Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 28, 2022

1,774 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 $148.53/cwt +3.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,221/hd at 822 lb · 257 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $145.44/cwt -4.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,276/hd at 877 lb · 116 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $145.00/cwt ≈ $1,330/hd at 917 lb · 116 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,774 2,290 1,226
Feeder cattle 1,612 2,069 1,153
Slaughter cattle 149 198 67
Replacement cattle 13 23 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers steady, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 lower, 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
330 330 1 200.00 $200.00 $660 -0.82
377 377 2 172.00 $172.00 $648 -30.02
413–426 419 7 160.00–161.00 $160.56 $673 -14.96
451–463 460 12 186.00–194.00 $187.96 $865 +11.56
505–537 520 21 160.00–173.00 $162.64 $846 -17.67
530 value added 530 10 192.00 $192.00 $1,018 -3.53
568 value added 568 10 190.00 $190.00 $1,079 +7.00
562–573 569 7 155.00–175.00 $172.16 $980 -4.65
613–615 value added 614 5 170.00–183.00 $177.79 $1,092 +11.44
622–640 624 25 145.00–161.00 $156.55 $977 -1.39
653 value added 653 28 179.50 $179.50 $1,172 —
688–697 692 5 156.00–159.00 $157.21 $1,088 -2.74
715–730 725 3 131.00–135.00 $133.69 $969 -11.58
767 767 6 152.00 $152.00 $1,166 +4.86
810–839 value added 822 257 145.00–152.00 $148.53 $1,221 -0.02
867–887 value added 877 116 143.90–147.00 $145.44 $1,276 -4.64
915–919 value added 917 116 145.00 $145.00 $1,330 —
955 value added 955 58 143.00 $143.00 $1,366 +0.84
1039 value added 1039 54 134.50 $134.50 $1,397 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 160.00 $160.00 $464 —
370–385 378 2 161.00 $161.00 $609 —
460–487 478 3 160.00–161.00 $160.68 $768 +21.68
590–595 594 4 140.00–145.00 $143.75 $854 —
630 630 1 140.00 $140.00 $882 -20.00
995 995 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,174 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 140.00 $140.00 $434 —
725 725 1 111.00 $111.00 $805 —
815 815 1 108.00 $108.00 $880 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–240 230 3 152.00–165.00 $159.99 $368 -9.01
290 290 3 150.00–171.00 $160.33 $465 -9.67
300–330 314 4 165.00–171.00 $167.27 $525 +14.98
350 fancy 350 1 180.00 $180.00 $630 —
355–395 388 20 155.00–175.00 $166.60 $646 -1.24
407–437 fancy 422 11 174.00–180.00 $176.75 $746 +4.94
400–447 441 10 154.00–164.00 $157.72 $696 -1.52
450–498 473 25 141.00–161.00 $158.00 $747 -0.97
501–535 value added 508 10 157.00–162.00 $160.49 $815 -0.03
510–547 533 24 132.00–155.00 $143.04 $762 -8.58
550–595 573 52 134.00–149.00 $144.64 $829 -3.03
621 value added 621 3 149.00 $149.00 $925 -16.91
605–640 630 6 130.00–138.00 $134.70 $849 -2.16
650 value added 650 70 152.60 $152.60 $992 -1.20
650–695 669 8 131.00–145.00 $136.32 $912 -0.24
700–725 720 16 121.00–135.00 $132.05 $951 +0.63
773–796 779 38 127.00–134.00 $128.88 $1,004 +0.11
798 value added 798 76 139.60 $139.60 $1,114 —
800–830 824 5 135.00–136.00 $135.19 $1,114 +8.18
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 147.50 $147.50 $361 —
330 330 1 140.00 $140.00 $462 —
420–435 430 3 134.00–145.00 $141.42 $608 —
480–492 486 4 122.00–140.00 $133.02 $646 -6.98
500–510 508 5 120.00–130.00 $125.99 $640 +0.32
560–595 578 2 110.00–121.00 $115.67 $669 -12.33
632 632 2 121.00 $121.00 $765 —
655 655 1 120.00 $120.00 $786 -2.99
700 700 1 115.00 $115.00 $805 —
770 770 2 116.00 $116.00 $893 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1103 1094 6 115.00–118.00 $117.52 $1,286 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 111.00 $111.00 $638 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 228 2 201.00 $201.00 $458 —
290 290 1 197.00 $197.00 $571 —
311–341 328 8 172.00–184.00 $177.84 $583 +4.07
378–395 383 5 170.00–173.00 $171.20 $656 -4.10
418 thin fleshed 418 5 188.00 $188.00 $786 —
400–442 425 9 165.00–177.50 $168.91 $718 -1.58
462–485 475 15 160.00–177.00 $169.50 $805 -4.22
500–535 509 9 155.00–170.00 $161.31 $821 -4.88
511 thin fleshed 511 13 181.00 $181.00 $925 —
555–590 573 12 145.00–166.00 $156.89 $899 -1.75
606–645 612 9 137.00–147.00 $140.44 $859 -0.66
605–620 fancy 613 2 155.00–159.00 $157.02 $963 —
655 thin fleshed 655 7 152.00 $152.00 $996 —
652–665 656 5 137.00–143.00 $140.21 $920 -1.54
780 780 1 124.00 $124.00 $967 -6.91
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 160.00 $160.00 $456 —
466 466 3 151.00 $151.00 $704 —
510–535 530 5 140.00–146.00 $142.17 $754 —
560–590 575 2 136.00–140.00 $137.95 $793 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1415 1293 80-85% 6 69.00–76.00 $73.41 $949 —
1195–1480 1296 80-85% 19 77.00–85.00 $81.10 $1,051 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–1890 1652 75-80% 11 81.00–87.00 $83.74 $1,383 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1000 973 85-90% 2 62.00–64.00 $62.97 $613 -6.94
935–1185 1056 85-90% 6 66.00–75.00 $69.97 $739 —
1000–1140 1070 85-90% 2 77.00 $77.00 $824 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1490 1490 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,281 —
1510–2055 1783 2 109.00–112.00 $110.73 $1,974 -13.82
1810–1895 1853 2 115.00–127.00 $121.14 $2,245 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
865–1060 989 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 85.00–108.00 $98.04 $970

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1350–1635 1493 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,075.00–1,225.00 $1,157.16

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810 810 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00
745–900 813 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 725.00–900.00 $791.08

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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
1455 1455 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
481 481 4 133.00 $133.00 $640 —
585 585 3 128.00 $128.00 $749 —

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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.