Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 7, 2021

689 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.95/cwt +14.95 vs last sale · ≈ $1,077/hd at 804 lb · 141 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $124.68/cwt +9.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,081/hd at 867 lb · 68 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $147.87/cwt +3.87 vs last sale · ≈ $694/hd at 469 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 689 489 643
Feeder cattle 625 407 563
Slaughter cattle 52 26 55
Replacement cattle 12 56 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifer calves steady. Yearling steers and heifers firm. Slaughter cows and bulls fully 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
389 389 5 164.00 $164.00 $638 —
400–445 433 19 160.00–174.00 $168.74 $731 +14.52
455–475 464 9 158.00–165.00 $159.68 $741 -1.15
503–520 510 7 145.00–149.00 $147.25 $751 —
553–595 577 17 135.00–144.00 $140.00 $808 -5.00
605 value added 605 4 141.00 $141.00 $853 —
632–640 636 11 135.00–153.00 $144.76 $921 +7.22
665–690 677 21 126.00–136.00 $132.29 $896 -0.71
735 735 3 124.00 $124.00 $911 —
804 value added 804 141 133.95 $133.95 $1,077 —
867 value added 867 62 126.00 $126.00 $1,092 +11.00
871 871 6 111.00 $111.00 $967 —
1000–1037 value added 1018 111 115.00–118.60 $116.78 $1,189 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–380 365 10 143.00–153.00 $148.84 $543 -7.16
432–440 435 16 135.00–148.00 $138.98 $605 -5.74
451 value added 451 6 155.00 $155.00 $699 +3.00
453–495 474 22 135.00–151.00 $145.92 $692 +3.93
506 value added 506 6 144.00 $144.00 $729 -8.76
515–545 524 16 124.00–134.00 $127.81 $670 -15.17
557–595 574 16 130.00–136.00 $134.40 $771 +4.03
606–622 615 13 115.00–128.00 $122.44 $753 —
640 value added 640 3 134.00 $134.00 $858 —
652–657 654 9 116.00–117.00 $116.34 $761 —
700 700 5 113.00 $113.00 $791 -7.11
855 855 4 102.00 $102.00 $872 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 3 157.00 $157.00 $557 —
400–440 422 11 154.00–163.00 $156.93 $662 +11.20
460 460 4 165.00 $165.00 $759 +7.75
510–545 528 10 116.00–125.00 $120.65 $637 -25.35
580 580 1 137.00 $137.00 $795 +7.00
605–625 611 7 127.00–132.00 $130.54 $798 —
690 690 5 101.00 $101.00 $697 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1770 1438 75-80% 8 64.00–71.00 $66.83 $961 ±0.00
1335–1800 1534 75-80% 4 57.00–62.00 $60.24 $924 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1345 1137 80-85% 3 56.00–58.00 $57.07 $649 —
1140–1365 1269 80-85% 5 65.00–71.00 $67.32 $854 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1220 1133 85-90% 2 51.00–54.00 $52.62 $596 —
1110–1360 1168 85-90% 5 58.00–58.50 $58.10 $679 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1825 1676 6 94.50–100.00 $96.47 $1,617 -0.02
1490–2440 1883 3 85.00–88.00 $86.35 $1,626 —

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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
1445–1460 1454 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 1,225.00–1,250.00 $1,234.94 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
596 596 4 85.00 $85.00 $507 —

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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.