Cattle Market Pulse

KY-TN Livestock Market Report

Guthrie, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 18, 2021

493 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest KY-TN Livestock Market report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.15/cwt +10.73 vs last sale · ≈ $740/hd at 524 lb · 32 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.53/cwt +3.64 vs last sale · ≈ $652/hd at 442 lb · 26 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $125.17/cwt +2.43 vs last sale · ≈ $905/hd at 723 lb · 26 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 493 1,583 197
Feeder cattle 374 1,327 75
Slaughter cattle 88 151 31
Replacement cattle 31 105 91

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and bulls traded 3.00-6.00 higher with instances 10.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 pounds traded 5.00-10.00 higher, over 600 pounds traded steady. Slaughter cows and bulls traded unevenly 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
210 210 2 187.50 $187.50 $394 —
250–295 288 10 182.00–187.50 $182.78 $526 +21.78
376–390 379 7 175.00–176.00 $175.71 $666 +5.71
492–499 496 10 162.00–164.00 $163.01 $809 +3.82
531 531 8 154.00 $154.00 $818 +6.25
573–574 573 21 149.50–151.50 $150.83 $864 —
610–612 612 14 144.00–145.50 $145.29 $889 +15.29
716–732 723 26 121.50–125.75 $125.17 $905 +2.43
750 750 3 124.50 $124.50 $934 —
821 821 8 119.00 $119.00 $977 +2.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 3 179.00 $179.00 $501 +16.50
470–478 477 6 143.00–157.00 $154.70 $738 +4.18
615–635 625 2 124.00–137.00 $130.40 $815 +4.40
740 740 1 113.00 $113.00 $836 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–242 239 4 164.00–165.00 $164.24 $393 —
255–285 261 5 164.00–175.00 $166.40 $434 +7.90
345 345 1 155.00 $155.00 $535 +3.00
367–372 370 14 155.00–162.00 $159.52 $590 +8.88
440–448 442 26 146.00–148.00 $147.53 $652 +3.64
500–540 511 11 135.00–140.00 $138.56 $708 +8.14
531 value added 531 21 142.50 $142.50 $757 —
556–569 562 15 133.00–136.00 $134.58 $756 +8.99
608 608 5 122.00 $122.00 $742 -0.20
655–668 662 24 119.00–122.00 $120.16 $795 -0.84
720 720 3 110.00–113.00 $112.00 $806 -3.54
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
281 281 4 156.00 $156.00 $438 —
370 370 4 144.00 $144.00 $533 +16.50
495 495 1 121.00 $121.00 $599 +6.00
520 520 1 129.00 $129.00 $671 +8.09
615 615 1 117.00 $117.00 $720 +0.50
720 720 1 105.00 $105.00 $756 +10.35

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 170.00 $170.00 $586 —
368–375 369 9 176.00–180.00 $176.45 $651 +6.61
439 439 11 161.00 $161.00 $707 +1.27
478 478 2 157.50 $157.50 $753 +4.49
500 500 8 149.50 $149.50 $748 —
550 550 10 144.00 $144.00 $792 +2.75
620 620 4 130.00 $130.00 $806 +3.37
718 718 6 117.50 $117.50 $844 +4.25
822 822 3 110.00 $110.00 $904 +9.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 2 143.50 $143.50 $653 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 85-90% 1 48.50 $48.50 $495 —
1000–1520 1241 85-90% 17 52.00–59.00 $55.52 $689 +7.95
1315–1500 1408 85-90% 2 61.50–64.00 $62.67 $882 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $734 —
1200–1700 1317 80-85% 9 58.00–65.50 $60.94 $803 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1745 1504 75-80% 7 58.00–64.50 $60.48 $910 —
1635 1635 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $1,112 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1795 1795 1 78.50 $78.50 $1,409 —
1815–2040 1926 5 81.00–89.00 $85.83 $1,653 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00
1250–1700 1488 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 975.00–1,050.00 $1,012.04
1600 1600 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–920 860 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 725.00–900.00 $818.60
1105 1105 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1315 1315 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1250 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —
1500 1500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
750–1000 938 (<2 yrs)Open 4 1,000.00–1,700.00 $1,560.00 —
1200–1250 1233 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 1,650.00–1,700.00 $1,666.22 —

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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.