Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 6, 2022

586 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $199.59/cwt +13.82 vs last sale · ≈ $963/hd at 482 lb · 147 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $187.34/cwt +24.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,147/hd at 612 lb · 99 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.00/cwt +5.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,234/hd at 834 lb · 60 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 586 675 689
Feeder cattle 518 596 625
Slaughter cattle 48 57 52
Replacement cattle 20 22 12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold steady. Good demand on feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold steady with the exception of a few high dressers. Slaughter bulls sold steady. Yearlings sold on a light test.

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
300 300 2 192.50 $192.50 $578 —
410–422 413 7 180.00–192.00 $188.50 $779 —
455–485 468 5 165.00–185.00 $175.68 $822 +1.66
478–486 value added 483 142 200.00–201.00 $200.43 $968 +10.11
500–527 value added 521 9 183.00–185.50 $184.97 $964 —
500–547 533 9 160.00–177.00 $172.55 $920 +2.55
560–597 580 8 167.00–175.00 $170.86 $991 +1.02
611–613 value added 611 94 178.00–189.95 $188.91 $1,154 —
617–645 633 5 150.00–166.00 $157.87 $999 -4.91
665–690 674 4 150.00–159.00 $154.05 $1,038 +0.05
701–746 713 11 150.00–151.00 $150.29 $1,072 —
834 value added 834 60 148.00 $148.00 $1,234 +5.15
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 134.00 $134.00 $643 —
525–535 530 2 130.00–149.00 $139.41 $739 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–380 364 7 159.00–174.00 $171.21 $623 +16.21
407–433 423 5 170.00–173.00 $171.84 $727 +11.25
465–495 fancy 473 4 170.00 $170.00 $804 —
456–495 476 11 152.00–166.00 $158.17 $753 +2.63
508 value added 508 6 165.00 $165.00 $838 —
500–545 521 13 145.00–160.00 $152.29 $793 +1.63
552–562 557 4 145.00–157.00 $150.95 $841 +2.96
610 value added 610 1 144.00 $144.00 $878 —
600–640 624 6 129.00–139.00 $135.00 $842 -11.80
651–688 value added 654 46 149.00–149.50 $149.45 $977 +0.25
655–674 664 12 135.00–144.00 $139.28 $925 -8.72
735 735 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,000 —
750–752 751 3 123.00–135.00 $126.99 $954 —
925 925 2 122.00 $122.00 $1,128 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 142.50 $142.50 $470 —
350 350 1 140.00 $140.00 $490 —
440–445 443 2 122.00–130.00 $126.02 $558 —
555 555 1 130.00 $130.00 $722 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 368 2 180.00–189.00 $184.71 $680 +0.40
525 525 2 178.00 $178.00 $934 +13.58
567 567 4 139.00–152.00 $145.50 $825 -6.60
630 630 1 125.00 $125.00 $788 -15.55
715 715 1 120.00 $120.00 $858 -12.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 134.00 $134.00 $576 —
500 500 1 149.00 $149.00 $745 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1345 1345 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1175 1063 80-85% 2 71.00–72.00 $71.55 $761 —
910–1250 1095 80-85% 9 74.00–81.00 $78.04 $855 —
1070–1595 1310 80-85% 14 84.00–103.00 $91.06 $1,193 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275–1625 1411 75-80% 6 83.00–89.00 $85.60 $1,208 +6.59
1265–1625 1412 75-80% 3 75.00–81.00 $78.71 $1,111 -0.30
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–815 788 85-90% 2 43.00–50.00 $46.38 $365 —
895–1075 985 85-90% 2 73.00–75.00 $73.91 $728 —
1135–1185 1160 85-90% 2 64.00–67.00 $65.53 $760 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540 1540 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,709 —
1615 1615 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,631 —
1550–2075 1767 3 117.00–122.00 $119.36 $2,109 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
890–1045 968 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 900.00–975.00 $940.50
1140–1275 1208 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 975.00–1,000.00 $986.80

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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
1105 1105 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,085.00 $1,085.00 —
1450 1450 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —

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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.