Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 31, 2022

674 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 $156.09/cwt -2.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,232/hd at 789 lb · 68 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.00/cwt +26.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,290/hd at 860 lb · 60 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.90/cwt ≈ $1,446/hd at 998 lb · 54 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 674 1,153 1,617
Feeder cattle 531 979 1,471
Slaughter cattle 119 172 134
Replacement cattle 24 2 12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold steady on similar quality; however more average quality fleshy calves on offer. Heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher with very good demand for weaned packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 3.00 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
420–435 425 3 169.00–173.00 $171.64 $729 -15.65
461–495 475 6 160.00–174.00 $168.18 $799 -10.49
490 value added 490 19 189.00 $189.00 $926 +0.40
512–522 value added 518 16 177.00–180.00 $178.70 $926 -16.26
515–525 520 5 161.00–170.00 $165.19 $859 -12.81
583 value added 583 16 173.00 $173.00 $1,009 -13.75
600–635 623 3 144.00–152.00 $149.43 $931 +0.56
620–641 value added 637 14 162.00–172.00 $169.60 $1,080 +3.57
659 value added 659 12 159.00 $159.00 $1,048 -8.33
680 680 1 145.00 $145.00 $986 -1.16
700–725 711 6 138.00–140.00 $139.02 $988 —
753–792 value added 789 68 144.00–157.00 $156.09 $1,232 -3.01
815–830 829 11 140.00–148.00 $147.28 $1,221 -4.43
860 value added 860 60 150.00 $150.00 $1,290 —
998 fancy 998 54 144.90 $144.90 $1,446 —
1140 1140 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,231 —
1385 1385 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,551 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 715 1 131.00 $131.00 $937 +1.00
750 750 1 126.00 $126.00 $945 —
805 805 1 120.00 $120.00 $966 —
880 880 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,118 —
960–990 975 2 101.00–106.00 $103.54 $1,010 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 150.00 $150.00 $308 —
305 value added 305 2 172.00 $172.00 $525 -3.44
375 375 1 155.00 $155.00 $581 +0.59
435 435 1 153.00 $153.00 $666 +7.00
455–480 466 5 141.00–150.00 $145.88 $680 —
465–495 value added 488 6 159.00–167.00 $164.41 $802 +1.71
532–537 value added 535 4 154.00–161.00 $157.52 $843 +2.17
562–592 value added 573 15 151.00–161.00 $155.40 $890 +3.44
590–595 591 8 148.00 $148.00 $875 +5.73
610–620 value added 615 2 141.00–143.00 $142.01 $873 -3.27
640 640 1 133.00 $133.00 $851 +2.03
655–670 value added 664 5 144.00–152.00 $148.84 $988 +5.90
660–688 679 6 132.00–139.00 $136.03 $924 +2.03
740 740 2 120.00 $120.00 $888 —
755–790 776 5 112.00–124.00 $120.67 $936 +1.67
825 825 1 120.00 $120.00 $990 -16.77
950 950 1 94.00 $94.00 $893 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 147.00 $147.00 $522 —
450 450 1 138.00 $138.00 $621 +2.98
565 565 1 121.00 $121.00 $684 -9.53
670 670 1 110.00 $110.00 $737 —
737 737 2 112.00 $112.00 $825 —
815–820 818 2 94.00–98.00 $95.99 $785 +7.30
995 995 1 86.00 $86.00 $856 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 144.00 $144.00 $734 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 173.00 $173.00 $571 -3.31
350–385 365 5 169.00–173.00 $170.02 $621 -15.98
405–432 416 5 164.00–169.00 $166.92 $694 -5.70
461–491 477 7 150.00–161.00 $155.74 $743 -14.76
525–535 528 3 152.00–154.00 $153.32 $810 +2.32
625–640 633 2 133.00–134.00 $133.51 $845 -9.78
655–690 672 5 130.00–139.00 $136.24 $916 -3.04
760 760 1 126.00 $126.00 $958 -6.00
815–835 821 4 112.00–125.00 $119.21 $979 —
905–910 908 2 120.00–123.00 $121.50 $1,103 +15.44
950–952 951 3 94.00–105.00 $97.66 $929 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 162.50 $162.50 $422 —
370 370 1 155.00 $155.00 $574 —
440–445 443 2 145.00–150.00 $147.51 $653 —
520 520 1 142.00 $142.00 $738 +7.00
587 587 2 141.00 $141.00 $828 —
700 700 3 114.00–122.00 $116.67 $817 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 170.00 $170.00 $756 —
505 505 1 146.00 $146.00 $737 —
567 567 2 149.00 $149.00 $845 —
700 700 1 134.00 $134.00 $938 +12.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 137.50 $137.50 $392 —
655 655 1 115.00 $115.00 $753 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1615 1432 75-80% 9 84.00–89.00 $87.10 $1,247 —
1250–1665 1458 75-80% 2 73.00–75.00 $74.14 $1,081 —
1135–1825 1522 75-80% 27 90.00–104.00 $95.81 $1,458 +9.01
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1450 1242 80-85% 26 91.00–109.00 $100.80 $1,252 —
1070–1565 1313 80-85% 7 83.00–90.00 $87.99 $1,155 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1040 972 85-90% 6 75.00–82.00 $79.26 $770 —
885–1130 1034 85-90% 4 60.00–69.00 $65.55 $678 —
845–1285 1052 85-90% 11 82.00–97.00 $88.54 $931 +2.85
925–1315 1081 85-90% 7 71.00–77.00 $73.37 $793 -12.32

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1695 1440 5 108.00–112.00 $110.57 $1,592 —
1390–2165 1689 7 115.00–134.00 $122.99 $2,077 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1175–1475 1275 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,150.00–1,325.00 $1,217.48
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
910 910 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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
1025–1527 1366 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 6 1,325.00–1,725.00 $1,529.20 —
1420 1420 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,325.00 $1,325.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1235–1280 1258 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,125.00–1,175.00 $1,149.55 —
1270 1270 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 1 90.00 $90.00 $824 —
963 fancy 963 49 120.00 $120.00 $1,156 —

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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.