Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 17, 2021

308 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass South Stockyards (Monday) report →

heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $117.90/cwt ≈ $1,145/hd at 971 lb · 60 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.71/cwt ≈ $880/hd at 580 lb · 21 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $140.99/cwt +0.73 vs last sale · ≈ $606/hd at 430 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 308 220 500
Feeder cattle 269 157 394
Slaughter cattle 38 52 99
Replacement cattle 1 11 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers 1.00-3.00 higher, Feeder heifers steady to 2.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 higher, Slaughter bulls 2.00-3.00 higher, Good demand for slaughter classes.

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
240 240 1 172.50 $172.50 $414 —
275 275 1 156.00 $156.00 $429 —
345 345 1 155.00 $155.00 $535 —
370–395 385 3 151.00–166.00 $160.25 $617 —
425–431 430 4 155.00–168.00 $164.78 $709 +13.32
470–476 475 4 152.00–169.00 $164.79 $783 +12.86
518 518 3 136.00 $136.00 $704 -12.00
521 value added 521 4 166.00 $166.00 $865 —
558–595 580 21 135.00–157.00 $151.71 $880 —
610–618 value added 617 8 148.00–149.00 $148.88 $919 —
705–732 716 5 125.00–126.00 $125.41 $898 +5.41
971 value added 971 60 117.90 $117.90 $1,145 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 135.00 $135.00 $547 —
470 470 1 145.00 $145.00 $682 —
575–590 583 2 124.00–132.00 $127.95 $746 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 fancy 210 1 160.00 $160.00 $336 —
260–290 273 3 140.00–155.00 $149.70 $409 —
375–390 381 7 130.00–145.00 $140.60 $536 -2.40
410–448 430 15 129.00–147.00 $140.99 $606 +0.73
450–470 462 3 129.00–144.00 $138.96 $642 +0.51
505–525 512 6 135.00–140.00 $138.49 $709 +5.19
550–580 560 12 124.00–135.00 $131.99 $739 -1.47
601 value added 601 3 131.00 $131.00 $787 —
630–647 642 6 114.00–121.00 $119.03 $764 —
695 695 1 112.00 $112.00 $778 -2.53
762 762 2 111.00 $111.00 $846 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 120.00 $120.00 $570 -1.00
510 510 1 120.00 $120.00 $612 +3.76
565 565 1 115.00 $115.00 $650 -7.00
600–620 610 2 108.00 $108.00 $659 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
301–340 321 6 161.00–164.00 $162.59 $522 +7.59
360–398 381 7 145.00–161.00 $154.14 $587 -5.92
437–445 440 3 140.00–145.00 $141.69 $623 -6.69
460–495 471 5 142.00–155.00 $149.18 $703 —
502–545 510 6 130.00–140.00 $134.74 $687 -2.80
550–570 560 2 136.00–150.00 $142.88 $800 +14.59
606–635 615 6 120.00–127.00 $122.40 $753 +0.82
670–680 675 2 111.00–120.00 $115.53 $780 -3.47
805 805 1 105.00 $105.00 $845 —
950 950 1 88.00 $88.00 $836 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 2 135.00 $135.00 $668 —
560–595 569 5 121.00–128.00 $123.65 $704 —
645 645 1 116.00 $116.00 $748 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1115 1003 85-90% 4 59.00–64.00 $60.73 $609 +9.43
865–1155 1058 85-90% 10 65.00–71.00 $66.68 $705 +6.15
1105 1105 85-90% 1 49.00 $49.00 $541 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1410 1305 80-85% 9 65.00–77.00 $68.96 $900 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1575 1538 75-80% 2 67.00–71.00 $69.05 $1,062 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1910 1635 6 101.00–109.00 $104.43 $1,707 —
1385–2150 1768 2 98.00 $98.00 $1,733 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1140 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,015

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 91.00 $91.00 $364 —
480 480 1 86.00 $86.00 $413 —
645 645 2 86.00 $86.00 $555 —
700 700 1 68.00 $68.00 $476 —

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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.