Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 20, 2022

433 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.72/cwt +3.77 vs last sale · ≈ $822/hd at 576 lb · 30 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $167.86/cwt -4.00 vs last sale · ≈ $653/hd at 389 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $164.26/cwt +1.50 vs last sale · ≈ $777/hd at 473 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 433 438 409
Feeder cattle 331 346 377
Slaughter cattle 52 67 32
Replacement cattle 50 25 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week. Feeder steers and heifers sold firm. Good demand on all feeder classes. No test on yearlings. Slaughter cows sold 3.00-5.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher. Good demand on slaughter cows and bulls.

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
395–397 fancy 396 3 202.00–210.00 $204.66 $810 —
410–448 fancy 437 6 200.00–206.00 $203.89 $891 —
405–445 438 14 185.00–198.00 $186.02 $815 —
455–472 465 5 175.00–195.00 $184.49 $858 —
465 fancy 465 1 202.50 $202.50 $942 —
505–538 518 18 167.00–182.00 $175.50 $909 -0.94
560–576 571 6 170.00–172.00 $170.65 $974 +4.08
600–628 620 5 160.00–164.00 $162.62 $1,008 -2.38
655–670 665 3 152.00–165.00 $160.73 $1,069 —
710–745 719 11 140.00–152.00 $150.64 $1,083 -7.36
765 765 3 152.00 $152.00 $1,163 +10.00
802–845 831 11 141.00–148.00 $143.44 $1,192 —
945 945 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,228 —
1020 1020 2 133.00 $133.00 $1,357 —
1075 1075 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,451 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 175.00 $175.00 $560 —
373 fancy 373 3 180.00 $180.00 $671 —
372–398 391 21 161.00–174.00 $166.13 $650 -2.04
420 420 3 177.00 $177.00 $743 +14.98
450–496 473 20 158.00–167.00 $164.26 $777 +4.48
500 value added 500 1 158.00 $158.00 $790 —
527–542 535 8 140.00–155.00 $146.50 $784 -2.72
568 value added 568 4 154.00 $154.00 $875 —
555–597 577 26 139.00–150.00 $140.98 $813 +2.03
600–640 629 11 125.00–131.00 $129.09 $812 -1.91
670–695 683 2 130.00–133.00 $131.47 $898 -3.25
715–745 724 11 128.00–132.00 $130.08 $942 —
760–770 765 2 127.00–130.00 $128.51 $983 +5.77
860–872 865 7 120.00–121.00 $120.43 $1,042 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 148.00 $148.00 $659 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 182.50 $182.50 $566 -4.42
395 395 1 181.00 $181.00 $715 —
402–447 415 7 191.00–198.00 $195.85 $813 +18.00
460–465 463 9 165.00–181.00 $172.07 $797 -2.93
465 fancy 465 1 189.00 $189.00 $879 —
500–548 536 4 160.00–161.00 $160.77 $862 -8.98
555–589 575 15 156.00–161.00 $159.40 $917 -7.42
810 810 1 123.00 $123.00 $996 —
910 910 2 95.00 $95.00 $864 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 5 160.00 $160.00 $688 —
490 490 1 145.00 $145.00 $710 —
505 505 1 149.00 $149.00 $752 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1215 1065 80-85% 13 75.00–84.50 $80.20 $854 —
975–1545 1242 80-85% 17 87.50–110.50 $96.69 $1,201 —
1410 1410 80-85% 1 63.00 $63.00 $888 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–1035 927 85-90% 3 60.00–65.00 $62.84 $583 —
980 980 85-90% 1 53.50 $53.50 $524 —
860–1260 995 85-90% 8 67.50–75.00 $70.57 $702 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325 1325 75-80% 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,106 —
1310–1660 1465 75-80% 8 85.50–96.50 $90.00 $1,318 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040 1040 1 93.50 $93.50 $972 —
1635–1670 1653 2 120.00–125.00 $122.53 $2,025 —
1925–1975 1950 2 105.50–110.00 $107.72 $2,101 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170 1170 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
985–1595 1233 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 850.00–1,350.00 $1,086.44
1195–1345 1270 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,010.00–1,185.00 $1,102.67
1300 1300 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,235.00 $1,235.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
950 950 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
1035 1035 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,010.00 $1,010.00 —
925–1300 1111 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 7 1,075.00–1,285.00 $1,180.52 —
1035–1265 1147 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 3 1,135.00–1,250.00 $1,181.80 —
1170–1275 1223 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 935.00–1,000.00 $966.10 -143.28

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 102.00 $102.00 $423 —

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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.