Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 27, 2021

694 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $119.50/cwt ±0.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,073/hd at 898 lb · 55 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.37/cwt -1.48 vs last sale · ≈ $770/hd at 619 lb · 48 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.03/cwt -4.28 vs last sale · ≈ $921/hd at 761 lb · 45 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 694 896 659
Feeder cattle 635 804 411
Slaughter cattle 58 79 73
Replacement cattle 1 13 175

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold mostly 2.00 to 5.00 lower with good demand for weaned thin-fleshed offerings; some fleshy individuals 5.00 to 8.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold steady to 3.00 lower with moderate demand. Higher corn prices creating some uncertainty in the market. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher with moderate demand. Slaughter bulls no 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
320–330 325 2 150.00–155.00 $152.54 $496 -9.46
390 390 1 154.00 $154.00 $601 -12.91
415–445 value added 428 5 158.00–166.00 $162.77 $697 -8.58
465–485 472 3 150.00–151.00 $150.67 $711 —
510 value added 510 2 156.00 $156.00 $796 -16.79
553–593 value added 573 25 153.00–159.00 $156.06 $894 -1.26
605 605 1 134.00 $134.00 $811 —
600–643 value added 623 21 137.00–145.00 $142.07 $885 -13.01
650–697 value added 667 27 136.25–147.50 $143.15 $955 +1.75
700 700 2 124.00 $124.00 $868 -0.64
700–715 704 8 118.00–121.00 $118.76 $836 -5.88
700–725 value added 706 18 126.00–131.00 $129.38 $913 -2.88
750–782 value added 764 38 124.50–133.00 $129.14 $987 -10.70
770 770 1 122.00 $122.00 $939 -3.00
806–810 808 12 123.00–125.00 $123.84 $1,001 +1.64
850 850 2 112.00 $112.00 $952 -7.45
953 thin fleshed 953 27 125.00 $125.00 $1,191 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660–670 664 7 126.00–134.00 $129.46 $860 —
778 778 3 123.00 $123.00 $957 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 value added 320 1 153.00 $153.00 $490 —
367–380 value added 371 3 149.00–150.00 $149.66 $555 —
420–430 value added 425 4 143.00–152.00 $148.71 $632 +1.19
427–445 433 3 135.00–141.00 $138.94 $602 +4.46
480 480 1 135.00 $135.00 $648 -0.76
480–495 value added 493 6 139.00–143.00 $142.35 $702 +2.73
500–537 519 12 123.00–132.00 $127.33 $661 -4.90
505–538 value added 521 24 133.00–141.00 $136.41 $711 -1.53
555 value added 555 3 133.00 $133.00 $738 -0.12
555–595 580 8 129.00–131.00 $130.12 $755 +0.91
600–625 611 5 119.00–124.00 $120.38 $736 +5.60
605–635 617 14 110.00–119.00 $117.28 $724 +2.50
619–627 value added 621 29 126.00–129.00 $128.48 $798 -3.03
665–690 675 5 111.00–115.00 $113.36 $765 +0.68
678 value added 678 3 126.00 $126.00 $854 -6.50
701 value added 701 3 111.00 $111.00 $778 -15.00
700–721 715 8 98.00–104.00 $101.15 $723 -8.85
755–762 value added 761 45 111.00–122.00 $121.03 $921 -4.55
807–835 816 3 99.00–100.00 $99.34 $811 —
898 fancy 898 55 119.50 $119.50 $1,073 —
958 958 3 95.00 $95.00 $910 +4.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 458 3 123.00 $123.00 $563 —
560–572 564 6 110.00–113.00 $111.01 $626 —
676 676 3 104.00 $104.00 $703 —
700 700 1 107.00 $107.00 $749 —
830 830 1 90.00 $90.00 $747 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 128.00 $128.00 $550 +0.50
555 555 1 120.00 $120.00 $666 +1.64
700 700 3 81.00–95.00 $90.33 $632 —
765 765 1 95.00 $95.00 $727 —
820 820 2 84.00 $84.00 $689 -6.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 3 165.00 $165.00 $569 —
383–392 387 5 151.00–165.00 $159.32 $617 —
422–435 429 4 149.00–150.00 $149.49 $641 -1.04
455–480 463 10 140.00–149.00 $145.55 $674 +0.74
500–545 515 14 140.00–149.00 $144.69 $745 -3.35
557–595 569 16 137.00–148.00 $143.58 $817 -1.42
600–622 618 8 121.00–128.00 $124.48 $769 -1.52
645 value added 645 3 131.50 $131.50 $848 -7.78
660–690 670 3 122.00–129.00 $125.28 $839 —
675 value added 675 2 131.00 $131.00 $884 -0.93
700–740 720 2 116.00–117.00 $116.49 $839 -2.51
772 772 2 116.00 $116.00 $896 -1.00
825–840 833 2 84.00–89.00 $86.52 $721 -18.48
855–890 876 7 97.00–104.00 $102.01 $894 —
947 947 2 93.00 $93.00 $881 —
955 955 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,041 +18.00
1010 1010 1 85.00 $85.00 $858 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 144.00 $144.00 $554 —
585 585 1 133.00 $133.00 $778 —
682–695 686 6 119.00–120.00 $119.66 $821 —
726–740 730 4 95.00–112.00 $107.69 $786 -14.31
755–775 765 2 110.00–111.00 $110.51 $845 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660–690 670 3 110.00–117.00 $114.60 $768 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1035 1023 80-85% 2 57.00–58.00 $57.49 $588 —
865–1310 1116 80-85% 11 60.00–67.00 $63.38 $707 —
975–1900 1301 80-85% 11 67.00–73.00 $68.95 $897 +0.93
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–950 933 85-90% 2 49.00–55.00 $51.94 $485 —
900–1195 1065 85-90% 4 57.00–61.00 $58.58 $624 —
1065–1100 1078 85-90% 3 64.00–71.00 $66.97 $722 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1440 1220 75-80% 3 63.00–65.00 $63.79 $778 —
1415 1415 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $962 +5.41

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415 1415 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,203 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 84.00 $84.00 $722

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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.