Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 12, 2022

886 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.33/cwt +10.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,247/hd at 768 lb · 223 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $151.53/cwt ≈ $1,312/hd at 866 lb · 173 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.51/cwt -0.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,055/hd at 741 lb · 86 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 886 815 1,412
Feeder cattle 822 765 1,351
Slaughter cattle 62 48 59
Replacement cattle 2 2 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steer trading was mixed with 400-500 lbs 3.00 lower; 500-600 lbs 3.00 higher and yearling 7-weights sharply higher. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with very good demand. Buyers showing preference for hard thin-fleshed weaned calf packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady with very 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
320–340 value added 330 2 195.00–199.00 $196.94 $650 —
415 415 1 168.00 $168.00 $697 —
425–440 value added 433 2 174.00–176.00 $175.02 $758 -8.90
450–487 value added 473 9 174.00–185.00 $180.31 $853 -4.63
510–535 value added 520 12 169.00–183.00 $177.46 $923 -5.87
545 545 1 160.00 $160.00 $872 -2.05
565–570 568 2 163.00–165.00 $164.00 $932 +6.67
550–597 value added 578 21 173.00–184.00 $180.88 $1,045 +3.81
602 602 2 145.00 $145.00 $873 +4.00
603–643 value added 624 44 161.00–176.00 $171.53 $1,070 +0.47
670 670 1 149.00 $149.00 $998 -1.00
700–727 value added 713 19 149.00–166.00 $164.03 $1,170 +15.33
725–745 733 3 145.00–148.00 $146.68 $1,075 +2.56
755 755 1 146.00 $146.00 $1,102 +3.00
763–765 fancy 763 91 164.75–165.00 $164.94 $1,258 —
768–776 value added 772 131 160.30–161.00 $160.65 $1,240 +8.52
810 810 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,174 +0.66
864 864 19 147.75 $147.75 $1,277 —
866 fancy 866 154 152.00 $152.00 $1,316 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 180.00 $180.00 $414 —
300 300 1 167.50 $167.50 $502 —
415 415 1 150.00 $150.00 $622 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,232 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 value added 235 1 167.50 $167.50 $394 —
332 value added 332 2 174.00 $174.00 $578 ±0.00
360 360 1 154.00 $154.00 $554 +2.00
350–385 value added 368 5 162.00–168.00 $165.85 $610 +1.62
400 400 1 150.00 $150.00 $600 +4.00
410–425 value added 414 14 156.00–165.00 $162.33 $672 +4.91
451–491 value added 463 11 154.00–157.00 $156.38 $724 +2.67
457–490 473 5 148.00–154.00 $151.98 $719 +11.73
502–533 value added 519 10 150.00–158.00 $152.85 $793 +2.50
505–535 520 2 140.00–148.00 $144.12 $749 +0.12
560–581 value added 569 16 149.00–153.00 $150.79 $858 +3.11
560–597 580 11 140.00–148.00 $144.23 $837 —
612–640 621 3 132.00–134.00 $133.31 $828 -0.35
605–648 value added 624 26 137.00–151.00 $144.52 $902 -0.15
700–740 717 5 121.00–129.00 $125.76 $902 —
707–749 value added 742 81 141.00–144.00 $143.54 $1,065 +0.04
765–797 value added 789 20 127.00–136.00 $133.61 $1,054 -1.29
915 915 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,144 +9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–485 473 2 130.00–136.00 $133.08 $629 —
540 540 1 124.00 $124.00 $670 -11.00
590 590 1 135.00 $135.00 $796 +9.72
670–695 683 2 120.00–125.00 $122.45 $836 +9.49
740 740 1 116.00 $116.00 $858 —
750–793 782 4 89.00–103.00 $92.36 $722 —
885 885 1 103.00 $103.00 $912 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–330 value added 320 4 186.00–195.00 $188.64 $604 —
380 380 3 180.00–184.00 $181.33 $689 +0.51
400–440 value added 410 5 175.00–187.00 $182.51 $748 +9.50
440 440 1 151.00 $151.00 $664 -7.00
470–485 478 2 155.00–160.00 $157.46 $753 -2.54
525–545 value added 536 8 169.00–175.00 $170.35 $913 —
555–560 value added 558 3 165.00–170.00 $168.34 $939 +2.85
561–595 574 6 154.00–157.00 $155.66 $893 +5.66
618–640 631 10 150.00–155.00 $151.96 $959 —
766–772 768 5 130.00–134.00 $131.61 $1,011 —
820–825 823 2 110.00–116.00 $112.99 $930 -21.01
880 880 1 95.00 $95.00 $836 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 1 148.00 $148.00 $866 +11.07
680 680 1 131.00 $131.00 $891 +4.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1355 1158 80-85% 6 78.00–83.00 $81.35 $942 +8.35
1095–1435 1290 80-85% 14 84.00–103.00 $89.66 $1,157 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 85-90% 1 51.00 $51.00 $472 -12.00
905–1190 1030 85-90% 12 64.00–73.00 $69.28 $714 —
1030–1195 1123 85-90% 3 52.00–58.00 $55.61 $625 —
1075–1245 1140 85-90% 3 76.00–81.00 $78.21 $892 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1405 1365 75-80% 2 68.00–71.00 $69.46 $948 —
1080–1725 1428 75-80% 6 76.00–81.00 $78.64 $1,123 -1.41
1300–1545 1442 75-80% 3 86.00–89.00 $88.10 $1,270 +8.05

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420 1420 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,406 —
1215–2005 1657 9 108.00–122.00 $116.02 $1,922 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825–905 865 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 625.00–750.00 $690.39

↑ Back to top

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.