Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, March 31, 2023

610 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $178.50/cwt +23.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,681/hd at 942 lb · 115 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $179.24/cwt +2.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,223/hd at 682 lb · 105 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $184.25/cwt ≈ $1,525/hd at 828 lb · 61 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 610 472 480
Feeder cattle 546 435 393
Slaughter cattle 42 35 65
Replacement cattle 22 2 22

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 600 lbs sold steady to 2.00 lower and steers over 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Heavy rain and wet conditions affected demand and buyer participation, however there was moderate to good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to firm. Slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower. 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
305 305 1 235.00 $235.00 $717 —
377 377 2 228.00 $228.00 $860 +2.40
435 fancy 435 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,044 -7.09
435 435 3 215.00 $215.00 $935 -8.54
470–486 481 9 232.00–240.00 $234.61 $1,128 -3.33
520 value added 520 3 242.00 $242.00 $1,258 +7.52
510–545 527 3 200.00–216.00 $208.75 $1,100 -11.82
550–575 563 10 200.00–207.00 $204.81 $1,153 -12.57
600–612 value added 606 4 220.00–223.00 $221.49 $1,342 +2.98
605–635 614 5 199.00–216.00 $212.09 $1,302 -0.14
655 value added 655 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,376 —
675–690 682 3 184.00–195.00 $189.64 $1,293 -11.36
715–722 719 5 193.00–199.00 $196.99 $1,416 +16.99
750–783 774 6 178.00–196.00 $192.43 $1,489 +9.43
810–815 813 2 160.00–164.00 $162.01 $1,317 —
828 value added 828 59 185.00 $185.00 $1,532 —
895 895 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,477 —
900 900 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,350 -5.00
939–944 value added 942 114 178.50–179.00 $178.75 $1,684 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 195.00 $195.00 $478 —
475 475 1 202.50 $202.50 $962 -15.50
535 535 1 184.00 $184.00 $984 —
645 645 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,219 -1.00
710–740 720 3 159.00 $159.00 $1,145 —
785 785 1 166.00 $166.00 $1,303 —
850 850 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,080 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195 1195 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,685 —
1375 1375 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,375 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
392–397 395 4 185.00–190.00 $187.48 $741 -20.09
410–440 425 9 180.00–193.00 $184.22 $783 -7.82
450–457 452 8 175.00–188.00 $183.51 $829 -8.00
500–545 509 19 173.00–184.00 $181.22 $922 -13.74
560–595 576 19 167.00–177.00 $174.80 $1,007 +3.80
600–640 625 8 167.00–177.00 $173.53 $1,085 -3.34
650–697 681 28 160.00–173.00 $169.59 $1,155 -7.41
683 value added 683 77 182.75 $182.75 $1,248 —
710 710 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,079 -12.44
726–738 value added 729 25 173.00 $173.00 $1,261 —
755–765 760 3 140.00–158.00 $149.31 $1,135 -11.69
810–835 827 3 132.00–138.00 $136.04 $1,125 -11.96
915 915 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,171 —
1045 1045 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,296 —
1125 1125 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,395 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 3 170.00 $170.00 $578 —
360 360 1 166.00 $166.00 $598 -17.50
410–420 415 2 172.50–173.00 $172.75 $717 -7.25
490 490 1 178.00 $178.00 $872 +4.00
520–535 528 2 165.00 $165.00 $871 -15.00
555 555 2 160.00–164.00 $162.00 $899 -6.00
625–635 628 3 150.00–159.00 $154.36 $969 -8.64
690 690 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,056 -10.00
750–770 760 2 125.00–130.00 $127.47 $969 -13.53
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150 1150 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,288 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–394 378 8 220.00–231.00 $227.18 $859 +4.79
460–495 481 4 203.00–220.00 $209.64 $1,008 +14.93
550–592 584 5 210.00–212.50 $210.47 $1,229 +5.47
646 646 3 185.00 $185.00 $1,195 +4.58
655–680 668 2 174.00–178.00 $176.04 $1,176 -3.96
855 855 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,163 +2.94
925 925 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,156 —
1000 1000 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,230 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 197.50 $197.50 $721 +11.50
495 495 1 182.50 $182.50 $903 —
540 540 1 181.00 $181.00 $977 +10.00
582 582 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,106 +16.63
695 695 1 112.00 $112.00 $778 -48.00
790 790 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,066 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1365 1246 80-85% 9 90.00–99.00 $95.46 $1,189 —
1130–1355 1249 80-85% 4 82.00–89.00 $85.65 $1,070 —
1380–1395 1390 80-85% 3 102.00–108.00 $104.65 $1,455 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–915 863 85-90% 2 72.00–76.50 $74.11 $640 —
830–1015 913 85-90% 4 79.50–86.00 $83.06 $758 -9.39
950 950 85-90% 1 88.00 $88.00 $836 +9.08
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1610 1551 75-80% 5 96.50–103.00 $98.47 $1,527 —
1650 1650 75-80% 1 112.50 $112.50 $1,856 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450 1450 1 138.00 $138.00 $2,001 —
1310–1700 1463 4 118.00–124.00 $121.88 $1,783 —
1470–1940 1652 3 110.00–114.00 $111.19 $1,837 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
900–995 948 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 90.00–95.00 $92.28 $875

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1095–1285 1157 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 1,150.00–1,375.00 $1,252.61
1160–1350 1270 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,075.00–1,325.00 $1,166.42

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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
970–1455 1213 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,175.00–1,510.00 $1,376.00 —

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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.