Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, June 1, 2021

1,617 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 steers $129.05/cwt ≈ $1,134/hd at 879 lb · 305 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.77/cwt +22.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,051/hd at 716 lb · 131 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $124.24/cwt ≈ $1,152/hd at 927 lb · 116 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,617 423 1,651
Feeder cattle 1,471 348 1,567
Slaughter cattle 134 73 51
Replacement cattle 12 2 33

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers under 600 lbs sold steady in a light test for calves; 600-800 lbs steers sold 5.00 to 7.00 higher with very good demand; over 800 lbs limited comparison with last week's light test. Feeder heifers traded mostly 3.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 5.00 to 8.00 lower under heavy supply. Slaughter bulls sold steady 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
380 380 1 158.00 $158.00 $600 —
395–397 value added 396 3 160.00–173.00 $168.68 $668 +2.00
400 value added 400 3 160.00 $160.00 $640 -11.94
420 420 1 154.00 $154.00 $647 -4.00
457–495 value added 468 19 158.00–171.00 $161.22 $755 -8.76
465–490 478 2 155.00–156.00 $155.49 $743 +1.97
505–513 value added 510 5 155.00–162.50 $159.73 $815 -7.27
521–533 526 8 151.00–154.00 $152.67 $803 +2.67
550 550 1 152.00 $152.00 $836 —
562–575 value added 568 7 154.00–159.00 $156.83 $891 +0.62
615–620 618 2 135.00 $135.00 $834 —
601–649 value added 620 69 141.00–159.50 $154.21 $956 +9.51
652–686 value added 661 33 143.00–158.50 $155.56 $1,028 +10.56
685 685 1 137.00 $137.00 $938 —
708–731 value added 716 116 141.50–152.10 $148.90 $1,066 —
708–738 719 13 127.00–135.00 $131.89 $948 +7.89
720 720 2 120.00 $120.00 $864 -4.00
760 760 1 125.00 $125.00 $950 —
750–771 value added 770 70 139.00–140.00 $139.97 $1,078 —
830–846 841 6 126.00–128.00 $126.66 $1,065 —
857–897 fancy 879 305 125.80–131.75 $129.05 $1,134 —
923–931 924 56 120.50–124.00 $123.43 $1,140 —
930 value added 930 60 125.00 $125.00 $1,162 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 155.00 $155.00 $512 —
400 400 1 130.00 $130.00 $520 —
475 475 1 145.00 $145.00 $689 —
515–520 516 7 142.00–147.00 $146.28 $755 —
655–660 658 2 120.00–124.00 $122.01 $803 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 150.00 $150.00 $428 —
325–345 335 2 138.00 $138.00 $462 —
375–390 385 3 133.00–136.00 $133.97 $516 -1.03
400–445 value added 427 15 140.00–147.00 $144.49 $617 —
440 440 1 139.00 $139.00 $612 +2.02
455–475 value added 465 11 140.00–154.00 $149.14 $694 +4.13
490 490 1 144.00 $144.00 $706 +9.00
500–537 value added 523 46 136.00–149.00 $143.95 $753 +4.13
515–541 536 7 124.00–138.00 $135.36 $726 +8.93
557–565 value added 563 7 138.00–145.00 $139.98 $788 -0.44
562–582 566 14 123.00–134.00 $132.09 $748 +3.49
605–615 value added 614 17 126.00–135.00 $134.48 $826 +4.06
615–645 638 22 119.00–129.00 $126.27 $806 +3.94
668–676 value added 669 21 123.50–135.00 $125.16 $837 -4.84
655–686 682 17 113.00–130.00 $114.78 $783 —
700–730 703 10 106.00–111.00 $109.09 $767 -0.91
700–716 704 13 115.00–120.00 $118.83 $837 +8.83
750 750 2 107.00 $107.00 $802 -2.00
797 797 2 111.00 $111.00 $885 +2.00
817 817 61 122.00 $122.00 $997 +16.00
882 882 62 116.00 $116.00 $1,023 —
925–929 928 12 102.00–105.50 $104.92 $974 +12.92
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–335 330 2 119.00–120.00 $119.49 $394 —
357–395 370 3 129.00–130.00 $129.64 $480 —
540 540 2 119.00–122.00 $120.50 $651 —
550–580 565 5 114.00–123.00 $119.76 $677 —
670 670 1 110.00 $110.00 $737 —
775 775 1 89.00 $89.00 $690 —

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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 1 157.00 $157.00 $542 +4.50
375 375 1 155.00 $155.00 $581 —
450–482 value added 471 3 156.00–157.00 $156.68 $738 -2.32
497 497 2 148.00 $148.00 $736 +4.32
500 500 1 149.00 $149.00 $745 —
560–572 568 3 144.00–149.00 $147.36 $837 -1.14
605–635 622 6 128.00–131.00 $129.15 $803 +6.15
630 fancy 630 1 136.00 $136.00 $857 —
780 780 2 112.00 $112.00 $874 —
815 815 1 102.00 $102.00 $831 —
900 fancy 900 2 110.00 $110.00 $990 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 130.00 $130.00 $494 -14.00
510–540 525 2 130.00–132.00 $131.03 $688 -3.97
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795 795 1 95.00 $95.00 $755 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125 1125 80-85% 1 56.00 $56.00 $630 —
1035–1585 1298 80-85% 12 62.00–66.00 $64.45 $837 -15.79
1040–1610 1326 80-85% 24 66.00–74.00 $69.76 $925 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1710 1426 75-80% 6 62.00–66.00 $64.66 $922 —
1165–1845 1531 75-80% 20 66.00–72.00 $67.78 $1,038 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–900 843 85-90% 2 41.00–55.00 $48.48 $409 —
930–1285 1129 85-90% 5 65.00–68.00 $66.60 $752 -9.63

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–2390 1508 11 83.00–94.00 $89.30 $1,347 —
1395–2240 1736 26 95.00–110.00 $100.08 $1,737 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1095–1135 1115 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 830.00–840.00 $835.09
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
910–1150 1030 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 730.00 $730.00

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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
1370 1370 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 970.00 $970.00 —
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1035 1035 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 670.00 $670.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
558 558 76 107.50 $107.50 $600 —
647 647 25 106.90 $106.90 $692 —

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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.