Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 30, 2025

729 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $318.49/cwt +17.49 vs last sale · ≈ $2,469/hd at 775 lb · 72 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $346.88/cwt -12.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,620/hd at 467 lb · 52 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $331.09/cwt +2.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,712/hd at 517 lb · 49 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 729 382 437
Feeder cattle 649 334 373
Slaughter cattle 54 44 43
Replacement cattle 26 4 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to 5.00 higher with several new crop feeders in todays sale. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to firm. Good demand for all classes of feeder and slaughter cattle.

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
290 290 2 422.50 $422.50 $1,225 —
300–336 320 10 422.50–447.50 $433.92 $1,389 —
355–390 376 5 415.00–442.50 $426.36 $1,603 +7.47
390 fancy 390 4 475.00 $475.00 $1,852 —
410–435 420 6 415.00–435.00 $429.92 $1,806 -3.68
453–485 466 5 407.50–415.00 $411.88 $1,919 +0.67
510–515 value added 514 13 390.00–405.00 $402.71 $2,070 —
505–545 536 10 370.00–380.00 $373.47 $2,002 +8.53
552–596 572 39 355.00–370.00 $362.06 $2,071 -1.24
605–645 616 11 320.00–342.50 $328.70 $2,025 -6.30
605–645 value added 622 11 352.50–357.50 $354.28 $2,204 +4.28
660–697 676 28 325.00–340.00 $335.32 $2,267 -3.00
700 value added 700 6 326.00 $326.00 $2,282 +10.00
707–735 711 24 302.50–318.00 $314.84 $2,239 +21.56
775 value added 775 71 318.75 $318.75 $2,470 —
795 795 1 300.00 $300.00 $2,385 -1.00
840 840 1 277.50 $277.50 $2,331 —
915–926 922 5 264.00–265.00 $264.40 $2,438 -3.10
965–970 967 3 242.50–257.50 $250.00 $2,418 +2.50
1070 1070 1 227.50 $227.50 $2,434 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
351–375 357 4 402.50–407.50 $406.19 $1,450 —
417–442 425 6 392.50–405.00 $400.67 $1,703 +3.79
450–490 471 10 370.00–390.00 $379.29 $1,786 +1.79
505–540 522 9 352.50–362.50 $356.14 $1,859 +12.71
557 557 2 342.50 $342.50 $1,908 -0.48
645 645 1 312.50 $312.50 $2,016 +2.50
650 650 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,966 —
800 800 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,980 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,350 —
450–470 463 3 355.00–367.50 $359.05 $1,662 +4.05
544 544 5 337.50 $337.50 $1,836 —
588 588 4 320.00 $320.00 $1,882 —
700 700 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,820 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,721 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367–390 383 8 370.00–387.50 $379.51 $1,454 -12.97
405–430 418 22 351.00–367.50 $355.37 $1,485 -7.31
460–480 467 52 340.00–350.00 $346.88 $1,620 -12.08
500–547 517 49 322.50–337.50 $331.09 $1,712 +2.87
565–580 570 13 325.00–330.00 $326.17 $1,859 +3.49
600–646 636 27 305.00–327.50 $316.86 $2,015 +4.72
730 730 1 257.50 $257.50 $1,880 -12.50
751–776 769 14 267.50–279.00 $275.79 $2,121 +18.29
810 810 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,944 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,044 —
330–340 333 3 355.00–357.50 $355.85 $1,185 +5.74
370–395 382 3 357.50–367.50 $363.22 $1,388 +3.60
405–440 428 7 337.50–345.00 $340.76 $1,458 -5.76
460–495 487 21 315.00–337.50 $326.04 $1,588 -8.40
520 520 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,612 +9.96
550–585 568 3 292.50–305.00 $299.30 $1,700 —
620–640 630 2 292.50–295.00 $293.73 $1,850 +12.18
665 665 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,596 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 320.00 $320.00 $960 -3.98
350–385 370 3 335.00–347.50 $339.79 $1,257 +19.79
400–440 420 2 307.50–320.00 $314.05 $1,319 —
450–495 473 2 280.00–300.00 $290.48 $1,374 -21.26
500 500 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,462 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468 468 6 337.50 $337.50 $1,580 +16.78
525 525 1 295.00 $295.00 $1,549 +5.00
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 287.50 $287.50 $1,466 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
321–345 330 6 407.50–427.50 $416.91 $1,376 -3.09
350–395 365 5 407.50–437.50 $419.86 $1,532 -5.32
400–437 425 12 400.00–430.00 $410.23 $1,743 -3.27
460 460 1 405.00 $405.00 $1,863 —
550 550 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,925 —
640 640 1 322.50 $322.50 $2,064 +4.16
650 650 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,080 -2.50
735 735 1 275.00 $275.00 $2,021 —
820 820 1 245.00 $245.00 $2,009 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 390.00 $390.00 $1,306 —
350 350 1 397.50 $397.50 $1,391 +1.62
405–422 413 5 387.50–395.00 $390.44 $1,613 -1.93
465 465 1 395.00 $395.00 $1,837 +10.18
520–540 528 6 327.50–337.50 $335.83 $1,773 -1.12
570–581 578 4 305.00–322.50 $318.19 $1,839 -6.80
885 885 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,947 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440–445 443 2 355.00–365.00 $360.03 $1,595 +24.97
470–485 478 2 360.00–362.50 $361.23 $1,727 -2.94
520–535 528 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,505 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,568 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1645 1645 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 2,975.00 $2,975.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1570 1300 80-85% 8 140.00–150.00 $146.29 $1,902 —
1115–1490 1305 80-85% 17 151.00–166.00 $156.62 $2,044 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1895 1543 75-80% 7 156.00–168.00 $158.49 $2,446 —
1395–1720 1546 75-80% 4 134.00–139.00 $135.89 $2,101 —
1550–1825 1676 75-80% 4 144.00–152.00 $147.58 $2,473 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1065 943 85-90% 2 101.00–103.00 $101.87 $961 —
815–1220 1037 85-90% 7 137.00–139.00 $137.99 $1,431 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1690 1495 2 160.00–166.00 $162.61 $2,431 —
1695–1820 1743 3 179.00–194.00 $185.20 $3,228 +0.67

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885 885 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,875.00 $1,875.00
995–1265 1122 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 1,535.00–2,090.00 $1,865.29
1265–1555 1435 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 2,050.00–2,475.00 $2,295.89
1475 1475 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,200.00 $2,200.00

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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
1130–1205 1168 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 2,225.00–2,600.00 $2,418.52 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1130 1130 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

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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.