Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 15, 2024

414 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $224.80/cwt +20.80 vs last sale · ≈ $2,118/hd at 942 lb · 57 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $269.68/cwt +2.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,402/hd at 520 lb · 21 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $302.41/cwt -5.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,591/hd at 526 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 414 409 643
Feeder cattle 380 369 511
Slaughter cattle 28 34 77
Replacement cattle 6 6 55

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower on a mostly plainer quality offering. Feeder heifers under 450lbs sold 4.00 to 6.00 higher with feeder heifers over 450lbs mostly steady. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter 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
300–330 321 4 325.00–335.00 $331.79 $1,065 -43.21
390–397 395 4 316.00–330.00 $321.47 $1,270 -40.68
400–440 419 7 313.00–325.00 $319.66 $1,339 -14.68
450–470 457 8 309.00–320.00 $315.68 $1,443 +5.01
500–540 526 21 293.00–310.00 $302.41 $1,591 -5.10
555–589 583 14 287.00–301.00 $290.35 $1,693 -9.14
615 value added 615 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,784 -8.50
600–630 619 7 272.00–286.00 $279.33 $1,729 -4.83
653 value added 653 3 290.00 $290.00 $1,894 —
660–685 670 4 273.00–278.00 $275.74 $1,847 -3.26
701–732 714 9 255.00–270.00 $264.05 $1,885 +0.16
755 755 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,888 +8.00
942 value added 942 57 224.80 $224.80 $2,118 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–445 425 2 305.00–306.00 $305.48 $1,298 +25.48
465–495 482 6 295.00–302.00 $297.76 $1,435 —
502–540 515 3 284.00–286.00 $284.70 $1,466 +4.90
575 575 2 266.00–273.00 $269.50 $1,550 -6.50
770–795 787 3 230.00 $230.00 $1,810 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 2 270.00–281.00 $275.50 $1,226 —
485 485 2 286.00 $286.00 $1,387 —
635 635 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,429 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 281.00 $281.00 $1,391 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 300.00 $300.00 $765 +7.50
320–340 333 5 300.00–317.50 $311.93 $1,039 +6.93
367–385 374 6 309.00–314.00 $311.51 $1,165 +4.09
400–417 value added 410 4 300.00–308.00 $302.97 $1,242 +0.47
420–440 430 7 281.00–297.00 $289.23 $1,244 +0.53
450–485 472 12 268.00–281.00 $272.25 $1,285 -1.99
495 value added 495 2 294.00 $294.00 $1,455 —
500–525 value added 513 8 276.00–278.00 $276.89 $1,420 —
507–547 524 13 259.00–274.00 $265.24 $1,390 -1.68
552–590 566 13 260.00–275.00 $266.45 $1,508 +2.21
600–635 value added 612 3 257.00–258.00 $257.65 $1,577 —
612–630 618 3 240.00–245.00 $241.70 $1,494 -4.63
653–678 664 14 231.00–245.00 $239.38 $1,589 -9.62
750–775 769 4 210.00 $210.00 $1,615 —
930–945 938 2 160.00–169.00 $164.46 $1,543 —
952 952 2 173.00 $173.00 $1,647 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 2 290.00–295.00 $292.50 $921 —
365 365 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,068 +1.30
420–430 427 3 262.00–269.00 $266.70 $1,139 —
460–490 467 5 250.00–264.00 $258.27 $1,206 -3.97
540 540 1 253.00 $253.00 $1,366 +13.00
560–575 568 2 236.00–250.00 $243.09 $1,381 +12.09
645 645 1 228.00 $228.00 $1,471 -11.00
650 650 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,488 +12.52
715 715 1 198.00 $198.00 $1,416 -8.00
860 860 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,453 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,156 —
620 620 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,302 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 253.00 $253.00 $1,429 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,056 -20.00
380–390 385 2 314.00–324.00 $318.94 $1,228 -12.38
415–435 425 3 300.00–310.00 $306.40 $1,302 -10.55
455–485 471 4 289.00–297.00 $293.69 $1,383 -14.89
515–540 527 6 276.00–285.00 $282.04 $1,486 +0.88
580 580 1 271.00 $271.00 $1,572 -2.83
605–628 619 6 253.00–261.00 $258.38 $1,599 -8.69
722 722 2 219.00 $219.00 $1,581 -2.22
785 785 1 208.00 $208.00 $1,633 —
860 860 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,634 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 287.50 $287.50 $906 —
485 485 2 276.00 $276.00 $1,339 -17.69
527–545 536 4 256.00–268.00 $263.47 $1,412 +5.47
570 570 1 244.00 $244.00 $1,391 -16.00
600 600 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,590 +20.48
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 271.00 $271.00 $1,423 —
550–585 568 2 265.00–274.00 $269.36 $1,530 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 140.00 $140.00 $581 —
515 515 1 157.50 $157.50 $811 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1330 1249 80-85% 8 127.00–137.00 $130.51 $1,630 —
1265 1265 80-85% 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,467 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–955 945 85-90% 2 87.00–93.00 $89.97 $850 —
975 975 85-90% 1 101.00 $101.00 $985 —
885–1115 1003 85-90% 3 113.00–117.00 $114.55 $1,149 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445–1545 1505 75-80% 3 124.00–129.00 $126.95 $1,911 —
1495–1765 1603 75-80% 3 131.00–136.00 $133.77 $2,144 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1865 1498 5 144.00–150.00 $147.36 $2,207 —
1535–2035 1720 4 153.00–163.00 $157.85 $2,715 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1140 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1285 1285 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
735 735 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015 1015 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,575.00 $1,575.00

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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.