Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 25, 2021

423 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 heifers $138.02/cwt +7.15 vs last sale · ≈ $799/hd at 579 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.41/cwt +1.42 vs last sale · ≈ $706/hd at 510 lb · 38 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $156.21/cwt -9.35 vs last sale · ≈ $903/hd at 578 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 423 453 978
Feeder cattle 348 406 859
Slaughter cattle 73 46 114
Replacement cattle 2 1 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers under 600 lbs uneven with 400-500 lbs 5.00 higher and 550-600 lbs 5.00 lower in a limited comparison. Yearlings lightly tested. Feeder heifers sold mostly steady with good demand. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand. Feeder calves in light supply as many farmers working in hay this week.

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
375–395 value added 388 3 166.00–167.00 $166.68 $647 —
428–440 value added 431 4 163.00–175.00 $171.94 $741 +9.08
435–440 438 2 158.00 $158.00 $692 +1.00
451–492 value added 481 11 167.00–171.00 $169.98 $818 —
486–495 490 8 150.00–156.00 $153.52 $752 -1.48
502 value added 502 4 167.00 $167.00 $838 —
518 518 9 150.00 $150.00 $777 -6.52
572–581 value added 578 27 154.00–159.00 $156.21 $903 -10.86
600–622 value added 616 19 140.00–151.50 $144.70 $891 -10.85
655 value added 655 1 145.00 $145.00 $950 -2.17
725 725 5 124.00 $124.00 $899 —
1075 1075 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,043 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 135.00 $135.00 $716 —
642 642 4 133.00 $133.00 $854 —
670–675 673 2 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $872 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 121.00 $121.00 $551 —
510 510 2 120.00 $120.00 $612 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–385 383 2 135.00 $135.00 $517 —
400–410 405 2 135.00–139.00 $136.98 $555 —
450–497 value added 469 12 139.00–147.00 $145.01 $680 +3.01
470 470 2 135.00 $135.00 $634 ±0.00
501–540 value added 508 34 138.00–144.00 $139.82 $710 +1.58
517–537 527 4 123.00–130.00 $126.43 $666 -5.57
550–598 573 13 128.00–129.00 $128.60 $737 -2.27
555–583 value added 580 51 130.00–141.25 $140.42 $814 —
603–631 value added 611 14 127.00–131.00 $130.42 $797 +4.88
610–632 621 6 120.00–127.00 $122.33 $760 +1.67
680 value added 680 1 130.00 $130.00 $884 —
700–702 value added 700 9 122.00–125.00 $122.67 $859 —
735 735 3 110.00 $110.00 $808 +8.00
780 780 1 109.00 $109.00 $850 —
812 812 2 106.00 $106.00 $861 —
940 940 2 92.00 $92.00 $865 —
950 950 1 97.00 $97.00 $922 —
955 955 1 89.00 $89.00 $850 —
1025 1025 1 82.00 $82.00 $840 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 125.00 $125.00 $338 —
475 475 1 126.00 $126.00 $598 +1.00
705 705 1 90.00 $90.00 $634 —
975 975 1 85.00 $85.00 $829 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 3 102.00 $102.00 $566 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 152.50 $152.50 $480 —
410 410 3 144.00 $144.00 $590 —
448 value added 448 3 157.00 $157.00 $703 -1.00
471 value added 471 3 159.00 $159.00 $749 +1.00
465–481 475 6 140.00–145.00 $143.68 $682 —
551–588 557 24 137.00–149.50 $148.50 $827 +1.38
600 600 1 123.00 $123.00 $738 —
607 value added 607 2 129.00 $129.00 $783 -7.00
670 value added 670 1 131.00 $131.00 $878 -1.00
675–695 683 3 119.00–125.00 $121.32 $829 -6.88
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 140.00 $140.00 $455 —
380 380 1 144.00 $144.00 $547 —
450 450 1 136.00 $136.00 $612 —
505 505 2 135.00 $135.00 $682 —
550–595 562 6 129.00–136.00 $130.67 $734 —
620 620 1 115.00 $115.00 $713 —
995 995 1 86.00 $86.00 $856 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895 895 80-85% 1 66.00 $66.00 $591 —
1000–1435 1166 80-85% 9 68.00–74.00 $72.27 $843 —
1115–1480 1286 80-85% 16 75.00–85.00 $80.24 $1,032 +2.82
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1360 1325 75-80% 2 67.00–72.00 $69.57 $922 —
1235–2015 1595 75-80% 15 76.00–85.00 $80.75 $1,288 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–930 903 85-90% 2 64.00–69.00 $66.58 $601 —
965–1030 998 85-90% 2 59.00–60.00 $59.48 $594 —
1005–1215 1103 85-90% 4 73.00–80.00 $76.23 $841 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–2070 1853 9 98.00–117.00 $110.48 $2,047 +22.92
1905–2205 2055 2 86.00–94.00 $90.29 $1,855 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015 1015 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00

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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.