Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 21, 2021

672 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards report →

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $140.60/cwt +12.70 vs last sale · ≈ $1,007/hd at 716 lb · 53 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.61/cwt +2.60 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 624 lb · 28 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.69/cwt +2.29 vs last sale · ≈ $753/hd at 559 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 672 832 990
Feeder cattle 561 722 847
Slaughter cattle 68 87 97
Replacement cattle 43 23 46

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers and heifers mostly steady.Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 lower.Good supply with good demand.

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
300–330 315 5 171.00–181.00 $175.41 $553 -0.88
326 value added 326 3 209.00 $209.00 $681 +5.00
350–395 376 14 162.00–188.00 $179.73 $676 -2.25
400–440 423 10 157.00–181.00 $165.62 $701 -4.11
455–491 475 8 155.00–185.00 $164.67 $782 -8.47
505–510 value added 509 8 146.00–176.00 $168.56 $858 -0.79
510–545 529 14 145.00–164.00 $158.70 $840 +3.70
550–595 573 15 141.00–159.00 $147.95 $848 -7.49
582 value added 582 7 163.50 $163.50 $952 -0.50
602–638 value added 624 24 148.00–156.00 $153.30 $957 +0.19
620–630 624 4 138.00–144.00 $141.50 $883 -0.35
680–695 687 12 129.00–145.00 $135.35 $930 +0.28
714 value added 714 42 144.30 $144.30 $1,030 —
700–745 724 11 121.00–133.00 $126.49 $916 -1.41
755 755 3 133.00 $133.00 $1,004 +5.02
800 800 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,024 +11.00
865–875 873 6 121.00–123.00 $121.33 $1,059 -4.52
910 910 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,056 —
995 995 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,124 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 150.00 $150.00 $480 -5.00
355 355 1 140.00 $140.00 $497 —
440 440 1 150.00 $150.00 $660 +1.47
475–495 485 2 141.00–147.00 $144.06 $699 -0.19
540 540 1 130.00 $130.00 $702 -6.00
645 645 1 117.00 $117.00 $755 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 170.00 $170.00 $366 +7.50
275–280 278 2 155.00–160.00 $157.52 $438 -4.30
325–340 330 5 140.00–164.00 $154.52 $510 -5.54
355–398 382 9 137.00–158.00 $150.97 $577 +1.45
400–446 420 14 140.00–148.00 $145.96 $613 +1.86
465 value added 465 2 156.00 $156.00 $725 —
450–495 485 6 135.00–152.00 $144.88 $703 +0.20
505–535 value added 514 6 145.00–149.00 $146.51 $753 +0.82
500–540 516 13 129.00–144.00 $137.39 $709 +0.55
550–580 559 27 127.00–144.00 $134.69 $753 +2.29
605–643 624 23 116.00–129.00 $126.92 $792 +3.72
653–695 670 8 114.00–125.00 $120.63 $808 +1.00
705–745 718 4 110.00–116.00 $113.45 $815 -6.98
761 value added 761 25 121.00 $121.00 $921 —
815–820 817 3 113.00–116.00 $115.00 $940 +6.00
918 918 21 108.75 $108.75 $998 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 134.00 $134.00 $415 -3.90
390 390 2 120.00–135.00 $127.50 $497 +0.10
470 470 1 129.00 $129.00 $606 +2.00
525 525 1 125.00 $125.00 $656 +1.74
575–590 580 3 112.00–123.00 $115.73 $671 -4.75
645 645 1 117.00 $117.00 $755 +5.50
655–695 682 3 100.00–111.00 $107.48 $733 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 171.00 $171.00 $539 -2.00
332 fancy 332 2 189.00 $189.00 $627 —
370 370 1 176.00 $176.00 $651 -1.55
420 fancy 420 7 180.00 $180.00 $756 —
410–445 427 6 154.00–179.00 $166.32 $710 -6.64
460–490 469 7 151.00–158.00 $156.57 $734 -1.10
510–540 521 10 133.00–148.00 $139.52 $727 -8.27
552–597 569 18 128.00–153.00 $142.58 $811 -2.38
630 value added 630 1 142.00 $142.00 $895 —
630–645 637 9 126.00–140.00 $131.48 $838 +1.95
651 651 3 138.00 $138.00 $898 +2.16
747 747 2 115.00 $115.00 $859 —
772–782 778 5 110.00–114.00 $111.59 $868 -7.41
840 840 1 101.00 $101.00 $848 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402 402 2 150.00 $150.00 $603 +2.22
462–465 464 4 141.00–144.00 $142.50 $661 +22.50
555 555 1 124.00 $124.00 $688 +7.00
605 605 1 116.00 $116.00 $702 —
690 690 1 114.00 $114.00 $787 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1140 1123 80-85% 2 50.00–52.00 $50.98 $573 —
1065–1365 1215 80-85% 2 66.00 $66.00 $802 -5.36
1120–1425 1242 80-85% 21 55.00–65.00 $60.43 $751 -10.93
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810 810 85-90% 1 32.00 $32.00 $259 —
920–1060 994 85-90% 7 50.00–55.00 $52.11 $518 —
945–1045 1000 85-90% 4 57.00–64.00 $59.49 $595 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485–1550 1520 75-80% 3 66.00–69.00 $67.65 $1,028 +3.52
1415–1755 1521 75-80% 7 59.00–63.00 $61.40 $934 -2.73

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1940 1479 6 76.00–84.00 $79.46 $1,175 —
1775–2005 1854 6 85.00–94.00 $90.20 $1,672 —
2135–2230 2183 2 100.00 $100.00 $2,183 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
910 910 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1130–1265 1203 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 800.00–1,125.00 $882.33
1145–1330 1239 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 825.00–1,275.00 $1,039.06
1275–1550 1370 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 825.00–910.00 $871.02

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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
840–1085 928 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 1,375.00–1,650.00 $1,489.86 —
895–1135 1026 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 930.00–1,275.00 $1,119.49 —
945–1420 1164 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 13 1,075.00–1,650.00 $1,466.65 —

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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.