Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 5, 2023

492 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $213.96/cwt +9.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,566/hd at 732 lb · 88 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $216.67/cwt +19.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,480/hd at 683 lb · 32 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $208.92/cwt +17.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,060/hd at 508 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 492 458 586
Feeder cattle 436 400 518
Slaughter cattle 52 35 48
Replacement cattle 4 23 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher with some extremely high dressing individuals. No trend on slaughter bulls due to 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
345 345 1 257.50 $257.50 $888 +27.54
360–390 368 4 242.50–247.50 $246.17 $906 -7.68
422–430 427 6 232.50–240.00 $237.10 $1,012 -0.66
468 value added 468 3 252.00 $252.00 $1,179 —
470–480 476 5 222.50–240.00 $230.95 $1,099 -14.05
505–545 524 7 225.00–240.00 $236.05 $1,237 +12.97
550–585 569 8 218.00–234.00 $224.13 $1,275 -5.87
604–640 614 16 210.00–222.00 $215.36 $1,322 +7.86
635 value added 635 2 237.00 $237.00 $1,505 +16.00
655–695 677 11 207.00–213.00 $211.26 $1,430 +13.71
686 value added 686 21 219.50 $219.50 $1,506 —
725 725 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,378 -14.25
729–748 value added 732 87 214.10–215.00 $214.24 $1,568 —
763–790 775 22 195.00–209.00 $202.73 $1,571 -4.77
865 865 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,566 +6.00
900 900 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,512 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 220.00 $220.00 $935 —
480 480 1 222.50 $222.50 $1,068 —
515 515 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,030 —
560 560 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,075 —
670–695 683 5 186.00–194.00 $191.19 $1,306 —
715 715 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,258 —
915 915 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,372 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 200.00 $200.00 $870 —
695 695 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,216 —
900 900 1 149.00 $149.00 $1,341 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
372–390 378 3 187.00–190.00 $188.03 $711 -7.97
408–422 416 8 196.00–214.00 $202.03 $840 +20.37
425 value added 425 13 222.00 $222.00 $944 —
455–472 463 13 190.00–205.00 $198.32 $918 +6.82
507 value added 507 23 210.00 $210.00 $1,065 —
520 520 1 184.00 $184.00 $957 -7.35
584 584 5 198.00 $198.00 $1,156 +18.08
610 610 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,068 -4.18
702–708 value added 706 5 176.00–184.00 $179.18 $1,265 —
709–725 712 8 151.00–168.50 $163.30 $1,163 -14.70
750–797 780 5 150.00–165.00 $161.72 $1,261 -15.45
825 825 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,345 —
930 930 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,395 +20.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 2 182.50 $182.50 $602 —
350–397 374 6 170.00–183.00 $178.11 $666 —
402–436 418 10 179.00–191.00 $184.83 $773 —
490–497 495 3 186.00–190.00 $188.68 $934 —
515–545 535 8 175.00–185.00 $179.74 $962 —
553–560 555 5 176.00–178.00 $176.80 $981 —
600–640 615 5 162.00–170.00 $165.60 $1,018 —
660–692 677 11 156.00–169.00 $162.25 $1,098 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317 317 2 170.00 $170.00 $539 —
392–397 395 4 160.00–166.00 $163.02 $644 —
400–445 428 8 165.00–176.00 $168.60 $722 —
460–485 473 2 160.00–174.00 $167.19 $791 —
505–530 515 3 155.00–160.00 $156.72 $807 —
555–570 565 3 160.00–166.00 $164.04 $927 —
787–795 790 3 129.00–135.00 $132.99 $1,051 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 165.00 $165.00 $536 —
580 580 1 140.00 $140.00 $812 —
615 615 1 146.00 $146.00 $898 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 145.00 $145.00 $624 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 378 7 232.50–247.50 $240.16 $908 +26.03
400–406 405 4 230.00–240.00 $237.53 $962 —
476 476 3 234.00 $234.00 $1,114 —
515 515 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,184 +25.73
555 fancy 555 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,299 +9.00
560–595 571 6 216.00–225.00 $219.78 $1,255 +8.79
643 643 3 203.00 $203.00 $1,305 +15.34
660 660 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,228 -3.00
725 725 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,232 —
810 810 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,256 —
920 920 1 159.00 $159.00 $1,463 +24.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–320 315 2 207.50–212.50 $209.96 $661 —
420–447 435 4 212.50–220.00 $216.96 $944 —
500 500 1 190.00 $190.00 $950 —
555 555 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,121 —
640 640 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,190 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
567 567 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,077 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1355 1202 80-85% 27 91.50–115.00 $99.25 $1,193 +11.80
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–1100 930 85-90% 2 57.00–63.00 $59.45 $553 —
845–1155 957 85-90% 5 70.50–79.00 $74.23 $710 —
850–1070 960 85-90% 10 86.00–97.00 $90.85 $872 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1555 1437 75-80% 3 93.00–97.00 $95.27 $1,369 —
1465 1465 75-80% 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,289 +3.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1355 1268 2 93.00–102.00 $97.19 $1,232 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
980 980 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00

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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.