Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Richmond, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 24, 2024

346 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $269.75/cwt -6.95 vs last sale · ≈ $1,721/hd at 638 lb · 71 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $278.17/cwt -11.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,446/hd at 520 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 346 446 286
Feeder cattle 308 409 250
Slaughter cattle 34 34 27
Replacement cattle 4 3 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady on a limited amount of comparisons. There was good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. There was good 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
425 425 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,360 -20.00
480 480 2 317.00 $317.00 $1,522 —
525–535 530 2 307.50 $307.50 $1,630 -13.50
560–567 563 6 302.00–315.00 $311.17 $1,752 +31.17
645 645 1 281.00 $281.00 $1,812 +2.00
690 690 2 254.00–255.00 $254.50 $1,756 -15.50
790 790 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,746 -29.00
1084 value added 1084 53 211.50 $211.50 $2,293 —
1101 value added 1101 51 212.75 $212.75 $2,342 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,322 —
550 550 2 270.00 $270.00 $1,485 —
630 630 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,575 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 297.00 $297.00 $1,737 —
640 640 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,664 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 292.50 $292.50 $921 —
378–385 381 5 290.00 $290.00 $1,105 ±0.00
402 402 2 295.00 $295.00 $1,186 +2.50
467 467 2 272.50 $272.50 $1,273 -11.25
505–531 520 10 272.50–280.00 $278.17 $1,446 -11.83
562 562 2 269.00 $269.00 $1,512 -2.49
638 value added 638 71 269.75 $269.75 $1,721 -7.25
690 690 1 228.00 $228.00 $1,573 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
207 207 2 270.00 $270.00 $559 —
280 280 2 270.00 $270.00 $756 —
360 360 1 262.50 $262.50 $945 -5.00
482 482 2 247.50 $247.50 $1,193 +7.50
515–525 520 2 249.00–250.00 $249.50 $1,297 —
565 565 1 249.00 $249.00 $1,407 +26.50
620 620 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,302 —
825 825 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,493 —
901 901 4 170.00 $170.00 $1,532 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 2 262.50 $262.50 $1,208 +2.50
525 525 1 262.00 $262.00 $1,376 +32.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 2 320.00 $320.00 $656 —
295 295 2 300.00 $300.00 $885 —
350 350 2 342.50 $342.50 $1,199 +7.50
430–440 435 2 330.00–337.50 $333.79 $1,452 +16.84
465 465 1 335.00 $335.00 $1,558 —
515–532 522 8 286.00–296.00 $292.41 $1,526 +15.69
550–551 551 4 280.00 $280.00 $1,543 +10.00
600–618 614 5 250.00–257.50 $256.04 $1,572 -12.96
660 660 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,650 —
720 720 1 246.00 $246.00 $1,771 —
750 750 3 220.00 $220.00 $1,650 —
915 915 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,784 —
955 955 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,767 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,155 —
445 445 2 290.00–292.50 $291.25 $1,296 +6.25
460–471 468 4 280.00–287.50 $285.66 $1,337 +4.44
515–545 530 2 250.00–257.50 $253.64 $1,344 +8.64
590 590 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,416 —
627 627 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,442 —
685 685 1 226.00 $226.00 $1,548 —
725–735 730 2 210.00–211.00 $210.50 $1,537 —
780 780 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,580 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 300.00 $300.00 $615 —
505 505 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,364 —
560–595 578 2 250.00–260.00 $254.85 $1,473 -5.15
635 635 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,524 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1340 1167 80-85% 3 122.00–127.00 $125.09 $1,460 —
1020–1380 1188 80-85% 6 134.00–142.00 $138.95 $1,651 —
1190–1425 1298 80-85% 6 148.00–155.00 $151.77 $1,970 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 85-90% 1 99.00 $99.00 $842 —
810–1000 899 85-90% 4 108.00–111.00 $109.80 $987 —
895–930 913 85-90% 2 122.00–126.00 $124.04 $1,132 +2.04
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1550 1503 75-80% 3 134.00–142.00 $138.05 $2,075 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1355 1303 2 157.00–159.00 $157.96 $2,058 —
1860–2055 1974 4 164.00–167.00 $164.71 $3,251 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1260 1260 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,875.00 $1,875.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
795 795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770 770 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,040 —

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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.