Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 8, 2024

409 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $297.62/cwt +7.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,832/hd at 616 lb · 49 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $266.92/cwt -0.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,393/hd at 522 lb · 24 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $290.23/cwt -15.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,253/hd at 432 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 409 437 428
Feeder cattle 369 373 360
Slaughter cattle 34 43 58
Replacement cattle 6 21 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher on a light test. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 2.00 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
302 302 2 375.00 $375.00 $1,132 +56.84
355–390 373 4 355.00–370.00 $362.15 $1,351 —
410–425 416 4 325.00–342.50 $334.34 $1,391 +22.34
476–480 476 12 310.00–311.00 $310.67 $1,479 +10.64
505–535 528 15 295.00–312.00 $307.51 $1,624 +6.58
560–598 578 13 290.00–303.00 $299.49 $1,731 +2.43
615 value added 615 46 298.50 $298.50 $1,836 -1.50
600–637 625 3 276.00–288.00 $284.16 $1,776 +3.16
671 671 10 279.00 $279.00 $1,872 +9.00
700–745 740 9 263.00–264.00 $263.89 $1,953 +12.89
750 750 1 242.00 $242.00 $1,815 -9.47
800–805 801 8 230.00–235.00 $234.37 $1,877 +3.39
900 900 2 204.00 $204.00 $1,836 -9.98
970 970 1 219.00 $219.00 $2,124 —
1005 1005 1 210.00 $210.00 $2,110 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,218 -17.86
515–541 535 7 276.00–285.00 $279.80 $1,497 +7.19
570 570 1 276.00 $276.00 $1,573 +5.00
682–695 686 6 249.00–256.00 $251.36 $1,724 -7.64
895 895 1 203.00 $203.00 $1,817 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725 725 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,668 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 1 191.00 $191.00 $2,111 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 305.00 $305.00 $640 —
275 275 1 292.50 $292.50 $804 —
285–290 fancy 288 3 320.00 $320.00 $922 —
305 305 1 305.00 $305.00 $930 +10.00
305 fancy 305 1 327.50 $327.50 $999 —
365–390 372 13 302.50–320.00 $307.42 $1,144 +5.73
405 value added 405 2 300.00–305.00 $302.50 $1,225 -17.50
410–447 435 16 287.00–293.00 $288.70 $1,256 -6.50
460–490 472 9 273.00–278.00 $274.24 $1,294 +6.70
505–543 522 24 259.00–273.00 $266.92 $1,393 +1.74
555–578 574 11 251.00–266.00 $264.24 $1,517 +2.84
605–648 627 17 243.00–254.00 $246.33 $1,544 +7.99
665 665 2 249.00 $249.00 $1,656 +14.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–395 382 5 285.00–300.00 $291.20 $1,112 +14.56
450–485 467 5 257.00–268.00 $262.24 $1,225 +8.51
505 505 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,212 -7.96
565–580 573 2 231.00 $231.00 $1,324 -2.30
635 635 1 239.00 $239.00 $1,518 +19.00
665–670 668 2 210.00–223.00 $216.48 $1,446 +6.48
715 715 1 206.00 $206.00 $1,473 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502 502 2 241.00 $241.00 $1,210 +11.00
655 655 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,448 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,309 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 fancy 265 1 362.50 $362.50 $961 —
275–295 285 2 330.00–342.50 $336.47 $959 —
347 347 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,214 +46.05
365–377 fancy 373 3 352.50–360.00 $357.55 $1,334 —
370–385 378 2 327.50–335.00 $331.32 $1,252 +20.82
400 fancy 400 3 340.00 $340.00 $1,360 —
410–430 420 3 311.00–322.50 $316.95 $1,331 +23.66
452–475 461 9 306.00–311.00 $308.58 $1,423 +12.66
500–542 511 15 275.00–285.00 $281.16 $1,437 +2.17
555–585 567 5 269.00–279.00 $273.83 $1,553 -1.84
602–645 616 5 263.00–272.00 $267.07 $1,645 +13.47
705–740 723 2 220.00–222.50 $221.22 $1,599 —
920 920 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,546 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 312.50 $312.50 $859 —
380 380 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,112 —
401 401 3 302.00 $302.00 $1,211 —
460–481 476 5 284.00–297.00 $293.69 $1,398 —
505 505 2 256.00–260.00 $258.00 $1,303 —
595 595 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,547 —
605–610 608 2 240.00–249.00 $244.52 $1,487 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555–585 575 3 244.00–245.00 $244.68 $1,407 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,012 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–1190 1049 85-90% 5 102.00–107.00 $104.10 $1,092 -16.90
1065 1065 85-90% 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,310 —
980–1375 1099 85-90% 7 109.00–119.00 $113.77 $1,250 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1390 1301 80-85% 4 115.00–122.00 $118.22 $1,538 —
1335 1335 80-85% 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,455 —
1200–1485 1344 80-85% 4 126.00–129.00 $127.81 $1,718 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1505 1427 75-80% 3 117.00–128.00 $123.46 $1,762 +1.46
1490–1740 1645 75-80% 3 130.00–133.00 $131.96 $2,171 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–1510 1460 2 145.00–149.00 $146.93 $2,145 —
1760–1895 1828 2 153.00–158.00 $155.41 $2,841 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
790 790 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 830.00 $830.00

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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.