Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 9, 2024

712 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $258.78/cwt +14.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,464/hd at 566 lb · 46 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $273.63/cwt -1.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,611/hd at 589 lb · 42 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $312.34/cwt ≈ $1,664/hd at 533 lb · 38 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 712 238 147
Feeder cattle 686 167 107
Slaughter cattle 25 52 30
Replacement cattle 1 19 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: All classes of feeder calves under 600 lbs. sold sharply higher and those over 600 lbs. were 6.00-8.00 higher. Today's sale was the annual December feeder calf sale with several weaned packages and good quality calves in the offering. The demand for feeders was very strong with premiums paid for the weaned and highest quality calves. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher and no test 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
325 325 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,138 —
370–375 374 8 330.00–345.00 $341.29 $1,276 —
403–415 406 7 322.00–334.00 $328.01 $1,332 +25.08
459 fancy 459 8 337.00 $337.00 $1,547 —
470–479 477 5 300.00–323.00 $318.47 $1,519 —
505 value added 505 8 327.50 $327.50 $1,654 —
533–546 540 30 303.50–312.00 $308.30 $1,665 —
567–585 value added 580 11 281.00–281.50 $281.37 $1,632 —
580–598 592 31 268.00–273.50 $270.88 $1,604 -4.50
605–630 626 11 262.50–268.00 $266.24 $1,667 +9.73
656–661 659 31 259.00–261.00 $260.10 $1,714 +9.10
702–731 723 25 245.00–250.00 $247.73 $1,791 +17.73
764 764 10 245.50 $245.50 $1,876 —
823–838 831 11 237.00–239.50 $238.37 $1,981 +14.37
858 858 15 237.00 $237.00 $2,033 —
918 918 2 229.00 $229.00 $2,102 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 2 330.00 $330.00 $1,023 —
428 428 2 290.00 $290.00 $1,241 —
515–525 522 7 250.00–274.00 $268.02 $1,399 —
655 655 3 245.50 $245.50 $1,608 —
735 735 1 232.50 $232.50 $1,709 —
1160 1160 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,960 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–278 268 4 330.00–350.00 $338.38 $907 —
318 fancy 318 2 352.00 $352.00 $1,119 —
303–335 321 9 328.00–343.00 $334.30 $1,073 +39.30
353 fancy 353 6 338.00 $338.00 $1,193 —
365–370 369 10 305.00–316.00 $313.82 $1,158 +7.82
410 fancy 410 11 324.00 $324.00 $1,328 —
420 420 10 288.00 $288.00 $1,210 -17.00
456 456 13 284.00 $284.00 $1,295 +19.00
504–506 506 35 266.00–270.00 $269.09 $1,362 +18.59
565 value added 565 16 264.00 $264.00 $1,492 —
566 566 30 256.00 $256.00 $1,449 +12.00
622–626 624 20 235.00–243.00 $239.01 $1,491 +5.36
662 value added 662 9 249.00 $249.00 $1,648 —
712 712 6 219.50 $219.50 $1,563 —
730 value added 730 12 229.50 $229.50 $1,675 —
755–785 765 4 212.00–216.00 $213.52 $1,633 —
823 823 7 213.00 $213.00 $1,753 —
950 950 2 198.00 $198.00 $1,881 —
1070 1070 4 185.00 $185.00 $1,980 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–342 335 4 275.00–280.00 $276.17 $925 +1.17
385 385 3 270.00–285.00 $280.00 $1,078 —
460–483 468 9 230.00–240.00 $236.56 $1,107 +6.56
506–510 507 6 228.00–234.00 $232.99 $1,181 —
555–593 567 11 230.00–235.00 $232.24 $1,317 +9.24
648 648 4 225.00 $225.00 $1,458 —
670 670 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,474 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 300.00 $300.00 $840 —
325 325 1 305.00 $305.00 $991 —
392 392 3 295.00 $295.00 $1,156 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,143 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
282 282 3 354.00 $354.00 $998 +64.00
347 347 3 325.00 $325.00 $1,128 +32.50
352–391 382 21 334.00–340.00 $335.32 $1,281 +33.48
421 421 5 299.00 $299.00 $1,259 -8.00
446 fancy 446 15 328.00 $328.00 $1,463 —
515 515 16 289.00 $289.00 $1,488 +3.00
552 552 17 286.25 $286.25 $1,580 +18.25
604 604 9 258.00 $258.00 $1,558 +8.60
650–699 691 17 239.50–252.00 $241.09 $1,666 —
702 702 3 234.00 $234.00 $1,643 -2.00
784 784 8 228.50 $228.50 $1,791 +4.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 2 275.00 $275.00 $1,086 +2.92
448 448 2 232.50 $232.50 $1,042 -37.50
460–492 474 7 268.00–272.00 $269.78 $1,279 +9.78
515 515 1 251.00 $251.00 $1,293 -13.97
560–580 576 5 240.00–250.00 $248.06 $1,429 -3.94
600–644 637 12 220.00–237.00 $234.40 $1,493 —
700 700 1 213.00 $213.00 $1,491 —
930 930 1 187.50 $187.50 $1,744 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 315.00 $315.00 $992 —
360 360 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,134 —
413–415 413 7 285.00–287.50 $285.36 $1,179 —
550 550 1 273.00 $273.00 $1,502 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685 685 2 216.00 $216.00 $1,480 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995 995 80-85% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,274 —
1165 1165 80-85% 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,153 -29.81
1050–1390 1192 80-85% 7 112.00–123.00 $118.87 $1,417 -9.94
1195–1290 1245 80-85% 3 101.00–111.00 $105.54 $1,314 +0.79
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055 1055 85-90% 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,192 —
980–1260 1120 85-90% 2 85.00–98.00 $92.31 $1,034 —
1000–1265 1132 85-90% 3 100.00–105.00 $101.81 $1,152 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310 1310 75-80% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,677 —
1215–1695 1385 75-80% 3 113.00–121.00 $117.46 $1,627 -8.11

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1610 1610 1 131.00 $131.00 $2,109 —
1520–1905 1713 2 141.00–143.00 $142.11 $2,434 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1210 1210 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,975.00 $1,975.00

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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.