Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 4, 2021

158 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.66/cwt -9.40 vs last sale · ≈ $851/hd at 580 lb · 14 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $138.77/cwt -5.92 vs last sale · ≈ $717/hd at 517 lb · 10 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.32/cwt -2.06 vs last sale · ≈ $691/hd at 526 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 158 694 897
Feeder cattle 113 635 680
Slaughter cattle 40 58 101
Replacement cattle 5 1 116

Market comments — USDA reporter

Market not fully established today due to light receipts.

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
385 385 1 160.00 $160.00 $616 +6.00
430 value added 430 2 160.00 $160.00 $688 -2.77
445 445 1 155.00 $155.00 $690 —
460 460 2 149.00 $149.00 $685 -1.67
500–535 518 2 144.00–145.00 $144.48 $748 —
558–583 574 9 145.00–150.00 $147.03 $844 —
592 value added 592 5 146.00 $146.00 $864 -10.06
627 value added 627 2 145.00 $145.00 $909 +2.93
645 645 1 130.00 $130.00 $838 —
652–675 value added 666 5 134.00–142.00 $137.13 $913 -6.02
722–740 value added 734 6 132.00–133.00 $132.33 $971 +2.95

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–435 420 3 129.00–132.00 $130.64 $549 -8.30
470 470 4 131.00–135.00 $134.00 $630 -1.00
507–527 value added 517 4 134.00–136.00 $135.02 $698 -1.39
510–545 532 6 124.00–132.00 $128.86 $686 +1.53
560–565 563 3 125.00–127.00 $125.66 $707 -4.46
655 655 1 119.00 $119.00 $779 +5.64
687 687 5 117.50 $117.50 $807 +4.14
730 730 1 101.00 $101.00 $737 -0.15
885 885 2 95.00–102.00 $98.50 $872 —
920 920 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,003 —
1045 1045 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,045 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 122.00 $122.00 $653 —
550 550 1 121.00 $121.00 $666 +9.99
660 660 4 105.00 $105.00 $693 +1.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 113.00 $113.00 $508 —
620 620 1 105.00 $105.00 $651 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 328 2 154.00–157.00 $155.53 $510 -9.47
370 370 1 150.00 $150.00 $555 -9.32
483–490 485 4 141.00–142.00 $141.75 $687 -3.80
502–540 517 10 136.00–145.00 $138.77 $717 -5.92
615 value added 615 1 132.00 $132.00 $812 +0.50
700 700 1 114.00 $114.00 $798 -2.49
970 970 3 95.00 $95.00 $922 -14.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 140.00 $140.00 $357 —
865 865 1 80.00 $80.00 $692 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1515 1367 75-80% 6 61.00–64.00 $62.85 $859 —
1365–1640 1473 75-80% 6 65.00–69.00 $66.51 $980 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1435 1293 80-85% 5 62.00–65.00 $63.40 $820 —
1345 1345 80-85% 1 56.00 $56.00 $753 —
1305–1485 1384 80-85% 5 65.00–68.00 $66.43 $919 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1000 943 85-90% 2 44.00–48.00 $45.88 $433 -6.06
870–1025 948 85-90% 2 56.00–61.00 $58.70 $556 +6.76

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1595 1248 3 74.00–79.00 $76.72 $957 —
1275–1940 1610 6 93.00–103.00 $97.22 $1,565 —
1670–2400 2035 2 86.00 $86.00 $1,750 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
800 800 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 71.00 $71.00 $568

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1005 1005 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
960–980 970 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 850.00 $850.00

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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.