Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 17, 2022

936 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 $161.23/cwt +7.48 vs last sale · ≈ $921/hd at 571 lb · 179 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $153.22/cwt +9.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,024/hd at 669 lb · 86 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $165.02/cwt +18.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,157/hd at 701 lb · 85 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 936 968 453
Feeder cattle 853 877 406
Slaughter cattle 69 86 46
Replacement cattle 14 5 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and feeder heifers sold steady on similar quality. Buyers showing preference for attractive quality thin-fleshed weaned packages suitable for grass. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 higher 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
350 350 4 189.00–190.00 $189.50 $663 -2.19
396 value added 396 4 206.00 $206.00 $816 -4.25
400–440 value added 421 5 185.00–208.00 $192.39 $810 -10.35
455–485 value added 466 7 189.00–202.00 $195.80 $912 -6.38
450–482 476 6 171.00–185.00 $177.04 $843 +10.06
500–530 515 3 175.00–179.00 $177.29 $913 +14.29
500–548 value added 527 46 182.00–198.00 $187.13 $986 -5.57
561 value added 561 3 191.00 $191.00 $1,072 +2.43
580–593 592 39 160.00–169.00 $168.77 $999 -2.43
600–645 value added 615 10 162.00–169.00 $165.82 $1,020 -18.27
662–684 value added 668 44 158.00–174.00 $172.05 $1,149 +4.57
700–725 value added 701 85 153.00–165.60 $165.02 $1,157 +13.00
892 892 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,249 -6.81
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815 815 3 138.50 $138.50 $1,129 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750 750 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,050 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 value added 265 1 170.00 $170.00 $450 -16.20
330 value added 330 1 165.00 $165.00 $544 -16.79
350–390 367 3 152.00–158.00 $154.45 $567 -0.98
400–430 420 4 145.00–152.00 $149.33 $627 -2.91
415–440 value added 424 6 154.00–160.00 $157.63 $668 -19.98
450–495 470 9 145.00–152.00 $149.98 $705 +5.16
455–491 value added 472 25 152.00–158.00 $154.80 $731 -9.59
500–548 value added 513 56 147.00–156.00 $152.95 $785 -1.65
532–535 533 3 143.00–145.00 $143.67 $766 +2.67
550–598 value added 571 178 146.00–175.30 $161.32 $921 +6.36
595 595 1 145.00 $145.00 $863 +0.01
622–631 627 5 137.00 $137.00 $859 —
630–645 value added 642 9 138.00–149.00 $144.46 $927 -6.99
652 652 2 137.00 $137.00 $893 +2.00
650–677 value added 669 84 146.00–156.50 $153.61 $1,028 +6.61
700–710 value added 703 3 130.00–132.00 $130.67 $919 -16.33
733 733 3 121.00 $121.00 $887 -9.68
767 767 2 128.00 $128.00 $982 +5.00
866–885 870 6 114.00–120.00 $115.35 $1,004 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 2 146.00 $146.00 $577 —
460–485 473 2 131.00–137.00 $134.08 $634 +3.08
525–540 529 4 121.00–132.00 $123.81 $655 —
570–575 573 2 133.00–136.00 $134.51 $771 -0.49
605–630 618 2 129.00–130.00 $129.51 $800 —
675 675 1 126.00 $126.00 $850 —
707–735 716 3 114.00–118.00 $116.63 $835 +5.63
750–770 763 9 114.00–116.00 $115.44 $881 +2.43
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 155.00 $155.00 $604 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–385 383 2 180.00–191.00 $185.54 $711 +14.54
445 value added 445 8 200.00–205.00 $203.75 $907 +2.75
472–485 value added 480 7 186.00–196.00 $193.15 $927 +7.64
488 488 3 177.00 $177.00 $864 +16.00
505 value added 505 4 181.00 $181.00 $914 +9.21
500–545 517 9 152.00–171.00 $162.77 $842 +5.77
565–575 569 6 155.00–162.00 $157.50 $896 —
620 620 1 140.00 $140.00 $868 —
621–640 value added 633 10 148.00–150.00 $148.69 $941 +4.69
663–670 value added 665 4 145.00–150.00 $148.74 $989 +6.74
665 665 1 141.00 $141.00 $938 +2.00
715–735 733 12 128.00–134.00 $131.51 $964 +5.51
800–840 817 5 110.00–117.00 $113.17 $925 —
845 fancy 845 3 125.00 $125.00 $1,056 —
900 900 1 98.00 $98.00 $882 —
970 970 1 103.00 $103.00 $999 —
990 fancy 990 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,138 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–315 313 2 147.00–167.50 $157.33 $492 —
615 615 1 130.00 $130.00 $800 -5.00
690 690 1 123.00 $123.00 $849 -8.72
730 730 1 121.00 $121.00 $883 +0.01
780 780 1 116.00 $116.00 $905 -2.00
945 945 3 90.00 $90.00 $850 —
990 990 1 90.00 $90.00 $891 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 1 92.00 $92.00 $764 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 120.00 $120.00 $636 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1610 1378 75-80% 5 81.00–85.00 $82.62 $1,139 -7.87
1160–1765 1431 75-80% 16 86.00–103.00 $91.31 $1,307 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160 1160 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $870 —
1045–1425 1218 80-85% 6 79.00–86.00 $83.36 $1,015 —
1135–1355 1263 80-85% 9 87.00–103.00 $92.04 $1,162 +2.21
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–990 929 85-90% 4 70.00–79.00 $74.02 $688 —
810–1155 1000 85-90% 4 65.00–69.00 $67.34 $673 -7.78
950–1145 1055 85-90% 7 79.00–85.00 $81.33 $858 +18.33

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–2540 1486 5 93.00–108.00 $101.35 $1,506 -20.01
1230–2580 1853 10 114.00–134.00 $122.06 $2,262 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1390 1390 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1750 1750 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1010–1470 1236 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 1,200.00–1,450.00 $1,286.02 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442 442 2 119.00 $119.00 $526 —

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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.