Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Monday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 23, 2022

815 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.33/cwt +4.70 vs last sale · ≈ $821/hd at 532 lb · 53 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.05/cwt -3.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,076/hd at 664 lb · 52 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $190.70/cwt -0.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,026/hd at 538 lb · 41 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 815 735 568
Feeder cattle 649 601 503
Slaughter cattle 156 113 56
Replacement cattle 10 21 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday feeder steers sold steady on attractive quality thin-fleshed weaned packages; average quality offerings carrying moderate flesh 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand. Yearlings light test. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher with very good demand for heavy high dressing cows.

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
295 295 1 187.00 $187.00 $552 —
340 340 1 180.00 $180.00 $612 —
370 370 1 185.00 $185.00 $684 —
405–410 value added 408 2 185.00–188.00 $186.49 $761 -15.55
420 420 1 180.00 $180.00 $756 +5.00
450–493 value added 469 12 184.00–206.00 $195.39 $916 -11.33
487–490 488 5 165.00–176.00 $167.21 $816 -15.54
500–547 value added 538 40 176.00–200.00 $191.09 $1,028 -5.34
540 540 1 175.00 $175.00 $945 -3.18
555–596 value added 575 12 174.00–184.00 $178.10 $1,024 -12.41
590–595 592 4 160.00–166.00 $164.24 $972 -7.02
602–628 value added 617 27 157.00–169.00 $167.80 $1,035 -10.07
615–635 619 6 151.00–152.00 $151.66 $939 -2.34
653–687 value added 663 47 155.00–169.50 $164.10 $1,088 -1.46
655–685 673 5 140.00–146.00 $142.78 $961 —
700–703 value added 702 7 150.00–158.50 $156.08 $1,096 -1.02
705–725 711 7 142.00–145.00 $144.28 $1,026 —
768 value added 768 12 147.00 $147.00 $1,129 —
793 793 4 142.00 $142.00 $1,126 -3.34
815 815 13 146.00 $146.00 $1,190 +8.00
1067 1067 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,174 —
1187 1187 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,306 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 171.00 $171.00 $462 +21.00
392 392 2 150.00 $150.00 $588 —
425 425 1 153.00 $153.00 $650 —
515 515 1 163.00 $163.00 $839 —
575 575 3 158.00 $158.00 $908 —
660 660 1 132.00 $132.00 $871 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 130.00 $130.00 $910 —
820 820 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,058 —
990 990 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,188 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160 1160 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,172 —
1200 1200 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,380 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 value added 228 2 175.00–181.00 $177.77 $405 -5.23
260 value added 260 1 165.00 $165.00 $429 —
305–340 value added 318 7 160.00–172.50 $165.49 $526 -7.10
345 345 1 153.00 $153.00 $528 -6.39
368–395 378 5 152.00–157.00 $155.95 $589 +5.29
371–395 value added 380 5 160.00–175.00 $169.00 $642 +8.78
400–447 value added 421 13 155.00–168.00 $160.98 $678 +6.22
400–447 427 4 149.00–152.00 $150.20 $641 +5.81
451–477 value added 466 16 156.00–165.00 $162.55 $757 +3.71
460–490 476 7 145.00–154.00 $148.11 $705 +2.25
510–542 523 10 140.00–151.00 $143.00 $748 +1.78
508–544 value added 534 43 151.00–168.00 $156.96 $838 +5.78
550–590 570 10 138.00–144.00 $142.14 $810 -0.28
553–582 value added 570 11 146.00–149.00 $147.46 $841 -2.91
617–627 623 10 131.00–136.00 $133.50 $832 +0.77
610–643 value added 633 11 139.00–155.00 $149.65 $947 +5.89
655–680 value added 661 23 140.00–147.50 $146.02 $965 +7.58
660–670 665 2 130.00–131.00 $130.50 $868 -1.48
735 value added 735 3 135.00 $135.00 $992 —
740–745 743 2 124.00–125.00 $124.50 $925 +6.50
785 785 1 116.00 $116.00 $911 -7.98
820–825 823 2 109.00–116.00 $112.51 $926 +2.51
1020 1020 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,193 —
1085 1085 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,139 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–335 325 3 142.50–149.00 $146.97 $478 —
360–385 372 3 135.00–146.00 $142.20 $529 +3.96
410–427 419 9 125.00–147.50 $134.66 $564 -0.71
450 450 1 136.00 $136.00 $612 -0.54
530–540 535 2 131.00–135.00 $133.02 $712 -2.63
550–590 566 5 121.00–137.00 $130.83 $740 -0.45
655–690 673 2 117.00–120.00 $118.46 $797 -10.54
700 700 1 107.00 $107.00 $749 +4.00
755 755 1 108.00 $108.00 $815 -9.00
860 860 1 84.00 $84.00 $722 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 3 134.00 $134.00 $838 —
650 650 1 136.00 $136.00 $884 +19.50
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 120.00 $120.00 $600 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
185 185 1 162.50 $162.50 $301 —
290 290 2 175.00 $175.00 $508 -11.05
322–340 328 3 172.50–175.00 $174.14 $571 -8.28
350–382 371 3 169.00–182.00 $173.08 $642 -2.57
420–425 423 2 170.00–175.00 $172.49 $730 +1.76
416–445 value added 429 12 180.00–193.00 $188.54 $809 -5.28
450–463 value added 461 8 180.00–198.00 $194.78 $898 +9.41
455–498 483 13 164.00–176.00 $171.86 $830 +5.91
510–535 value added 526 4 161.00–175.00 $168.92 $889 -16.72
551–578 value added 564 19 163.00–170.00 $168.44 $950 -3.28
555–585 573 3 153.00–160.00 $155.60 $892 -2.87
600–645 621 7 136.00–142.00 $138.47 $860 —
625 value added 625 4 150.00 $150.00 $938 -4.67
652 value added 652 4 152.00 $152.00 $991 +7.51
650–692 670 6 133.00–139.00 $136.36 $914 -3.89
735–740 738 3 120.00–132.00 $125.35 $925 +2.79
761–765 762 4 120.00–130.00 $127.49 $971 +3.13
825 825 1 116.00 $116.00 $957 ±0.00
885 fancy 885 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,062 —
935 935 2 98.00–120.00 $109.00 $1,019 —
980–990 985 2 105.00–106.00 $105.50 $1,039 +11.50
1000–1002 1001 3 81.00 $81.00 $811 —
1065 1065 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,033 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–265 259 4 167.50–171.00 $168.40 $436 +10.90
375–387 383 3 162.50–167.50 $164.13 $629 +4.13
405–445 433 6 145.00–165.00 $151.64 $657 +11.64
460 460 3 141.00 $141.00 $649 -9.00
500–535 522 3 141.00–142.00 $141.66 $739 -15.34
565 565 1 144.00 $144.00 $814 -2.00
600–635 618 2 130.00–131.00 $130.49 $806 —
680–692 688 3 121.00–125.00 $122.32 $842 -8.68
715 715 2 110.00–113.00 $111.50 $797 —
905 905 2 90.00 $90.00 $814 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 175.00 $175.00 $805 —
850 850 1 110.00 $110.00 $935 —
965 965 1 90.00 $90.00 $868 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
457 457 2 131.00 $131.00 $599 —
550 550 1 128.00 $128.00 $704 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1660 1380 75-80% 16 85.00–89.00 $87.16 $1,203 —
1175–1905 1553 75-80% 45 89.00–107.00 $96.19 $1,494 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1435 1123 80-85% 11 81.00–89.00 $86.11 $967 —
1230 1230 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $922 —
1000–1730 1393 80-85% 38 89.00–111.50 $99.71 $1,389 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775–1095 902 85-90% 3 50.00–63.00 $56.41 $509 —
845–1280 1016 85-90% 11 74.00–82.00 $78.03 $793 —
890–1235 1046 85-90% 13 83.00–104.00 $89.41 $935 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1225 1220 2 99.00–110.00 $104.52 $1,275 +1.76
1225 1225 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,152 -8.76
1385–2330 1898 12 115.00–136.00 $124.58 $2,365 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1210–1480 1385 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,025.00–1,350.00 $1,246.54
1645 1645 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1085 1085 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.