Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 24, 2021

568 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.18/cwt +16.80 vs last sale · ≈ $839/hd at 616 lb · 97 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.22/cwt +21.16 vs last sale · ≈ $869/hd at 657 lb · 87 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.95/cwt -0.32 vs last sale · ≈ $702/hd at 524 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 568 841 0
Feeder cattle 503 650 0
Slaughter cattle 56 141 0
Replacement cattle 9 50 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 600 lbs sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher with good demand for weaned packages; over 600 lbs lightly tested. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold steady to 2.00 lower with good demand for weaned packages; over 600 lbs limited comparison. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with good demand.

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
420 420 1 156.00 $156.00 $655 +5.00
406–445 value added 422 13 162.00–168.00 $165.09 $697 +3.09
452–496 482 8 153.00–157.00 $154.90 $747 —
509–547 value added 517 14 163.00–166.00 $164.44 $850 +9.44
520 520 1 143.00 $143.00 $744 -6.60
553–587 value added 565 7 155.00–157.00 $156.41 $884 +3.41
588 588 6 141.00 $141.00 $829 ±0.00
605–643 value added 625 16 140.00–147.00 $143.38 $896 -2.02
605–630 626 6 131.00–136.00 $134.52 $842 —
662–665 value added 663 3 139.00–144.00 $142.33 $944 -1.78
690 690 4 133.00 $133.00 $918 -2.57
700–725 value added 713 6 128.00–134.00 $131.15 $935 +1.89
755–772 value added 766 4 127.00–128.00 $127.50 $977 -0.50
771–785 775 4 123.00–126.00 $125.24 $971 +4.57
805–815 811 4 125.00–127.00 $126.00 $1,022 —
880 880 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,047 -1.51
922 922 2 108.00 $108.00 $996 +2.00
1020 1020 1 90.00 $90.00 $918 -18.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
602 602 2 127.00 $127.00 $765 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–327 323 3 137.00–137.50 $137.16 $443 +1.70
360–375 368 2 141.00–147.00 $144.06 $530 +11.36
400–445 419 10 124.00–134.00 $129.45 $542 +0.66
467–487 value added 480 6 135.00–141.00 $138.00 $662 -0.41
475–495 489 4 126.00–132.00 $128.50 $628 -3.17
500–542 value added 523 16 130.00–140.00 $136.60 $714 -2.48
500–545 528 6 124.00–129.00 $126.90 $670 -1.47
560–595 583 10 120.00–127.00 $123.89 $722 -3.10
614–645 value added 615 90 124.00–138.00 $137.45 $845 —
615–645 629 7 113.00–123.00 $119.88 $754 +5.51
655 655 1 108.00 $108.00 $707 -3.06
656–677 value added 657 86 123.50–133.00 $132.50 $871 —
755 755 1 109.00 $109.00 $823 -1.83
780 780 1 111.00 $111.00 $866 +9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 120.00 $120.00 $438 -9.00
442 442 2 106.00 $106.00 $469 -16.70
475 475 1 114.00 $114.00 $542 -6.15
575 575 1 120.00 $120.00 $690 +6.40
605 605 1 105.00 $105.00 $635 +2.00
660 660 1 105.00 $105.00 $693 +2.72
900 900 1 80.00 $80.00 $720 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 3 152.00 $152.00 $509 —
400 value added 400 1 159.00 $159.00 $636 +4.00
425 425 1 147.00 $147.00 $625 -1.56
471–485 473 10 140.00–150.50 $147.05 $696 +1.35
505–545 518 5 149.00–152.00 $149.61 $775 +7.09
550–590 574 11 135.00–148.00 $139.45 $800 -0.23
620 620 1 120.00 $120.00 $744 -2.99
605–635 value added 626 15 129.00–134.50 $133.74 $837 -5.08
670–671 671 4 123.00–124.00 $123.75 $830 +0.22
705–710 708 2 112.00 $112.00 $793 -1.85
750–775 763 14 114.75–118.00 $115.17 $879 +5.17
825–840 833 2 95.00–104.00 $99.46 $829 +2.10
905 905 1 89.00 $89.00 $805 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 130.00 $130.00 $390 -9.06
390 390 1 144.00 $144.00 $562 —
455 455 1 120.00 $120.00 $546 -14.50
500–540 514 7 120.00–133.00 $125.50 $645 -1.74
565–585 578 5 124.00–133.00 $128.61 $743 +0.18
670–690 680 2 110.00–113.00 $111.48 $758 -4.50
730 value added 730 1 111.00 $111.00 $810 —
735 735 1 103.00 $103.00 $757 +6.00
810 810 1 98.00 $98.00 $794 —
955 955 1 76.00 $76.00 $726 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 111.00 $111.00 $538 —
515 515 1 116.00 $116.00 $597 -10.00
560 560 1 110.00 $110.00 $616 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1125 1110 80-85% 2 72.00–73.00 $72.49 $805 —
1045–1755 1361 80-85% 19 75.00–84.00 $77.62 $1,056 +2.58
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160 1160 75-80% 1 69.00 $69.00 $800 —
1120–1790 1433 75-80% 12 75.00–84.00 $79.99 $1,146 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1065 970 85-90% 4 64.00–65.00 $64.49 $626 +8.51
935–1210 1050 85-90% 4 72.00–76.00 $74.28 $780 —
1035–1195 1103 85-90% 3 67.00–70.00 $68.26 $753 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1595 1407 5 96.00–107.00 $103.48 $1,456 —
2545 2545 1 92.00 $92.00 $2,341 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1350 1350 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
990 990 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.