Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 23, 2026

215 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 $466.21/cwt ≈ $1,916/hd at 411 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2-3 heifers $385.38/cwt ≈ $1,881/hd at 488 lb · 14 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $368.81/cwt -3.65 vs last sale · ≈ $2,087/hd at 566 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 215 125 235
Feeder cattle 185 90 179
Slaughter cattle 23 9 45
Replacement cattle 7 26 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers sold 8.00-10.00 higher. Feeder heifers traded 6.00-8.00 lower. The male calves saw much stronger demand today. The buyers discounted the unweaned calves of all classes heavily. Limited comparisons on heifers due to the light run last week. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher and slaughter bulls were steady on a light test due to low receipts last week.

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
272 272 3 660.00 $660.00 $1,795 —
335 335 1 590.00 $590.00 $1,976 —
355 355 4 585.00 $585.00 $2,077 +45.00
400–430 412 3 500.00–530.00 $518.64 $2,137 —
475 475 3 475.00–492.50 $486.67 $2,312 -17.93
536 536 4 422.50 $422.50 $2,265 -38.91
550–560 553 4 462.50–471.00 $468.85 $2,593 —
630 630 1 427.50 $427.50 $2,693 +11.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580–590 588 4 437.50–443.00 $441.64 $2,597 —
605 605 2 390.00 $390.00 $2,360 —
670 670 1 370.00 $370.00 $2,479 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 2 560.00 $560.00 $1,596 -10.52
307–330 313 4 550.00–570.00 $564.72 $1,768 —
355 355 1 550.00 $550.00 $1,952 —
405–441 411 19 465.00–470.00 $466.21 $1,916 —
463–468 464 8 425.00–437.50 $428.15 $1,987 -21.72
525 525 2 405.00 $405.00 $2,126 -6.65
551–587 566 12 366.00–372.50 $368.81 $2,087 -3.65
640 640 1 335.00 $335.00 $2,144 —
660 660 1 325.00 $325.00 $2,145 -8.18
715 715 2 300.00 $300.00 $2,145 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 510.00 $510.00 $1,428 —
340 340 7 525.00 $525.00 $1,785 —
402–435 411 9 390.00–425.00 $414.60 $1,704 —
465–498 488 14 375.00–395.00 $385.38 $1,881 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 2 570.00 $570.00 $1,682 -30.00
300 300 1 600.00 $600.00 $1,800 —
365–387 383 6 570.00–580.00 $578.41 $2,215 +43.41
446 446 4 507.50 $507.50 $2,263 -7.50
453–490 465 3 465.00–495.00 $484.47 $2,253 -13.58
513 513 11 452.50 $452.50 $2,321 +12.50
554 554 7 454.00 $454.00 $2,515 +36.26
662–695 674 7 360.00–385.00 $373.37 $2,517 -6.63
815–818 817 4 305.00–308.00 $307.25 $2,510 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,845 —
490 490 1 440.00 $440.00 $2,156 +7.50
525 525 1 400.00 $400.00 $2,100 —
575–590 583 2 367.50–409.00 $388.52 $2,265 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 400.00 $400.00 $1,900 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1050 943 85-90% 2 118.00–125.00 $121.90 $1,150 —
955–1115 1040 85-90% 4 142.50–147.00 $144.15 $1,499 —
1115 1115 85-90% 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,728 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1560 1451 75-80% 5 166.00–175.00 $169.19 $2,455 —
1515 1515 75-80% 1 161.00 $161.00 $2,439 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1370 1243 80-85% 2 145.00 $145.00 $1,802 +2.00
1495 1495 80-85% 1 157.00 $157.00 $2,347 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1790 1790 1 172.50 $172.50 $3,088 —
1635–1980 1813 4 200.00–202.00 $200.45 $3,634 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1415 1415 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1305 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,450.00 $2,450.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
840 840 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 2,725.00 $2,725.00 —

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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.