Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 18, 2021

453 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.01/cwt +16.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,137/hd at 806 lb · 121 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.00/cwt +5.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,168/hd at 859 lb · 65 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.67/cwt +7.96 vs last sale · ≈ $956/hd at 626 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 453 712 756
Feeder cattle 406 567 704
Slaughter cattle 46 124 50
Replacement cattle 1 21 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 3.00 to 8.00 higher with very good demand for weaned middleweight packages in light supply. Feeder heifers sold unevenly steady with good demand. Slaughter cows sold 5.00 to 7.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 3.00 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
400–415 value added 407 8 161.00–166.00 $162.86 $663 +4.86
447 447 2 157.00 $157.00 $702 —
480 480 2 155.00 $155.00 $744 +0.48
500–515 508 2 155.00–158.00 $156.52 $795 +10.52
547 value added 547 2 164.00 $164.00 $897 +9.99
560–570 567 3 157.00–160.00 $159.01 $902 +13.39
568–578 value added 571 13 165.00–168.00 $167.07 $954 +11.71
610–620 617 3 136.00–140.00 $137.32 $847 +2.82
600–636 value added 628 16 150.00–157.50 $155.55 $977 +9.99
675 675 1 136.00 $136.00 $918 —
667–686 value added 678 13 141.00–148.75 $147.17 $998 +10.17
720–730 value added 727 3 128.00–135.00 $132.69 $965 -3.76
757 value added 757 2 126.00 $126.00 $954 -3.13
801–811 fancy 806 119 140.75–141.75 $141.23 $1,138 —
815 815 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,043 +3.70
859 fancy 859 65 136.00 $136.00 $1,168 +5.00
940 940 7 120.00 $120.00 $1,128 —
971–990 974 7 111.00–112.00 $111.85 $1,089 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870 870 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,061 +7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730 730 1 120.00 $120.00 $876 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 461 3 135.00 $135.00 $622 +0.54
470 value added 470 2 142.00 $142.00 $667 -1.38
517–536 value added 530 8 137.00–139.00 $138.24 $733 -2.97
542 542 2 132.00 $132.00 $715 -1.29
550–570 557 8 128.00–133.00 $130.87 $729 +2.86
600–626 value added 615 11 123.00–128.00 $125.54 $772 -2.13
620–625 623 3 120.00–122.00 $120.66 $752 +6.34
710 710 2 112.00 $112.00 $795 +3.00
716 716 4 102.00 $102.00 $730 -7.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385–395 390 4 120.00–121.00 $120.51 $470 -6.18
452 452 2 125.00 $125.00 $565 —
525–540 533 2 121.00–125.00 $122.97 $655 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865 865 1 99.00 $99.00 $856 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 151.00 $151.00 $400 —
417 value added 417 2 158.00 $158.00 $659 —
470 value added 470 3 158.00 $158.00 $743 +5.35
512 value added 512 2 160.00 $160.00 $819 +6.92
515 515 1 151.00 $151.00 $778 +3.50
575–585 582 8 146.00–149.00 $147.12 $856 +6.47
635 value added 635 2 136.00 $136.00 $864 +3.00
685 value added 685 1 132.00 $132.00 $904 -1.00
685–692 691 5 128.00–129.00 $128.20 $886 +7.07
710 710 1 116.00 $116.00 $824 +3.13
755–780 765 7 110.00–119.00 $116.84 $894 +13.33
860 860 1 107.00 $107.00 $920 +17.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 2 133.00 $133.00 $595 +3.00
700–745 715 3 97.00–100.00 $98.04 $701 —
765 765 1 104.00 $104.00 $796 +5.00
950 950 1 90.00 $90.00 $855 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 650 1 115.00 $115.00 $748 +4.00
715 715 2 105.00 $105.00 $751 —
762 762 2 101.00 $101.00 $770 +7.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1375 1228 80-85% 6 68.00–71.00 $69.07 $848 —
1120–1445 1275 80-85% 13 74.00–83.00 $77.42 $987 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590–1730 1660 75-80% 4 74.00–76.00 $75.24 $1,249 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–920 865 85-90% 2 65.00–66.00 $65.47 $566 —
1140 1140 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $661 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225–1760 1553 6 93.00–113.00 $100.07 $1,554 —
1575–2475 1853 11 85.00–91.00 $87.56 $1,622 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1290 1290 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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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.