Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 28, 2021

542 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.89/cwt -3.38 vs last sale · ≈ $715/hd at 522 lb · 37 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.06/cwt -4.90 vs last sale · ≈ $601/hd at 426 lb · 26 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.47/cwt -12.82 vs last sale · ≈ $779/hd at 521 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 542 672 517
Feeder cattle 452 561 482
Slaughter cattle 76 68 32
Replacement cattle 14 43 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers 4.00-6.00 lower,heifers 3.00-4.00 lower.Slaughter cows and bulls Steady.Moderate supply with weak 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
270 270 1 165.00 $165.00 $446 —
315–335 325 2 171.00–173.00 $171.97 $559 -3.44
350–395 373 6 155.00–174.00 $167.96 $626 -11.77
405–445 430 3 152.00–160.00 $156.96 $675 -8.66
450–495 479 11 153.00–164.00 $157.16 $753 -7.51
505–545 521 22 140.00–160.00 $149.47 $779 -9.23
550–597 582 12 135.00–149.00 $142.79 $831 -5.16
600–645 615 11 131.00–142.00 $138.72 $853 -2.78
670 value added 670 12 145.00 $145.00 $972 —
655–690 679 6 131.00–141.00 $136.63 $928 +1.28
710 value added 710 1 133.00 $133.00 $944 -11.30
730–735 733 4 120.00–122.00 $121.00 $887 -5.49
790 790 1 113.00 $113.00 $893 -20.00
806 value added 806 4 127.00 $127.00 $1,024 —
800–835 818 2 120.00–121.00 $120.51 $986 -7.49
857–895 866 13 109.00–124.00 $119.88 $1,038 -1.45
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 147.50 $147.50 $435 —
305 305 1 146.00 $146.00 $445 -4.00
395 395 1 140.00 $140.00 $553 —
415–440 427 3 137.00–140.00 $138.34 $591 -11.66
470 470 1 141.00 $141.00 $663 -3.06
535 535 1 127.00 $127.00 $679 -3.00
580–590 585 2 121.00–125.00 $122.98 $719 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–285 278 2 145.00–165.00 $154.73 $430 -2.79
300–345 322 12 140.00–159.00 $151.65 $488 -2.87
340 fancy 340 1 165.00 $165.00 $561 —
350–395 377 11 134.00–152.00 $144.65 $545 -6.32
411–440 value added 415 8 149.00–151.00 $149.26 $619 —
400–445 431 18 130.00–146.00 $137.41 $592 -8.55
457–490 472 10 130.00–149.00 $135.98 $642 -8.90
465–490 value added 478 3 148.00–151.00 $149.31 $714 -6.69
500–507 value added 505 7 142.00–147.00 $145.00 $732 -1.51
500–547 526 30 125.00–141.00 $135.00 $710 -2.39
555 value added 555 1 144.00 $144.00 $799 —
550–591 575 16 126.00–138.00 $130.81 $752 -3.88
613–635 624 10 112.00–123.00 $118.88 $742 -8.04
631 value added 631 4 128.00 $128.00 $808 —
650–666 658 12 114.00–117.00 $114.74 $755 -5.89
752–785 769 4 105.00–107.00 $105.98 $815 —
805 805 1 105.00 $105.00 $845 -10.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 130.00 $130.00 $338 —
375 375 1 132.00 $132.00 $495 +4.50
410 410 1 121.00 $121.00 $496 —
495 495 2 123.00 $123.00 $609 -6.00
507–510 508 3 111.00–118.00 $113.34 $576 -11.66
565–590 574 4 106.00–120.00 $113.19 $650 -2.54
610–645 634 4 106.00–110.00 $108.03 $685 -8.97
675–680 678 2 100.00–105.00 $102.49 $695 -4.99
705 705 1 90.00 $90.00 $634 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 165.00 $165.00 $536 -6.00
367–385 373 8 153.00–164.00 $159.70 $596 -16.30
400–437 433 10 147.00–154.00 $152.31 $660 -14.01
450–497 486 16 146.00–163.00 $153.14 $744 -3.43
500–540 523 10 131.00–154.00 $143.10 $748 +3.58
550–590 564 17 129.00–146.00 $139.29 $786 -3.29
605–625 615 9 133.00–138.00 $136.68 $841 +5.20
650–690 671 5 124.00–135.00 $131.32 $881 -6.68
717–730 721 3 118.00–120.00 $119.33 $860 +4.33
755–793 779 6 106.00–117.00 $109.09 $850 -2.50
825 825 1 99.00 $99.00 $817 -2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–440 418 4 130.00–141.00 $136.98 $573 -13.02
452–480 463 6 129.00–141.00 $136.09 $630 -6.41
505 505 2 125.00–126.00 $125.50 $634 —
600–625 613 2 115.00–118.00 $116.47 $714 +0.47
670 670 1 107.00 $107.00 $717 -7.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1355 1193 80-85% 17 65.00–71.00 $67.73 $808 —
1210 1210 80-85% 1 52.00 $52.00 $629 -14.00
1060–1530 1235 80-85% 29 57.00–64.00 $61.76 $763 +1.33
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–830 823 85-90% 2 34.00–39.00 $36.48 $300 +4.48
910–1045 967 85-90% 12 54.00–65.00 $60.58 $586 +8.47
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1560 1443 75-80% 6 60.00–64.00 $62.82 $906 —
1400–1600 1500 75-80% 2 59.00–67.00 $63.27 $949 -4.38

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1675–2055 1848 3 79.00–80.00 $79.70 $1,473 —
1725–2220 1891 4 89.00–94.00 $91.13 $1,723 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
845–1165 946 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 610.00–750.00 $670.61
965 965 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1265–1585 1401 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 800.00–960.00 $867.98
1400–1435 1418 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 925.00–990.00 $957.90

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 1 97.00 $97.00 $582 —

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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.