Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, April 8, 2022

819 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 $147.03/cwt +6.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,220/hd at 830 lb · 163 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.63/cwt -6.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,080/hd at 685 lb · 96 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.13/cwt +3.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,141/hd at 736 lb · 44 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 819 480 1,157
Feeder cattle 736 393 1,039
Slaughter cattle 49 65 49
Replacement cattle 34 22 69

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steer calves sold steady. Feeder heifer calves sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher with good demand. Yearling steers and heifers sold steady on a light test. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower with the exception of a few very high dressing individuals.

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
330–335 332 3 175.00–190.00 $182.50 $606 +4.50
365–381 377 4 173.00–190.00 $185.89 $701 —
410–443 432 11 170.00–188.00 $180.40 $779 —
450–491 480 16 172.00–185.00 $179.02 $859 +1.45
510–545 525 9 170.00–175.00 $173.41 $910 +3.16
531 value added 531 4 188.00 $188.00 $998 —
558 value added 558 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,004 —
550–599 572 24 168.00–179.00 $173.73 $994 +9.53
600–640 617 17 159.00–172.00 $162.69 $1,004 —
600–641 value added 626 8 171.50–180.00 $174.56 $1,093 +5.57
654–692 value added 684 85 156.00–167.00 $158.10 $1,081 -6.50
694 694 11 154.00 $154.00 $1,069 —
705–737 value added 713 12 154.00–158.00 $157.15 $1,120 +5.15
720–745 744 32 150.00–155.00 $154.37 $1,149 —
753–785 775 16 142.00–150.00 $145.97 $1,131 —
788 value added 788 4 151.00 $151.00 $1,190 -2.00
821–839 value added 830 163 141.50–149.90 $147.03 $1,220 +6.24
872–882 875 7 139.00–139.50 $139.36 $1,219 —
920 920 2 137.00 $137.00 $1,260 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 146.00 $146.00 $803 —
630 630 2 125.00 $125.00 $788 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285–295 293 4 152.00–167.00 $159.81 $468 —
315–338 332 7 152.00–160.00 $157.34 $522 +1.34
355–397 373 8 150.00–154.00 $152.77 $570 -3.50
405–430 417 21 140.00–157.00 $152.65 $637 +5.62
455–495 472 17 142.00–159.00 $152.17 $718 -7.27
475–485 fancy 481 13 165.00–169.00 $167.63 $806 —
515 value added 515 5 160.00 $160.00 $824 -8.00
505–542 525 9 139.00–150.00 $145.36 $763 -6.22
550–585 value added 568 6 150.00–152.00 $151.03 $858 -0.44
550–595 578 18 137.00–147.00 $144.49 $835 +4.80
619 value added 619 5 150.00 $150.00 $928 —
600–640 620 16 135.00–145.00 $141.68 $878 +2.68
652 value added 652 2 147.00 $147.00 $958 -7.00
650–698 680 19 130.00–144.50 $138.54 $942 -5.46
719–733 723 10 122.00–135.00 $125.95 $911 -1.81
751–788 766 13 125.00–138.00 $133.11 $1,020 +10.11
810–830 824 5 120.00–130.00 $126.63 $1,043 —
858 858 3 119.00 $119.00 $1,021 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–470 461 4 130.00–141.00 $133.80 $617 —
515–542 533 3 135.00 $135.00 $720 —
563 563 4 130.00 $130.00 $732 —
605–635 625 3 128.00–131.00 $129.35 $808 —
665 665 1 128.00 $128.00 $851 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 192.50 $192.50 $510 —
324–333 327 6 185.00 $185.00 $605 —
370–395 380 4 155.00–175.00 $167.34 $636 -2.66
415–448 441 6 165.00–169.00 $166.30 $733 —
455–495 479 8 160.00–174.00 $166.54 $798 +5.83
500–542 519 7 145.00–166.00 $156.71 $813 -2.32
550–585 566 10 156.00–170.00 $162.82 $922 +7.10
600 fancy 600 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,014 —
600–640 622 3 146.00–165.00 $153.33 $954 +1.69
655–670 664 5 145.00–149.00 $147.00 $976 —
715–740 728 2 130.00–137.00 $133.44 $971 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–480 475 3 132.00–138.00 $135.01 $641 —
510 510 1 134.00 $134.00 $683 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1325 1183 80-85% 6 70.00–74.50 $72.88 $862 —
995–1820 1352 80-85% 9 76.50–95.00 $87.32 $1,181 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1565 1369 75-80% 11 76.50–83.00 $78.94 $1,081 —
1375 1375 75-80% 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,004 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–985 893 85-90% 2 61.50–64.00 $62.88 $562 —
1020 1020 85-90% 1 57.50 $57.50 $586 —
950–1250 1096 85-90% 8 66.50–74.50 $69.78 $765 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1640 1640 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,591 -9.00
1600–1985 1793 2 120.50–121.50 $121.05 $2,170 —
1495–2125 1797 6 101.00–110.00 $104.81 $1,883 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,110.00 $1,110.00
1110 1110 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00
1230–1420 1323 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,060.00–1,300.00 $1,159.67
1405 1405 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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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
1000–1275 1153 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 8 975.00–1,200.00 $1,092.51 —
1345–1600 1491 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 8 1,210.00–1,385.00 $1,288.90 —

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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.