Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 12, 2021

372 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $140.27/cwt +8.40 vs last sale · ≈ $589/hd at 420 lb · 21 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.53/cwt +0.79 vs last sale · ≈ $635/hd at 475 lb · 20 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.28/cwt -5.72 vs last sale · ≈ $732/hd at 619 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 372 296 870
Feeder cattle 321 248 804
Slaughter cattle 41 41 57
Replacement cattle 10 7 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers 1.00-2.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 higher.Light 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
302 value added 302 5 174.00 $174.00 $525 —
320 320 1 165.00 $165.00 $528 —
350–395 375 4 151.00–162.00 $157.84 $592 -0.19
405–435 424 4 151.00–159.00 $154.27 $654 +1.30
475–497 489 12 151.00–167.00 $160.96 $787 +3.50
510–545 523 6 134.00–150.00 $146.08 $764 +1.68
550–595 570 14 134.00–147.00 $141.89 $809 +1.67
605–625 615 2 126.00–132.00 $129.05 $794 +0.05
615–648 value added 636 12 137.00–147.00 $144.79 $921 —
650–680 665 7 123.00–133.00 $130.56 $868 +7.05
720–740 730 4 118.00–129.00 $121.22 $885 -0.63
765–795 786 4 118.00–123.00 $119.72 $941 +5.22
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–395 380 4 130.00–149.00 $139.38 $530 —
445 445 2 132.00–144.00 $138.00 $614 +5.32
460–495 484 5 131.00–140.00 $137.39 $665 +4.40
550–570 560 2 119.00–128.00 $123.42 $691 +6.42
645 645 1 121.00 $121.00 $780 —
765 765 1 110.00 $110.00 $842 —

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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 1 140.00 $140.00 $301 —
320–345 330 9 135.00–149.00 $144.29 $476 -0.71
350–395 381 10 128.00–150.00 $141.48 $539 -1.20
400–440 value added 417 10 144.00–151.00 $148.42 $619 —
400–445 422 11 125.00–138.00 $132.87 $561 +1.00
450 value added 450 2 147.00 $147.00 $662 —
450–495 478 18 125.00–140.00 $132.03 $631 -0.71
500–545 517 15 121.00–138.00 $131.12 $678 +0.31
550–598 573 15 118.00–134.00 $124.37 $713 -8.05
600–635 619 18 109.00–126.00 $118.28 $732 -5.72
656–683 668 10 112.00–118.00 $116.80 $780 —
710–730 715 4 100.00–110.00 $105.53 $755 —
755 755 1 97.00 $97.00 $732 -8.00
805 805 1 98.00 $98.00 $789 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 323 2 130.00–132.00 $131.07 $423 +11.07
385 385 1 124.00 $124.00 $477 -5.00
420 420 1 120.00 $120.00 $504 +10.00
450–485 473 4 119.00–124.00 $120.95 $572 —
500 500 1 118.00 $118.00 $590 —
570 570 1 115.00 $115.00 $656 +0.03
620 620 1 100.00 $100.00 $620 +6.00
655–675 665 3 105.00–106.00 $105.66 $703 —
740 740 1 93.00 $93.00 $688 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 value added 415 1 166.00 $166.00 $689 —
405–445 428 7 145.00–158.00 $152.90 $654 —
455–460 457 3 150.00–157.00 $153.68 $702 +6.40
505–545 528 8 127.00–142.00 $134.12 $708 +2.15
560–590 581 8 125.00–134.00 $130.87 $760 +1.31
610–645 632 3 125.00–129.00 $126.70 $801 +5.79
660–690 675 4 114.00–121.00 $116.93 $789 —
700–710 705 2 113.00–115.00 $113.99 $804 +10.99
765–795 777 3 99.00–102.00 $99.98 $777 -1.02
803 803 6 98.00 $98.00 $787 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 147.50 $147.50 $332 +10.00
290 290 1 147.50 $147.50 $428 +13.50
420–445 436 4 131.00–141.00 $137.97 $602 —
465–495 484 4 125.00–139.00 $133.69 $647 +4.87
530 530 1 120.00 $120.00 $636 —
690 690 1 111.00 $111.00 $766 —
755 755 1 91.00 $91.00 $687 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1360 1203 80-85% 11 57.00–68.00 $62.15 $748 -0.31
1085–1345 1242 80-85% 3 69.00–72.00 $69.87 $868 +7.41
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515 1515 75-80% 1 69.00 $69.00 $1,045 —
1395–2040 1615 75-80% 9 57.00–68.00 $64.40 $1,040 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740–815 778 85-90% 2 30.00–40.00 $35.24 $274 —
860–995 940 85-90% 4 62.00–68.00 $64.61 $607 —
890–1030 960 85-90% 2 53.00–54.00 $53.46 $513 -5.18

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–2445 1683 3 80.00–82.00 $81.57 $1,373 +1.57
1450–2070 1773 4 88.00–96.00 $92.10 $1,633 —
1800 1800 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,890 +4.35

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060 1060 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 960.00 $960.00
1140 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 990.00 $990.00
990–1295 1143 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 780.00–800.00 $791.33
1150 1150 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00

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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
975 975 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
1140 1140 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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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.