Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 6, 2021

1,426 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $121.66/cwt -4.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,110/hd at 912 lb · 223 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.67/cwt +4.24 vs last sale · ≈ $873/hd at 724 lb · 187 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $124.50/cwt +4.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,079/hd at 867 lb · 185 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,426 1,226 1,154
Feeder cattle 1,385 1,153 1,028
Slaughter cattle 41 67 126
Replacement cattle — 6 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers and heifers steady to 3.00 lower, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes. The continued rise in corn and soybean futures is putting downward pressure on the yearling trade. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 higher, Slaughter bulls steady, 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
345 345 2 153.00 $153.00 $528 —
410–445 418 6 151.00–172.00 $166.43 $696 +1.35
456–498 477 6 138.00–146.00 $142.18 $678 -18.18
505–548 528 21 136.00–155.00 $147.61 $779 +1.20
595 595 2 130.00 $130.00 $774 -14.46
604–630 615 39 123.00–138.00 $131.64 $810 -8.31
670–686 679 29 128.00–140.00 $136.09 $924 +0.08
718 value added 718 73 143.90 $143.90 $1,033 —
712–741 728 12 115.00–121.50 $119.72 $872 -3.50
776–791 783 18 117.00–123.00 $119.90 $939 -9.51
866 866 3 113.00 $113.00 $979 -7.11
852–886 value added 867 182 121.50–126.95 $124.69 $1,081 —
905–923 value added 912 223 117.00–123.10 $121.66 $1,110 -4.47
960–995 value added 991 63 113.00–117.80 $117.28 $1,162 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 121.00 $121.00 $466 -4.00
485 485 1 130.00 $130.00 $630 -9.14
507 507 2 134.00 $134.00 $679 +8.24
605–620 613 2 114.00–118.00 $116.02 $711 —
700 700 1 112.00 $112.00 $784 —
755 755 1 110.00 $110.00 $830 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 2 108.00 $108.00 $1,166 —

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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 1 135.00 $135.00 $385 -15.09
305–340 323 2 152.00–153.00 $152.53 $493 +9.42
350 fancy 350 1 156.00 $156.00 $546 —
360–397 374 11 142.00–151.00 $145.81 $545 +2.31
420 fancy 420 6 154.00 $154.00 $647 +3.00
405–445 429 4 134.00–141.00 $137.53 $590 -5.93
450 fancy 450 1 157.00 $157.00 $706 +6.00
450–490 473 12 132.00–143.00 $140.03 $662 +0.32
505–548 531 34 125.00–144.00 $136.77 $726 +5.33
550–580 571 14 126.00–140.00 $134.27 $767 -8.39
600–641 627 13 115.00–124.00 $120.94 $758 -7.68
615–639 value added 637 98 129.00–135.00 $129.38 $824 -5.62
660–682 666 10 110.00–120.00 $117.99 $786 -0.27
705–726 721 18 100.00–114.00 $109.50 $789 -6.93
703–743 value added 724 169 120.60–123.30 $121.86 $882 —
765 765 1 100.00 $100.00 $765 -20.00
800 value added 800 66 118.00 $118.00 $944 —
805–847 832 9 100.00–104.00 $101.86 $847 —
875 875 2 88.00–90.00 $89.00 $779 -23.00
886 value added 886 13 106.00 $106.00 $939 —
958–987 970 5 93.00 $93.00 $902 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–525 515 4 111.00–121.00 $116.97 $602 -4.77
565–585 575 2 120.00–123.00 $121.53 $699 +11.31
647 647 2 106.00 $106.00 $686 —
865 865 1 81.00 $81.00 $701 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 166.00 $166.00 $647 +6.00
420–435 431 5 160.00–163.00 $161.60 $696 +11.60
470 470 1 139.00 $139.00 $653 -5.99
501–540 520 15 135.00–150.00 $144.26 $750 -3.21
560–580 572 6 134.00–145.00 $138.15 $790 +7.32
615–646 636 25 120.00–130.00 $126.63 $805 -4.71
660–695 672 3 118.00–125.00 $122.59 $824 -4.91
700–740 716 4 106.00–117.00 $113.32 $811 -0.14
805 805 2 107.00 $107.00 $861 —
860 860 1 95.00 $95.00 $817 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 113.00 $113.00 $390 —
395 395 1 145.00 $145.00 $573 —
455 455 1 130.00 $130.00 $592 —
540 540 1 120.00 $120.00 $648 —
550–575 568 5 110.00–123.00 $118.89 $675 +8.89
685 685 1 94.00 $94.00 $644 -22.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1385 1307 80-85% 3 61.00–63.00 $62.04 $811 -3.80
1150–1475 1320 80-85% 12 64.00–72.00 $66.99 $884 +1.15
1485 1485 80-85% 1 54.00 $54.00 $802 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1040 1015 85-90% 2 50.00–54.00 $51.95 $527 —
1065–1175 1126 85-90% 4 66.00–72.00 $68.34 $770 —
1160–1187 1178 85-90% 3 60.00–62.00 $60.66 $715 +15.66
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1815 1731 75-80% 4 68.00–71.00 $68.78 $1,191 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535 1535 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,443 —
1650 1650 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,502 —
1655 1655 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,390 —

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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.