Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 24, 2022

1,153 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.80/cwt -8.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,100/hd at 672 lb · 156 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $190.67/cwt +4.14 vs last sale · ≈ $996/hd at 522 lb · 83 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $158.60/cwt ≈ $1,231/hd at 776 lb · 68 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,153 936 423
Feeder cattle 979 853 348
Slaughter cattle 172 69 73
Replacement cattle 2 14 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold unevenly steady to 2.00 higher with buyers showing preference for weaned thin-fleshed calf packages; some fleshy bawling calves facing discounts. Yearlings limited comparison with last week. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 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
200 200 1 175.00 $175.00 $350 —
250–260 253 3 180.00–183.00 $181.03 $458 —
328 328 3 190.00 $190.00 $623 —
373 value added 373 5 210.00 $210.00 $783 +4.00
405–436 428 8 185.00–188.00 $187.29 $802 —
445 value added 445 2 203.00 $203.00 $903 +10.61
460–485 value added 474 22 186.00–191.00 $188.60 $894 -7.20
495 495 3 171.00–183.00 $178.67 $884 +1.63
508–533 512 21 178.00 $178.00 $911 +0.71
500–545 value added 526 62 179.00–203.00 $194.96 $1,025 +7.83
550–595 value added 560 35 181.00–189.00 $186.75 $1,046 -4.25
550–586 581 7 165.00–170.00 $169.32 $984 +0.55
600–623 value added 617 54 155.00–171.50 $166.03 $1,024 +0.21
600–629 624 9 148.00–152.00 $148.87 $929 —
655–679 value added 668 130 153.50–172.50 $167.33 $1,118 -4.72
669–698 689 26 145.00–150.00 $146.16 $1,007 —
725 value added 725 2 154.00 $154.00 $1,116 -11.02
750 750 2 142.00 $142.00 $1,065 —
777 value added 777 66 159.10 $159.10 $1,236 —
823–825 825 48 151.70–151.75 $151.71 $1,252 —
895 895 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,110 -16.00
900 fancy 900 59 148.00 $148.00 $1,332 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 value added 415 1 182.00 $182.00 $755 —
425 425 1 167.00 $167.00 $710 —
570 570 1 154.00 $154.00 $878 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 178.00 $178.00 $623 —
732 732 2 130.00 $130.00 $952 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 value added 285 1 177.50 $177.50 $506 +7.50
315 315 1 152.00 $152.00 $479 —
310–337 value added 326 6 173.00–180.00 $175.44 $572 +10.44
375–385 380 5 152.00–159.00 $154.41 $587 -0.04
375–386 value added 381 8 166.00–172.00 $169.41 $645 —
405 405 1 146.00 $146.00 $591 -3.33
426–448 value added 436 40 160.00–169.50 $165.03 $720 +7.40
450–496 value added 469 28 155.00–168.00 $162.70 $763 +7.90
501–547 value added 514 41 149.00–159.00 $155.35 $798 +2.40
510–535 523 2 140.00–146.00 $142.93 $748 -0.74
550–580 562 8 141.00–145.00 $142.27 $800 -2.73
552–592 value added 582 53 147.00–159.00 $151.96 $884 -9.36
605–637 value added 624 19 138.00–151.00 $145.28 $907 +0.82
615–643 636 4 130.00–134.00 $130.97 $833 -6.03
660–685 value added 670 3 138.00–147.00 $142.94 $958 -10.67
675 675 1 134.00 $134.00 $904 -3.00
700 700 1 122.00 $122.00 $854 +1.00
717–730 value added 719 17 131.00–144.00 $133.33 $959 +2.66
753 753 3 119.00 $119.00 $896 -9.00
787 value added 787 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,102 —
803–830 813 21 130.00–138.50 $136.77 $1,112 —
850–890 870 2 110.00–116.00 $112.93 $982 -2.42
882 882 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,147 +14.65
1142 1142 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,051 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 139.00 $139.00 $577 —
455–465 460 2 133.00–137.00 $135.02 $621 +0.94
535 535 1 137.00 $137.00 $733 +13.19
570–595 585 4 126.00–135.00 $130.53 $764 -3.98
605–640 628 3 123.00–131.00 $126.06 $792 -3.45
785 785 2 118.00 $118.00 $926 +2.56
802–835 811 4 83.00–92.00 $88.69 $719 —
920 920 3 88.00–89.00 $88.33 $813 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 171.00 $171.00 $410 —
315–345 335 3 176.00–177.00 $176.31 $591 —
373 value added 373 5 201.00 $201.00 $750 —
380 380 2 186.00 $186.00 $707 +0.46
410–427 421 5 171.00–175.00 $172.62 $727 —
406–445 value added 423 9 179.00–186.00 $183.23 $775 -20.52
450–482 471 3 163.00–174.00 $170.50 $803 -6.50
455–490 value added 478 3 177.00–183.00 $178.90 $855 -14.25
505 value added 505 1 180.00 $180.00 $909 -1.00
542 542 2 151.00 $151.00 $818 -11.77
554–585 value added 559 6 171.00–172.00 $171.17 $957 —
550–585 568 5 140.00–154.00 $148.45 $843 -9.05
625–635 value added 629 9 146.00–152.00 $149.31 $939 +0.62
620–645 638 7 141.00–144.00 $143.29 $914 +3.29
650–670 662 3 134.00–145.00 $139.28 $922 -1.72
705–725 value added 715 2 131.00–132.00 $131.49 $940 —
700–740 725 3 125.00–128.00 $126.70 $919 -4.81
755 755 1 132.00 $132.00 $997 —
925–945 935 2 100.00–112.00 $106.06 $992 +8.06
1000 1000 6 117.00 $117.00 $1,170 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 130.00 $130.00 $637 —
525 525 1 135.00 $135.00 $709 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725 725 1 122.00 $122.00 $884 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1970 1524 75-80% 34 79.00–89.00 $86.80 $1,323 —
1325–1975 1576 75-80% 34 90.00–105.00 $95.46 $1,504 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1455 1283 80-85% 11 82.00–88.00 $86.01 $1,104 -6.03
1045–1500 1291 80-85% 41 90.00–112.00 $96.88 $1,251 +4.84
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845 845 85-90% 1 61.00 $61.00 $515 —
855–995 925 85-90% 2 64.00–66.00 $64.92 $601 -9.10
860–1305 1086 85-90% 24 80.00–99.00 $85.69 $931 +4.36
890–1465 1131 85-90% 10 74.00–79.00 $76.15 $861 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,166 —
1500–2365 1780 14 117.00–137.00 $128.89 $2,294 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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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.