Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 25, 2022

659 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.63/cwt +13.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,265/hd at 818 lb · 65 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $155.31/cwt -5.73 vs last sale · ≈ $664/hd at 428 lb · 30 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $172.35/cwt -9.57 vs last sale · ≈ $967/hd at 561 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 659 750 261
Feeder cattle 548 644 244
Slaughter cattle 104 90 13
Replacement cattle 7 16 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold unevenly steady. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 - 4.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold unevenly steady with the high dressing boners being 3.00 - 5.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady with the exception of a few extremely high dressing bulls that sold higher.

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
245 245 2 165.00 $165.00 $404 —
285 285 1 182.50 $182.50 $520 -3.63
325–335 330 2 173.00–185.00 $179.09 $591 +16.59
357–395 370 4 170.00–179.00 $174.34 $645 -6.41
415–445 430 10 171.00–184.00 $179.21 $771 -1.22
450–477 fancy 468 3 194.00–204.00 $200.79 $940 -0.33
451–497 475 8 172.00–185.00 $180.92 $859 -2.15
505–545 value added 522 3 185.00–201.00 $193.17 $1,008 -3.01
500–545 527 10 162.00–179.00 $167.85 $885 -13.62
555–557 value added 557 11 175.00–178.00 $175.27 $976 -12.71
550–595 564 16 160.00–179.00 $170.35 $961 +0.54
600–630 607 9 173.00–179.00 $175.54 $1,066 -4.27
650–657 656 9 176.00–178.00 $177.78 $1,166 +19.52
704–741 715 20 144.00–150.00 $145.59 $1,041 -3.85
750–798 786 14 143.00–148.50 $146.60 $1,152 -4.40
818 value added 818 63 155.00 $155.00 $1,268 —
825 825 2 143.00 $143.00 $1,180 +1.82
905 905 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,222 —
960–990 975 2 126.00–129.00 $127.48 $1,243 —
1005–1035 1020 2 113.00–116.00 $114.52 $1,168 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 165.00 $165.00 $503 —
390 390 1 141.00 $141.00 $550 —
440 440 1 165.00 $165.00 $726 +4.00
485–495 490 2 161.00–165.00 $163.02 $799 -8.67
505–520 512 3 147.00–155.00 $152.29 $780 -19.71
615 615 1 162.00 $162.00 $996 -0.36
680 680 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,047 +11.49

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–295 288 2 145.00–153.00 $149.10 $429 -12.78
335 335 1 155.00 $155.00 $519 -3.98
350–396 373 11 154.00–164.00 $158.24 $590 -9.47
400–445 424 20 146.00–156.00 $152.34 $646 -8.01
400–443 fancy 435 10 158.00–162.00 $161.26 $701 -6.73
450–495 465 9 148.00–152.00 $149.77 $696 -8.48
500 value added 500 1 159.00 $159.00 $795 -12.02
500–545 521 23 141.00–154.00 $150.00 $782 -11.73
560 value added 560 1 155.00 $155.00 $868 -15.20
550–590 566 13 141.00–151.00 $146.58 $830 -10.85
600–645 616 7 132.00–145.00 $138.41 $853 -5.17
621–626 value added 623 17 145.00–148.00 $146.58 $913 -7.92
652 value added 652 2 147.00 $147.00 $958 —
670–680 673 3 128.00–132.00 $130.01 $875 +0.20
706 value added 706 5 130.00 $130.00 $918 —
700–735 724 6 118.00–127.00 $124.41 $901 -4.33
750–780 768 3 112.00–121.00 $116.02 $891 -7.98
815 815 1 122.00 $122.00 $994 +12.18
985 985 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,162 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–370 360 2 132.00–141.00 $136.63 $492 -13.36
470 470 1 144.00 $144.00 $677 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–330 318 3 167.50–177.50 $171.81 $546 -2.85
325 fancy 325 1 190.00 $190.00 $618 —
350 fancy 350 2 185.00 $185.00 $648 —
358–390 366 5 166.00–178.00 $174.84 $640 +13.27
420 fancy 420 2 173.00 $173.00 $727 -17.00
408–447 425 9 158.00–170.00 $164.81 $700 -5.11
455–460 fancy 458 2 175.00–179.00 $176.99 $811 -0.01
455–495 477 10 156.00–171.00 $163.38 $779 -5.36
525–545 536 11 142.00–158.00 $151.37 $811 -8.60
565–580 575 3 142.00–155.00 $146.26 $841 -7.83
600 fancy 600 1 159.00 $159.00 $954 —
600–640 611 12 137.00–150.00 $143.95 $880 -12.80
650–690 665 3 120.00–129.00 $123.97 $824 -8.77
672–682 fancy 677 4 151.00–152.00 $151.50 $1,026 +1.13
700–740 715 5 124.00–136.00 $130.14 $931 -4.65
780–795 788 2 118.00–128.00 $123.05 $970 +0.05
826 826 3 122.00 $122.00 $1,008 +4.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–380 375 2 150.00–157.50 $153.70 $576 —
445 445 1 140.00 $140.00 $623 -12.96
475 475 1 131.00 $131.00 $622 -19.43
520 520 1 130.00 $130.00 $676 -16.00
605–625 619 4 117.00–125.00 $121.02 $749 —
655–692 682 4 117.00–125.00 $119.43 $815 -1.57
710 710 1 115.00 $115.00 $816 -1.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 80-85% 1 78.00 $78.00 $780 —
905–1470 1187 80-85% 20 80.00–85.00 $83.12 $987 —
975–1385 1218 80-85% 11 86.00–93.00 $88.03 $1,072 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750 750 85-90% 1 44.00 $44.00 $330 —
825–1200 1007 85-90% 15 64.00–71.00 $67.65 $681 —
1010–1080 1045 85-90% 2 54.00–63.00 $58.35 $610 —
750–1240 1047 85-90% 10 72.00–80.00 $76.81 $804 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1405 1314 75-80% 4 78.00–83.00 $80.71 $1,061 —
1165–1625 1415 75-80% 14 85.00–98.00 $89.11 $1,261 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1965 1573 5 107.00–117.00 $113.68 $1,788 —
1735 1735 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,770 -13.41
1855–2080 1975 5 124.00–137.00 $130.15 $2,570 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 730.00 $730.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
815–990 903 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 560.00–810.00 $697.12
915 915 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 630.00 $630.00
1250 1250 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 1 100.00 $100.00 $705 —

↑ Back to top

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.