Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 18, 2022

750 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $166.81/cwt +7.31 vs last sale · ≈ $929/hd at 557 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $162.21/cwt +6.72 vs last sale · ≈ $851/hd at 524 lb · 39 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $191.28/cwt +9.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,008/hd at 527 lb · 39 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 750 663 564
Feeder cattle 644 540 490
Slaughter cattle 90 86 58
Replacement cattle 16 37 16

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher. Good demand on all feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00-4.00 higher including some extremely high dressing cows and bulls. Good demand on slaughter cows and bulls.

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
255–290 273 2 184.00–188.00 $186.13 $508 —
335 335 1 162.50 $162.50 $544 —
388–390 389 4 180.00–181.00 $180.75 $703 +1.23
415–425 420 2 175.00–186.00 $180.43 $758 +8.81
460–495 478 15 177.00–188.00 $183.07 $875 +8.27
460–497 fancy 479 13 193.00–207.00 $201.12 $963 +9.13
505–540 525 13 170.00–187.00 $181.47 $953 +9.93
500–534 value added 528 26 192.00–198.50 $196.18 $1,036 +8.94
550–590 value added 574 10 185.00–196.00 $187.98 $1,079 +6.30
565–590 574 5 160.00–177.00 $169.81 $975 -3.00
600–626 614 10 176.00–185.00 $179.81 $1,104 +5.81
655–685 661 12 152.00–166.00 $158.26 $1,046 -3.07
716 value added 716 4 158.50 $158.50 $1,135 -8.10
715–740 731 6 140.00–155.00 $149.44 $1,092 +0.10
760 760 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,148 —
805–825 817 5 138.00–144.00 $141.18 $1,153 -3.32
860 860 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,213 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 161.00 $161.00 $708 —
450–495 488 9 169.00–173.00 $171.69 $838 +14.16
545 545 1 172.00 $172.00 $937 —
575 575 2 145.00–155.00 $150.00 $862 —
615–635 621 5 158.00–165.00 $162.36 $1,008 —
685–695 690 2 141.00–144.00 $142.51 $983 —
790 790 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,011 —

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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 —
255–290 277 6 155.00–168.00 $161.88 $448 -10.62
300–310 305 4 150.00–166.00 $158.98 $485 -5.09
310–330 fancy 326 5 170.00–174.00 $173.24 $565 -1.76
350–390 362 10 166.00–170.00 $167.71 $607 +11.95
410–448 431 20 151.00–166.00 $160.35 $691 +4.46
430–435 fancy 433 2 167.00–169.00 $167.99 $727 +1.00
463–483 fancy 477 10 169.00–174.00 $172.54 $823 +11.05
465–495 480 28 151.00–164.00 $158.25 $760 +6.92
500–525 value added 513 2 170.00–172.00 $171.02 $877 +11.09
500–545 525 37 153.00–166.00 $161.73 $849 +10.25
552 value added 552 47 170.20 $170.20 $940 +5.46
552–597 571 17 149.00–163.00 $157.43 $899 +9.48
605–610 value added 610 10 150.00–155.00 $154.50 $942 +12.51
605–640 621 17 134.00–148.00 $143.58 $892 +11.67
655–685 668 6 120.00–136.00 $129.81 $867 -4.65
700–725 714 8 120.00–137.00 $128.74 $919 +11.78
790 790 1 124.00 $124.00 $980 -2.82
815–846 837 6 108.00–113.00 $109.82 $919 —
855–880 873 4 109.00–120.00 $116.24 $1,015 +1.24
1045 1045 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,233 +5.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 150.00 $150.00 $322 —
375–395 385 3 147.00–152.00 $149.99 $577 +6.99
420–445 428 3 144.00–146.00 $145.31 $622 +4.41
560–595 579 4 131.00–147.00 $138.58 $802 +3.58

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
248 248 3 157.50 $157.50 $391 —
285 285 1 162.50 $162.50 $463 +2.50
307–340 314 6 167.50–185.00 $174.66 $548 -1.10
350–385 376 6 158.00–171.00 $161.57 $608 -7.45
425 fancy 425 3 190.00 $190.00 $808 ±0.00
410–445 431 5 165.00–183.00 $169.92 $732 +3.14
460 fancy 460 1 177.00 $177.00 $814 —
450–490 469 16 157.00–174.00 $168.74 $791 -1.92
517 fancy 517 2 177.00 $177.00 $915 -9.00
505–545 526 6 154.00–171.00 $159.97 $841 -16.52
550–590 572 12 148.00–161.00 $154.09 $881 -4.45
610–645 624 9 153.00–161.00 $156.75 $978 -1.56
658–677 fancy 666 5 148.00–152.00 $150.37 $1,001 —
675–685 679 4 130.00–140.00 $132.74 $901 -5.74
700–730 720 6 131.00–142.00 $134.79 $970 -1.78
795 795 1 123.00 $123.00 $978 —
835 835 1 118.00 $118.00 $985 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 150.00 $150.00 $412 ±0.00
305–345 327 3 160.00–163.00 $160.93 $526 +3.43
420–430 423 3 148.00–158.00 $152.96 $647 -0.02
455–490 469 4 144.00–155.00 $150.43 $706 +3.74
500–510 506 6 145.00–147.00 $146.00 $739 -4.53
555 555 1 142.00 $142.00 $788 +0.28
690 690 1 121.00 $121.00 $835 —
735 735 2 116.00 $116.00 $853 -9.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $810 —
960–1285 1132 80-85% 3 81.00–85.00 $83.36 $944 —
855–1820 1319 80-85% 51 86.00–116.00 $101.86 $1,344 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–880 807 85-90% 3 57.00–62.00 $58.98 $476 +12.58
715–945 830 85-90% 2 41.00–50.00 $46.12 $383 -0.28
815–920 860 85-90% 3 65.00–71.00 $68.32 $588 —
795–1115 932 85-90% 9 72.00–85.00 $78.26 $729 +20.26
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1540 1281 75-80% 4 85.00–91.00 $88.57 $1,135 +18.57

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–2015 1713 2 115.00–116.00 $115.41 $1,977 +2.66
1815–2185 2024 4 125.00–132.00 $128.10 $2,593 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1305 1305 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1310 1310 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,160.00 $1,160.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
880–927 911 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 970.00–1,150.00 $1,092.06

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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
1175 1175 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 995.00 $995.00 —
1472 1472 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,550.00 $1,550.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
925 925 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 740.00 $740.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885 885 2 100.00 $100.00 $885 —

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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.