Cattle Market Pulse

Paris Stockyards Market Report

Paris, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 17, 2020

1,536 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Paris Stockyards report →

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $130.70/cwt +5.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,015/hd at 777 lb · 146 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.89/cwt +5.78 vs last sale · ≈ $804/hd at 526 lb · 113 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $126.93/cwt -0.91 vs last sale · ≈ $1,066/hd at 840 lb · 98 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,536 4,378 1,036
Feeder cattle 1,369 3,996 926
Slaughter cattle 155 242 88
Replacement cattle 12 140 22

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady-2.00 higher with good demand. Feeder heifers sold steady-2.00 higher with good demand. Buyers showed good interest weaned and pre-conditioned cattle. Slaughter cows sold 3.00-5.00 lower; slaughter bulls sold 2.00-3.00 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
300–340 320 9 155.00–172.00 $169.58 $543 +9.24
355 value added 355 7 190.00 $190.00 $674 +11.35
360–390 377 3 151.00–169.00 $161.78 $610 +5.28
401–422 414 17 158.50–168.00 $161.22 $667 +3.04
426 value added 426 12 170.50 $170.50 $726 -5.92
472–490 481 37 145.00–164.00 $153.29 $737 -5.14
500–537 value added 525 49 156.50–160.00 $157.46 $827 -2.54
500–544 526 64 135.00–155.00 $149.39 $786 +2.36
550–586 571 57 134.00–153.00 $145.32 $830 +7.12
600–640 value added 630 27 143.00–147.50 $143.70 $905 +5.58
600–647 636 53 128.00–139.00 $134.01 $852 +2.05
670 value added 670 2 145.00 $145.00 $972 +5.00
650–695 671 59 128.00–138.00 $133.54 $896 +4.69
700–720 715 48 123.00–130.00 $127.24 $910 +3.01
751–790 value added 776 103 132.95–134.00 $133.32 $1,035 —
750–797 778 43 122.50–126.00 $124.43 $968 -1.07
800–841 828 34 118.00–122.50 $121.62 $1,007 -2.13
846 value added 846 64 129.75 $129.75 $1,098 +0.87
855 855 3 115.00 $115.00 $983 -4.59
1077 1077 2 109.00 $109.00 $1,174 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 362 1 141.00 $141.00 $510 —
400 400 4 134.00 $134.00 $536 —
462–492 474 7 140.00–143.00 $141.55 $671 +6.28
505–540 527 7 123.00–131.00 $127.81 $674 -0.04
583 583 4 125.50 $125.50 $732 -0.58
655–675 665 2 109.00–121.00 $115.09 $765 +2.95
830 830 1 110.00 $110.00 $913 -2.02

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–280 273 4 140.00–150.00 $145.00 $396 +4.13
344 value added 344 6 145.00 $145.00 $499 —
355–370 365 11 130.00–141.50 $137.51 $502 +4.97
400–435 424 9 125.00–136.50 $133.90 $568 +10.66
454–497 469 65 128.00–135.00 $131.98 $619 +5.46
500–542 524 46 119.00–130.50 $127.34 $667 +5.87
552–592 570 32 122.50–130.00 $127.23 $725 +6.02
588 value added 588 8 132.50 $132.50 $779 +4.00
626–639 value added 630 22 127.00–127.50 $127.16 $801 —
610–649 642 32 110.00–123.75 $122.23 $785 +2.30
664 value added 664 32 128.25 $128.25 $852 —
650–695 675 46 114.00–123.50 $122.84 $829 +7.22
712 712 2 108.00 $108.00 $769 -11.63
785 785 1 102.00 $102.00 $801 -14.78
807–820 811 10 99.00–115.00 $110.15 $893 -7.85
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 120.00 $120.00 $306 —
340 340 1 115.00 $115.00 $391 -3.04
350–390 370 2 112.50–127.00 $120.14 $445 -5.71
510 510 2 117.00 $117.00 $597 +5.12
680 680 2 102.00 $102.00 $694 -6.68
735 735 1 91.00 $91.00 $669 -3.37
765 765 1 84.00 $84.00 $643 -13.00
825 825 1 75.00 $75.00 $619 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 152.50 $152.50 $496 +8.50
345 value added 345 1 171.00 $171.00 $590 —
365–385 377 3 145.00–167.50 $157.19 $593 +5.88
410–447 432 8 150.00–162.00 $154.79 $669 -4.49
455 value added 455 1 164.00 $164.00 $746 -1.00
458–490 467 6 139.00–141.00 $140.31 $655 -5.91
505 value added 505 1 146.00 $146.00 $737 -5.56
520–545 531 8 120.00–140.00 $134.83 $716 +3.76
590 590 1 127.00 $127.00 $749 -1.67
622–640 630 9 115.00–130.00 $123.53 $778 +6.21
790 790 1 111.00 $111.00 $877 +0.53
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950 950 1 80.00 $80.00 $760 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1275 1152 80-85% 10 42.00–47.00 $44.21 $509 -1.65
985–1365 1193 80-85% 12 53.00–58.00 $54.68 $652 -4.59
1100–1450 1238 80-85% 16 48.00–52.00 $49.81 $617 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1540 1461 75-80% 7 41.00–47.50 $44.41 $649 —
1330–1680 1534 75-80% 9 49.00–52.50 $51.03 $783 -9.45
1355–1875 1552 75-80% 12 53.00–59.00 $54.51 $846 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1170 1095 85-90% 2 42.00–44.50 $43.34 $475 —
1140–1170 1155 85-90% 2 38.00 $38.00 $439 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1915 1544 9 64.00–79.00 $73.82 $1,140 —
1595–1960 1782 6 90.50–99.50 $94.14 $1,678 —
1280–2465 1793 11 80.00–86.50 $83.41 $1,496 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1040 1040 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
950–1520 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 635.00–950.00 $818.49
1325 1325 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00

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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
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,110.00 $1,110.00 -340.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
856 856 10 81.75 $81.75 $700 —

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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.