Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 27, 2021

1,001 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.65/cwt +5.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,145/hd at 844 lb · 126 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.08/cwt -0.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,154/hd at 894 lb · 122 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $125.81/cwt -0.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,173/hd at 932 lb · 119 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,001 2,042 2,259
Feeder cattle 956 1,932 2,158
Slaughter cattle 36 94 89
Replacement cattle 9 16 12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers steady,Feeder heifers steady to 2.00 lower, Yearlings mostly steady, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00-3.00 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
185 fancy 185 1 202.50 $202.50 $375 —
230 fancy 230 1 200.00 $200.00 $460 —
405 405 1 160.00 $160.00 $648 -2.15
451–487 473 15 140.00–160.00 $152.39 $721 -3.67
473 value added 473 7 169.00 $169.00 $799 —
515–533 value added 529 4 161.00–165.00 $164.03 $868 —
525–545 540 39 143.00–157.00 $153.21 $827 -2.18
560 value added 560 2 164.00 $164.00 $918 —
557–578 573 18 146.00–154.00 $151.29 $867 -4.82
601 value added 601 3 153.00 $153.00 $920 -5.50
607–647 632 15 140.00–145.00 $143.14 $905 +1.83
650–695 672 44 131.00–145.00 $139.79 $939 -1.65
700–713 value added 702 61 141.00–143.90 $143.57 $1,008 —
735 735 1 129.00 $129.00 $948 -3.80
820 820 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,066 +4.28
841–847 value added 844 125 135.60–135.80 $135.70 $1,145 +4.70
890 890 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,077 -0.14
866–897 value added 894 121 125.75–134.00 $129.15 $1,155 -1.21
932 value added 932 117 125.90 $125.90 $1,173 -0.69
935–945 940 2 117.00–124.00 $120.52 $1,133 -2.98
958 value added 958 52 122.10 $122.10 $1,170 -1.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 130.00 $130.00 $760 -6.67
610–640 630 3 121.00–126.00 $124.39 $784 +2.39

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 135.00 $135.00 $331 —
285–297 293 3 136.00–141.00 $137.62 $403 —
382–395 385 7 132.00–141.00 $139.54 $537 -0.52
400–445 426 5 135.00–140.00 $138.03 $588 -0.29
440 value added 440 3 149.00 $149.00 $656 —
460–497 474 16 130.00–142.00 $137.37 $651 -5.47
485 value added 485 8 150.00 $150.00 $728 -8.00
500 value added 500 9 144.50 $144.50 $722 —
500–548 531 30 126.00–140.00 $136.86 $727 -2.26
558–585 568 33 122.00–138.00 $134.22 $762 +3.68
605–640 625 22 125.00–132.50 $128.34 $802 -0.49
652–696 673 24 115.00–128.00 $122.85 $827 +2.86
725 725 1 112.00 $112.00 $812 +2.73
770–780 775 3 111.00–123.00 $117.36 $910 -1.03
825 825 1 120.00 $120.00 $990 +21.46
900–945 930 6 98.00–108.00 $104.30 $970 +6.80
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 118.00 $118.00 $407 +7.00
375 375 1 120.00 $120.00 $450 -2.04
445 445 1 100.00 $100.00 $445 -18.00
465–485 475 2 115.00–121.00 $118.06 $561 -8.63
510–535 523 3 111.00–120.00 $114.93 $601 -13.07
570 570 1 121.00 $121.00 $690 -0.65
712 712 5 103.00 $103.00 $733 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 172.50 $172.50 $380 —
270–285 278 2 145.00–157.50 $151.08 $420 -13.92
315–320 318 2 165.00 $165.00 $525 +8.00
365–370 369 5 151.00–173.00 $168.65 $622 +14.46
408–440 414 10 155.00–164.00 $161.85 $670 +10.63
455–482 471 8 140.00–162.00 $153.59 $723 -1.01
500–525 512 13 140.00–150.00 $144.46 $740 -1.56
532 fancy 532 2 157.00 $157.00 $835 —
580–582 581 3 132.00–134.00 $133.33 $775 -4.56
600–622 610 9 121.00–139.00 $128.63 $785 -1.06
631 fancy 631 4 144.00 $144.00 $909 —
685 685 1 125.00 $125.00 $856 —
700–740 713 6 109.00–125.00 $119.28 $850 +9.20
870 870 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,000 -2.29
980–995 988 2 100.00–105.00 $102.52 $1,013 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–370 365 2 140.00–145.00 $142.53 $520 -2.47
420–425 423 2 125.00 $125.00 $529 -16.00
460–480 470 2 121.00–131.00 $126.11 $593 -17.89
715 715 1 100.00 $100.00 $715 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 110.00 $110.00 $561 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980 980 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $539 -6.26
1025 1025 85-90% 1 60.00 $60.00 $615 +6.00
1120–1145 1137 85-90% 3 70.00–71.00 $70.66 $803 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1400 1282 80-85% 5 65.00–77.00 $70.71 $907 -2.06
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1475–1645 1558 75-80% 4 74.00–84.00 $77.86 $1,213 +3.82

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1500 1300 2 94.00–98.00 $96.31 $1,252 —
1270–1790 1528 4 79.00–86.00 $83.22 $1,272 —
1280–1860 1544 6 101.00–113.00 $106.17 $1,639 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
865–1230 1114 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 900.00–1,150.00 $1,058.98
1205 1205 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885 885 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657 657 2 91.00 $91.00 $598 —

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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.