Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 19, 2021

564 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.00/cwt ≈ $1,182/hd at 889 lb · 60 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.90/cwt -0.63 vs last sale · ≈ $621/hd at 467 lb · 35 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $129.73/cwt +3.03 vs last sale · ≈ $794/hd at 612 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 564 372 512
Feeder cattle 490 321 449
Slaughter cattle 58 41 54
Replacement cattle 16 10 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers and heifers 1.00-2.00 lower.Slaughter cows and bulls steady.Moderate supply with moderate 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
315 315 1 160.00 $160.00 $504 -5.00
400–430 418 10 144.00–166.00 $157.36 $658 +3.09
455–495 476 13 142.00–158.00 $146.45 $697 -14.51
506–509 value added 508 11 151.00–152.00 $151.73 $771 —
505–548 529 18 135.00–146.00 $143.04 $757 -3.04
560–597 577 10 130.00–148.00 $141.84 $818 -0.05
617–625 value added 619 9 138.00–147.00 $143.66 $889 -1.13
625–635 630 2 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $816 +0.45
650 value added 650 1 139.00 $139.00 $904 —
690 690 1 132.00 $132.00 $911 +1.44
710 710 1 130.00 $130.00 $923 +8.78
765 765 1 122.00 $122.00 $933 +2.28
889 value added 889 60 133.00 $133.00 $1,182 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 155.00 $155.00 $457 —
355–390 373 3 139.00–145.00 $142.28 $531 +2.90
420–440 430 2 135.00–137.00 $136.02 $585 -1.98
495 495 2 138.00 $138.00 $683 +0.61
525–540 530 3 119.00–124.00 $120.98 $641 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–285 274 4 140.00–142.50 $141.62 $388 —
322–345 328 12 130.00–147.00 $140.43 $461 -3.86
365–386 379 7 135.00–141.00 $139.42 $528 -2.06
407–448 429 20 129.00–140.00 $133.44 $572 +0.57
450–490 467 35 124.00–138.00 $132.90 $621 +0.87
503–545 526 22 123.00–136.00 $130.94 $689 -0.18
525–527 value added 526 4 137.00–138.00 $137.50 $723 —
550–595 576 24 120.00–136.00 $129.99 $749 +5.62
600 value added 600 1 127.00 $127.00 $762 —
605–640 623 3 111.00–120.00 $114.75 $715 -3.53
652–695 668 7 108.00–120.00 $113.13 $756 -3.67
700–735 718 2 104.00 $104.00 $747 -1.53
820–825 823 2 103.00 $103.00 $848 +5.00
883 883 3 102.00 $102.00 $901 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–230 228 2 120.00–129.00 $124.45 $284 —
250 250 1 130.00 $130.00 $325 —
380–387 385 3 125.00 $125.00 $481 +1.00
420 420 1 117.00 $117.00 $491 -3.00
450 450 1 118.00 $118.00 $531 -2.95
535–545 540 2 115.00–117.00 $116.01 $626 —
575 575 1 103.00 $103.00 $592 -12.00
620 620 1 101.00 $101.00 $626 +1.00
690 690 1 103.00 $103.00 $711 -2.66

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 165.00 $165.00 $338 —
265–285 275 2 167.50–175.00 $171.11 $471 —
310–349 336 14 152.00–164.00 $156.43 $526 —
352–395 361 13 151.00–166.00 $160.30 $579 —
412–430 421 7 141.00–159.00 $149.81 $631 -3.09
450–498 486 24 138.00–161.00 $147.38 $716 -6.30
505–547 526 13 129.00–137.00 $133.35 $701 -0.77
555–565 562 5 129.00–138.00 $135.00 $759 +4.13
600–640 612 29 119.00–137.00 $129.73 $794 +3.03
655–690 674 5 115.00–121.00 $117.33 $791 +0.40
715 715 1 113.00 $113.00 $808 -0.99
780 780 1 109.00 $109.00 $850 +9.02
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–290 284 4 155.00 $155.00 $440 +7.50
300 300 1 145.00 $145.00 $435 —
365–395 380 2 138.00–143.00 $140.60 $534 —
440 440 1 137.00 $137.00 $603 -0.97
450–495 476 4 127.00–134.00 $128.65 $612 -5.04
510 510 1 120.00 $120.00 $612 ±0.00
605 605 1 113.00 $113.00 $684 —
650–680 667 3 104.00–111.00 $108.05 $721 -2.95

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120 1120 80-85% 1 55.00 $55.00 $616 —
1030–1375 1192 80-85% 13 69.00–74.00 $70.66 $842 —
1035–1370 1200 80-85% 14 60.00–67.00 $64.43 $773 +2.28
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845 845 85-90% 1 37.50 $37.50 $317 —
790–960 867 85-90% 3 47.00–57.00 $51.38 $445 —
915–1040 964 85-90% 10 59.00–71.00 $65.62 $633 +12.16
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1330 1328 75-80% 2 66.00 $66.00 $876 —
1395–1490 1433 75-80% 3 69.00–74.00 $70.62 $1,012 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–2105 1640 5 90.00–95.00 $92.75 $1,521 —
2125 2125 1 99.00 $99.00 $2,104 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 830.00 $830.00
1067 1067 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 790.00 $790.00
1070 1070 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 970.00 $970.00
1000–1250 1125 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 875.00–990.00 $938.89
1145 1145 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 930.00 $930.00

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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
1005–1075 1040 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 720.00–1,300.00 $1,000.24 —
1240 1240 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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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.