Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 25, 2023

729 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $199.99/cwt -0.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,032/hd at 516 lb · 27 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $218.09/cwt +13.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,016/hd at 466 lb · 26 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $223.45/cwt +13.94 vs last sale · ≈ $947/hd at 424 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 729 906 934
Feeder cattle 610 835 832
Slaughter cattle 119 71 102

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality; a few more average to plain quality calves beginning to show up the last couple weeks and those calves facing discounts. Buyers still rewarding well managed herds marketing weaned calf packages. Very good demand for weaned 400-600 lb heifer packages. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady with 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
325–340 value added 333 2 242.00–257.50 $249.92 $832 -10.64
395 value added 395 1 232.50 $232.50 $918 -27.85
410–440 value added 422 10 235.00–251.00 $237.74 $1,003 -15.83
450–495 value added 469 12 201.00–235.00 $222.20 $1,042 -33.23
505–540 value added 523 22 212.00–248.00 $234.90 $1,229 +5.55
550–596 value added 585 24 214.00–244.00 $239.00 $1,398 -7.61
600–630 value added 606 12 217.00–237.00 $221.63 $1,343 -3.49
675–687 value added 680 5 207.00–225.00 $217.72 $1,480 +8.01
715–730 723 2 176.00–187.00 $181.44 $1,312 —
700–735 value added 726 4 191.00 $191.00 $1,387 -2.85
752–758 value added 757 18 194.00–200.00 $196.83 $1,490 —
792 792 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,386 —
820–842 835 3 174.00–189.00 $178.91 $1,494 -23.40
895 895 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,656 -2.00
955–988 981 5 184.00 $184.00 $1,805 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 191.00 $191.00 $602 —
545 545 1 183.00 $183.00 $997 —
890 890 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,522 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 200.00 $200.00 $840 —
850 850 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,114 -48.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 value added 390 1 215.00 $215.00 $838 +3.12
403–429 value added 422 21 218.00–234.00 $226.75 $957 +17.24
435 435 3 200.00–201.00 $200.33 $871 —
455–490 value added 464 24 203.00–244.00 $220.43 $1,023 +13.67
490 490 2 190.00 $190.00 $931 -2.63
501–547 value added 514 21 196.00–204.00 $203.23 $1,045 +2.13
520–535 523 6 183.00–191.00 $188.63 $987 -3.53
556–576 value added 567 7 196.00–215.00 $204.13 $1,157 -1.04
575–595 585 2 174.00–195.00 $184.68 $1,080 +0.12
610–615 613 2 172.00–184.00 $177.98 $1,091 —
615–647 value added 635 9 189.00–196.00 $192.50 $1,222 +0.23
680 680 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,122 -9.78
685–695 value added 690 2 176.00–196.00 $186.07 $1,284 -3.32
845 845 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,394 —
900 900 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,143 -9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 140.00 $140.00 $280 -38.09
315–330 323 2 150.00–182.50 $166.63 $538 —
380–390 387 3 167.00–185.00 $172.90 $669 -8.90
400–437 425 3 179.00–190.00 $182.45 $775 —
465 465 1 164.00 $164.00 $763 -12.89
525–545 535 2 170.00–181.00 $175.40 $938 +22.40
585–590 588 2 180.00–181.00 $180.50 $1,061 —
602–645 624 4 141.00–153.00 $145.78 $910 -6.57
670 670 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,025 -8.00
700 700 1 120.00 $120.00 $840 -14.00
785 785 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,099 +19.00
825 825 1 120.00 $120.00 $990 +10.00
945 945 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,011 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 172.00 $172.00 $826 -8.00
560 560 2 172.00 $172.00 $963 +2.00
600 600 1 150.00 $150.00 $900 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 123.00 $123.00 $541 —
490 490 1 117.50 $117.50 $576 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 200.00 $200.00 $530 -42.50
295 value added 295 1 230.00 $230.00 $678 —
305–330 value added 318 2 250.00–262.50 $256.00 $814 +16.00
380–393 value added 388 5 230.00–231.00 $230.61 $895 -10.58
410 410 1 210.00 $210.00 $861 —
405–425 value added 415 2 220.00–231.00 $225.63 $936 -21.03
450–485 value added 464 7 220.00–240.00 $228.92 $1,062 -7.91
505–513 511 5 200.00–205.00 $201.39 $1,029 -5.68
510–545 value added 532 8 210.00–228.00 $217.42 $1,157 -11.62
575–590 value added 586 4 207.00–208.00 $207.75 $1,217 —
605–610 value added 608 2 204.00–211.00 $207.49 $1,262 -2.36
680–690 683 4 179.00–196.00 $187.28 $1,279 —
775–790 783 2 145.00–157.00 $150.94 $1,182 +2.97
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 2 170.00–180.00 $175.00 $472 —
330–340 337 3 180.00–187.00 $184.71 $622 —
365–382 376 3 180.00–200.00 $193.53 $728 +25.44
460 460 1 165.00 $165.00 $759 +5.00
645 645 1 142.50 $142.50 $919 —
665 665 1 142.00 $142.00 $944 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 135.00 $135.00 $385 —
475 475 1 112.50 $112.50 $534 -22.50
575 575 1 125.00 $125.00 $719 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1250 1195 80-85% 3 86.00–89.00 $87.34 $1,044 -0.90
1030–1620 1301 80-85% 31 92.00–109.00 $98.32 $1,279 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225 1225 75-80% 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,115 —
1290–1705 1511 75-80% 24 94.00–112.00 $100.96 $1,526 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
745–825 785 85-90% 2 63.00–69.00 $65.85 $517 —
1015 1015 85-90% 1 79.00 $79.00 $802 -8.00
885–1235 1062 85-90% 11 86.00–98.00 $91.02 $967 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590–1845 1718 2 119.00–139.00 $129.74 $2,229 —
1830 1830 1 117.00 $117.00 $2,141 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
686 686 3 121.00 $121.00 $830 —

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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.