Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 26, 2022

934 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $158.10/cwt -3.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,175/hd at 743 lb · 146 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.54/cwt +7.41 vs last sale · ≈ $1,235/hd at 826 lb · 137 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $170.45/cwt +12.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,129/hd at 662 lb · 72 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 934 907 693
Feeder cattle 832 817 635
Slaughter cattle 102 75 58
Replacement cattle — 15 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers under 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with very good demand for weaned thin-fleshed calf packages. Limited comparison on yearlings. Feeder heifers sold mostly steady with good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 lower under heavy supply of slaughter cows 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
335 335 1 186.00 $186.00 $623 —
336 value added 336 3 191.00 $191.00 $642 —
372–386 value added 381 6 192.00–209.00 $203.47 $775 +9.74
415 415 1 172.00 $172.00 $714 +1.36
411–440 value added 421 13 194.00–202.00 $197.28 $831 +5.60
456–490 value added 463 24 178.00–198.00 $193.33 $895 +3.25
450–495 484 6 161.00–170.00 $165.07 $799 +9.07
500–543 value added 517 18 174.00–201.00 $186.48 $964 +4.09
505–540 526 9 154.00–171.00 $162.77 $856 —
563–569 568 21 165.00–167.00 $166.62 $946 —
555–582 value added 569 17 172.00–183.00 $177.45 $1,010 +3.00
600–645 value added 619 20 158.00–179.00 $168.06 $1,040 -13.25
623 623 3 150.00 $150.00 $934 —
655 655 2 141.00 $141.00 $924 -10.62
658 thin fleshed 658 59 172.70 $172.70 $1,136 —
665–697 value added 687 11 159.00–165.00 $163.76 $1,125 +0.85
705–745 719 4 131.00–146.00 $141.80 $1,020 —
705–749 value added 744 142 150.00–159.00 $158.56 $1,180 -2.77
755–765 760 2 143.00–145.00 $144.01 $1,094 -0.19
777 value added 777 61 159.00 $159.00 $1,235 +6.50
804–807 805 14 144.00–148.50 $147.21 $1,185 +5.08
828 fancy 828 123 149.80 $149.80 $1,240 —
925 925 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,202 -10.58
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–340 319 4 150.00–175.00 $161.16 $514 —
360–385 373 2 161.00–178.00 $169.79 $633 —
570 570 1 155.00 $155.00 $884 +7.00
630–635 633 2 139.00–140.00 $139.50 $883 -0.50
655 655 1 137.00 $137.00 $897 -3.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775 775 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,077 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 160.00 $160.00 $416 —
307–320 value added 311 3 165.00–171.00 $168.94 $525 -6.06
305–325 315 2 154.00–160.00 $157.10 $495 +0.10
350–396 value added 380 10 166.00–185.00 $180.40 $686 +6.33
395 395 1 162.00 $162.00 $640 —
400–440 value added 423 6 157.00–183.00 $167.96 $710 -0.74
450–485 466 9 144.00–150.00 $147.61 $688 -0.02
458–474 value added 471 17 155.00–159.00 $155.69 $733 +2.22
505 505 1 141.00 $141.00 $712 -6.02
505–540 value added 527 12 147.00–159.00 $155.05 $817 -0.77
550–595 value added 576 53 147.00–160.00 $150.78 $868 -3.68
565–590 578 2 143.00–146.00 $144.53 $835 -0.47
600 600 1 139.00 $139.00 $834 —
602–625 value added 618 9 140.00–150.00 $144.60 $894 -2.27
662–690 674 5 131.00–137.00 $133.62 $901 -5.38
681 value added 681 3 147.00 $147.00 $1,001 -0.90
700–725 712 3 123.00–131.00 $127.71 $909 -2.78
830 830 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,062 +7.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 148.00 $148.00 $548 —
470 470 1 135.00 $135.00 $634 —
500–502 501 4 135.00–139.00 $137.00 $686 —
555–580 573 4 130.00–140.00 $132.93 $762 -3.07
690 690 1 122.00 $122.00 $842 +3.41
700 700 1 110.00 $110.00 $770 -4.00

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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 1 174.00 $174.00 $600 —
350–390 value added 365 8 185.00–194.00 $191.48 $699 +5.00
355–385 370 2 172.00–185.00 $178.24 $659 —
432 value added 432 2 191.00 $191.00 $825 —
470–490 value added 478 8 185.00–190.00 $186.87 $893 +5.87
535 535 1 160.00 $160.00 $856 -4.00
535–545 value added 540 2 171.00–179.00 $175.04 $945 —
550–560 555 2 146.00–157.00 $151.55 $841 -0.45
575 value added 575 1 165.00 $165.00 $949 —
565–585 fancy 578 3 167.00–173.00 $168.95 $977 —
605 605 1 147.00 $147.00 $889 —
638 value added 638 8 153.00 $153.00 $976 —
650 value added 650 1 149.00 $149.00 $968 —
657–687 674 5 144.00–148.00 $146.02 $984 —
760–780 768 4 120.00–123.00 $121.50 $933 +2.50
827–840 831 3 110.00 $110.00 $914 —
860–870 863 7 95.00–112.00 $109.12 $942 -1.88
915 915 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,025 +7.00
975 975 1 82.00 $82.00 $800 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–225 223 2 152.50–160.00 $156.21 $348 —
420 420 1 152.00 $152.00 $638 —
510 510 1 149.00 $149.00 $760 —
675–685 678 3 125.00 $125.00 $848 -5.00
745 745 1 106.00 $106.00 $790 —
900 900 1 82.00 $82.00 $738 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–960 906 85-90% 7 51.00–58.00 $53.33 $483 +5.33
915 915 85-90% 1 52.00 $52.00 $476 +4.00
915–1345 1070 85-90% 12 75.00–95.00 $81.80 $875 —
910–1200 1088 85-90% 6 65.00–75.00 $70.18 $764 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1125 1073 80-85% 2 73.00–75.00 $74.05 $795 —
1100–1400 1261 80-85% 11 83.00–94.00 $86.79 $1,094 +7.62
1105–1410 1263 80-85% 12 75.00–83.00 $77.99 $985 -1.18
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1485 1349 75-80% 7 76.00–82.00 $78.35 $1,057 —
1375 1375 75-80% 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,031 —
1295–1830 1485 75-80% 10 83.00–88.00 $85.42 $1,268 +2.42

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1545 1453 2 98.00–108.00 $102.68 $1,492 —
1380–1975 1670 8 111.00–128.00 $117.86 $1,968 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–845 838 11 67.00–90.00 $83.86 $703 —
860–865 863 2 103.00–112.00 $107.51 $928 —
915 915 1 80.00 $80.00 $732 -43.00
952 952 2 105.00 $105.00 $1,000 —

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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.