Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 16, 2024

205 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $279.92/cwt -26.94 vs last sale · ≈ $1,170/hd at 418 lb · 17 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $294.83/cwt +5.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,548/hd at 525 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 205 712 121
Feeder cattle 151 686 88
Slaughter cattle 43 25 23
Replacement cattle 11 1 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: No test on feeder steers due to low receipts today. Feeder heifers sold 6.00-8.00 lower. Today's sale lacked the quality and the uniform groups that sold in last week's special feeder sale. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower and slaughter bulls were 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
398 398 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,194 -41.29
440 440 2 302.00 $302.00 $1,329 -26.01
515 515 1 309.00 $309.00 $1,591 +0.70
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
527 527 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,423 +1.98
685 685 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,712 +4.50

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313–345 324 3 301.00–306.00 $304.22 $986 -30.08
398 398 3 290.00 $290.00 $1,154 -23.82
401–446 418 17 278.00–288.00 $279.92 $1,170 -8.08
515–528 524 3 268.00–270.00 $268.66 $1,408 -0.43
565–566 566 9 264.00–268.00 $267.11 $1,512 +11.11
610–615 613 4 239.00–255.00 $247.03 $1,514 +8.02
660–690 673 3 210.00–227.00 $216.62 $1,458 —
705 705 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,410 -19.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 270.00 $270.00 $742 —
330–338 336 4 270.00–280.00 $272.46 $915 -3.71
362–395 379 6 260.00–274.00 $267.31 $1,013 -12.69
435 435 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,044 —
470 470 1 258.00 $258.00 $1,213 +21.44
505–525 518 3 232.50–251.00 $242.97 $1,259 +9.98

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 330.00 $330.00 $858 -24.00
315 315 1 340.00 $340.00 $1,071 +15.00
350–396 386 9 310.00–324.00 $321.18 $1,240 -14.14
415 415 3 306.00 $306.00 $1,270 +7.00
460 460 3 305.00 $305.00 $1,403 —
505–548 525 10 289.00–300.00 $294.83 $1,548 +5.83
598 598 3 276.00 $276.00 $1,650 —
620–625 623 2 239.00–243.00 $241.01 $1,501 -16.99
665–680 673 2 227.00–235.00 $230.96 $1,554 -10.13
724 724 4 239.00 $239.00 $1,730 +5.00
800 800 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,656 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 300.00 $300.00 $795 —
392–398 393 9 274.00–284.00 $276.25 $1,086 +1.25
405 405 1 277.50 $277.50 $1,124 —
480 480 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,152 -29.78
523–545 530 3 235.00–260.00 $243.56 $1,291 -7.44
693 693 2 219.00 $219.00 $1,518 —
905–930 918 2 187.50–192.00 $189.78 $1,742 +2.28

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1500 1443 75-80% 2 107.00–109.00 $108.04 $1,559 —
1210–1650 1449 75-80% 15 110.00–122.00 $116.16 $1,683 —
1480 1480 75-80% 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,436 —
1350–1765 1576 75-80% 4 124.00–131.00 $127.51 $2,010 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1020 993 85-90% 2 100.00–101.00 $100.49 $998 —
1000–1125 1044 85-90% 4 111.00–117.00 $114.30 $1,193 —
815–1390 1073 85-90% 5 87.00–99.00 $92.73 $995 -20.27
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 80-85% 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,203 —
1000–1045 1026 80-85% 4 113.00–119.00 $115.98 $1,190 —
1250–1325 1288 80-85% 2 94.00–98.00 $95.94 $1,236 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590 1590 1 141.00 $141.00 $2,242 —
1695–1895 1795 2 144.00–150.00 $147.17 $2,642 —
1965 1965 1 119.00 $119.00 $2,338 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090 1090 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,000.00 $2,000.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00
1375–1405 1393 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,300.00–1,925.00 $1,673.06
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060 1060 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1250 1250 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 2,125.00 $2,125.00 —
1385 1385 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,200.00 $2,200.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.