 $1,573 +3.67
748 748 2 215.00 $215.00 $1,608 —
755 755 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,676 +2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 282 3 260.00–290.00 $275.36 $777 —
310 310 1 280.00 $280.00 $868 —
350–360 357 3 270.00–280.00 $276.73 $988 —
485–496 492 6 243.00–245.00 $244.34 $1,202 +1.44
620 620 2 224.00 $224.00 $1,389 —
695 695 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,460 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
591 591 5 230.00 $230.00 $1,359 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
925–930 928 (<2 yrs)N/A 2 1,725.00–1,800.00 $1,762.60 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1520 1420 75-80% 7 115.00–128.00 $120.26 $1,708 —
1585 1585 75-80% 1 140.00 $140.00 $2,219 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1025 948 85-90% 2 86.00–94.00 $90.33 $856 —
860–1130 995 85-90% 2 100.00–105.00 $102.16 $1,016 +16.16
1225 1225 85-90% 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,421 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1305 1185 80-85% 2 111.00–112.00 $111.45 $1,321 -10.59
1210 1210 80-85% 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,488 —
1325 1325 80-85% 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,259 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 1 144.00 $144.00 $1,894 —
1020–1750 1457 3 120.00–138.00 $130.09 $1,895 —
1910 1910 1 164.00 $164.00 $3,132 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1295–1315 1305 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,500.00–1,550.00 $1,524.81

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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.