Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, April 23, 2021

377 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.70/cwt -0.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,115/hd at 860 lb · 65 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $165.90/cwt -3.92 vs last sale · ≈ $862/hd at 519 lb · 52 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.87/cwt -2.16 vs last sale · ≈ $733/hd at 532 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 377 976 310
Feeder cattle 325 826 282
Slaughter cattle 47 115 23
Replacement cattle 5 35 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday feeder steers sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold unevenly steady. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. There was moderate demand for slaughter classes.

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
255 255 1 160.00 $160.00 $408 -12.75
310 310 1 160.00 $160.00 $496 +10.00
370 370 1 171.00 $171.00 $633 -4.95
425–442 432 5 156.00–160.00 $158.36 $684 -13.29
461 461 3 172.00 $172.00 $793 +4.03
518–528 value added 519 44 167.25–170.00 $167.50 $869 -8.60
500–548 522 8 151.00–160.00 $157.11 $820 -4.09
555–598 585 6 140.00–150.00 $148.10 $866 -8.85
614–620 615 11 142.00–150.00 $148.53 $913 -0.11
670–690 680 4 132.00–149.00 $140.38 $955 —
715 715 9 142.00–150.00 $149.11 $1,066 +10.53
775–790 783 2 125.00 $125.00 $979 —
860 value added 860 65 129.70 $129.70 $1,115 -0.30
1015 1015 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,076 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 142.50 $142.50 $477 —
375 375 1 151.00 $151.00 $566 —
425 425 1 135.00 $135.00 $574 —
485 485 1 155.00 $155.00 $752 —
545 545 1 135.00 $135.00 $736 —
585 585 1 133.00 $133.00 $778 —
600 600 1 130.00 $130.00 $780 —
660–665 663 3 126.00–131.00 $127.66 $846 —
1225 1225 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,225 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–340 335 4 148.00–154.00 $151.00 $506 -9.88
362–382 376 7 153.00–155.00 $154.45 $581 +5.88
425–443 435 12 141.00–150.00 $146.02 $635 +4.14
455–495 487 5 145.00–150.00 $147.15 $717 +0.15
520–546 532 22 129.00–143.00 $137.87 $733 -1.22
552 value added 552 5 140.00 $140.00 $773 -5.00
550–590 568 6 125.00–136.00 $130.25 $740 -8.25
607–622 616 6 122.00–128.00 $125.83 $775 +1.29
656–680 661 6 114.00–124.00 $119.29 $789 -0.71
720 720 3 103.00–105.00 $103.67 $746 —
750–785 765 3 103.00–110.00 $105.29 $805 -13.71
825 825 2 114.00 $114.00 $940 —
1137 1137 2 102.00 $102.00 $1,160 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–497 486 5 125.00–136.00 $129.29 $628 —
555 555 1 120.00 $120.00 $666 —
600–615 608 2 115.00 $115.00 $699 —
672 672 2 107.00 $107.00 $719 —
747 747 2 96.00 $96.00 $717 —
780 780 2 100.00 $100.00 $780 —
815 815 2 94.00–98.00 $96.00 $782 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 180.00 $180.00 $324 —
417 417 2 154.00 $154.00 $642 -14.42
460–472 468 3 153.00–161.00 $155.62 $728 -10.32
505–525 515 2 158.00–163.00 $160.45 $826 +10.35
565–585 578 3 141.00–145.00 $142.30 $822 -18.70
605–640 631 4 131.00–144.00 $135.64 $856 -7.18
650–698 691 12 125.00–131.00 $127.58 $882 -5.42
700–705 703 2 111.00–119.00 $115.01 $809 -10.11
805–815 810 2 106.00–109.00 $107.49 $871 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 146.00 $146.00 $569 —
478–495 485 5 140.00–145.00 $141.23 $685 —
520–540 530 3 138.00–143.00 $140.32 $744 —
570–585 575 3 121.00–126.00 $123.97 $713 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1210 1210 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1315 1118 80-85% 3 54.00–59.00 $56.59 $633 —
1060–1380 1260 80-85% 6 68.00–72.50 $70.74 $891 —
1080–1450 1297 80-85% 23 60.00–67.50 $63.53 $824 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465 1465 75-80% 1 71.00 $71.00 $1,040 —
1480–1880 1668 75-80% 6 61.50–64.50 $62.91 $1,049 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $586 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480–1580 1525 3 87.50–94.00 $89.91 $1,371 —
2155 2155 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,810 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1055–1220 1138 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 75.00 $75.00 $854

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1220–1600 1410 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 900.00–1,025.00 $970.92
1610 1610 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 960.00 $960.00

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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
1680 1680 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00 —

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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.