Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 26, 2023

418 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $209.51/cwt -12.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,451/hd at 693 lb · 32 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $213.04/cwt -3.49 vs last sale · ≈ $786/hd at 369 lb · 21 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $246.44/cwt +6.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,161/hd at 471 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 418 614 887
Feeder cattle 350 533 774
Slaughter cattle 63 71 103
Replacement cattle 5 10 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady. Slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

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
330 330 1 245.00 $245.00 $808 -10.00
390 390 1 242.50 $242.50 $946 -13.50
413–436 421 12 239.00–240.00 $239.35 $1,008 -0.65
450 value added 450 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,102 —
455–485 465 4 225.00–238.00 $233.28 $1,085 -7.13
470–476 fancy 475 11 251.00–254.00 $251.36 $1,194 —
500 value added 500 2 252.00 $252.00 $1,260 -5.60
520 520 2 227.50–235.00 $231.25 $1,202 +1.70
550 value added 550 2 247.00 $247.00 $1,358 +5.00
565–570 568 2 210.00–225.00 $217.47 $1,235 -8.96
605 value added 605 1 232.00 $232.00 $1,404 -10.16
615 615 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,328 -11.07
660–695 684 12 194.00–210.00 $199.52 $1,365 -22.48
698 value added 698 20 215.50 $215.50 $1,504 —
705–715 708 3 198.00–200.00 $199.33 $1,411 +8.57
755–775 765 2 185.00 $185.00 $1,415 -12.39
776 value added 776 8 198.50 $198.50 $1,540 -5.38
805 805 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,409 -20.36
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 222.50 $222.50 $756 -5.00
445 445 2 226.00 $226.00 $1,006 —
520 520 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,092 -2.97
555 555 3 217.00 $217.00 $1,204 —
645 645 3 181.00 $181.00 $1,167 -25.32
835 835 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,369 +4.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 190.00 $190.00 $950 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 fancy 215 1 235.00 $235.00 $505 —
240 240 1 210.00 $210.00 $504 +5.00
315–330 fancy 323 2 225.00–227.50 $226.22 $731 —
317–347 333 7 212.50–222.50 $217.06 $723 -12.94
350–360 fancy 356 8 224.00–229.00 $227.75 $811 —
360–381 377 13 197.00–217.50 $203.98 $769 -12.55
402–430 419 15 198.00–211.00 $204.79 $858 -8.81
470–498 483 13 199.00–210.00 $204.24 $986 -5.67
500–525 514 11 190.00–203.00 $195.17 $1,003 -6.01
555–595 575 11 190.00–203.00 $196.90 $1,132 +1.34
615–640 622 6 170.00–183.00 $177.12 $1,102 +3.12
620–645 value added 633 4 193.00–194.00 $193.49 $1,225 —
674 674 5 183.00 $183.00 $1,233 -2.77
715 715 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,216 +4.00
755 755 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,178 -20.03
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 190.00 $190.00 $580 —
390–395 393 2 192.50–198.00 $195.27 $767 -5.73
413–420 414 5 190.00 $190.00 $787 ±0.00
495 495 1 196.00 $196.00 $970 —
500 500 1 189.00 $189.00 $945 +7.32
566–575 568 4 182.00–185.00 $184.24 $1,046 -4.76
715–722 720 3 138.00–145.00 $140.32 $1,010 -7.68
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 187.00 $187.00 $813 —
450–485 473 3 175.00–186.00 $182.24 $862 +4.25
515 515 1 179.00 $179.00 $922 +9.00
780 780 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,030 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 242.50 $242.50 $752 -10.88
373 373 3 240.00 $240.00 $895 +13.48
405–445 424 5 225.00–238.00 $230.67 $978 —
456–480 462 5 221.00–224.00 $223.08 $1,031 -1.78
525 fancy 525 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,260 —
500–540 526 4 218.00–228.00 $220.62 $1,160 —
560 560 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,221 ±0.00
625–645 635 4 185.00–195.00 $189.51 $1,203 +4.08
650 650 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,294 —
700–735 724 4 184.00–195.00 $186.91 $1,353 +9.41
770 770 1 174.00 $174.00 $1,340 +11.00
860 860 1 142.50 $142.50 $1,226 -7.38
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 222.50 $222.50 $701 -8.74
510–545 523 10 200.00–210.00 $204.72 $1,071 +20.34
565–597 586 3 190.00–191.00 $190.32 $1,115 +5.32
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 177.50 $177.50 $470 —
435 435 1 197.50 $197.50 $859 —
455–495 475 2 184.00–190.00 $187.13 $889 —
930 930 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,135 —
985 985 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,152 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 179.00 $179.00 $1,065 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1375 1249 80-85% 4 95.00–97.00 $95.51 $1,193 +4.40
1160–1385 1265 80-85% 18 84.00–94.00 $89.56 $1,133 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–950 840 85-90% 2 52.00–56.00 $54.26 $456 —
885–1150 1040 85-90% 6 68.00–77.00 $74.99 $780 —
885–1260 1056 85-90% 9 80.00–90.00 $85.04 $898 -3.10
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1745 1501 75-80% 8 86.00–92.00 $88.86 $1,334 —
1510 1510 75-80% 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,450 +2.47

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1490 1302 6 102.00–116.00 $106.69 $1,389 —
1915–2100 1991 4 119.00–128.00 $121.48 $2,419 -0.52

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1110 1110 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,295.00 $1,295.00
1185 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00
1795 1795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,430.00 $1,430.00

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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
1175 1175 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,190.00 $1,190.00 —

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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.