Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 9, 2023

648 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $193.50/cwt +3.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,751/hd at 905 lb · 60 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $202.66/cwt +3.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,081/hd at 534 lb · 52 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $187.82/cwt -0.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,442/hd at 768 lb · 46 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 648 778 968
Feeder cattle 528 645 877
Slaughter cattle 116 83 86
Replacement cattle 4 50 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality with very good demand for weaned calf packages and yearlings. 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
345 value added 345 1 230.00 $230.00 $794 -7.50
395 value added 395 1 240.00 $240.00 $948 -20.00
405–430 value added 417 6 228.00–245.00 $236.53 $986 -2.11
420 420 1 195.00 $195.00 $819 -4.88
452–472 value added 463 15 233.00–255.00 $243.87 $1,129 -1.48
501–510 value added 506 6 226.00–228.00 $227.01 $1,149 -8.73
540 540 1 198.00 $198.00 $1,069 -12.00
554–592 value added 564 15 218.00–240.00 $229.87 $1,296 -6.43
615–618 value added 617 9 223.00–235.00 $232.34 $1,434 +9.52
620–645 635 4 200.00–210.00 $206.79 $1,313 +9.76
650 value added 650 6 218.00 $218.00 $1,417 +4.07
725 725 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,406 +4.00
772 value added 772 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,544 -4.35
860 860 13 179.00 $179.00 $1,539 —
905 fancy 905 60 193.50 $193.50 $1,751 +3.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
841 841 4 181.00 $181.00 $1,522 —
975 975 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,511 —
1055 1055 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,456 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
615 615 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,150 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–285 270 2 185.00–187.50 $186.32 $503 -3.06
310–325 318 2 175.00–180.00 $177.56 $565 —
320 value added 320 3 190.00 $190.00 $608 —
359–397 375 14 180.00–191.00 $183.03 $686 —
402–440 value added 420 22 200.00–217.00 $211.54 $888 +2.66
410–440 429 5 186.00–198.00 $189.32 $812 +2.10
450 450 2 193.00 $193.00 $868 —
461–495 value added 475 18 195.00–208.00 $203.44 $966 -1.82
512–538 value added 533 50 190.00–207.00 $203.49 $1,085 +2.72
547 547 2 182.00 $182.00 $996 -3.50
550 550 3 185.00 $185.00 $1,018 +7.50
560–598 value added 587 8 190.00–195.00 $193.03 $1,133 -4.50
601–635 value added 616 42 184.00–200.00 $192.47 $1,186 -1.37
630 630 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,102 +0.05
665–696 value added 689 22 181.00–195.00 $190.35 $1,312 +3.52
695 695 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,230 +5.48
755–780 763 3 160.00–171.00 $163.75 $1,249 -5.42
768 value added 768 43 189.50 $189.50 $1,455 -0.08
811 811 4 178.00 $178.00 $1,444 +8.67
872 872 2 102.50 $102.50 $894 —
945 945 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,040 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 2 170.00 $170.00 $468 +7.50
330–335 332 3 150.00–175.00 $166.58 $553 +6.58
355–395 377 3 144.00–177.50 $165.00 $622 +12.50
425–435 432 3 160.00–177.50 $165.74 $716 -3.31
485–490 489 4 162.00–175.00 $168.52 $824 —
510–540 533 8 161.00–178.00 $174.20 $928 +34.20

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 200.00 $200.00 $440 +18.00
306 306 3 200.00 $200.00 $612 —
300–333 value added 322 7 220.00–237.50 $232.22 $748 —
372–395 value added 379 5 210.00–237.50 $223.23 $846 -5.80
405–445 value added 425 2 235.00–237.00 $235.95 $1,003 +9.79
450 450 1 197.00 $197.00 $886 —
460–485 value added 476 13 220.00–239.00 $231.48 $1,102 -5.64
525 525 1 190.00 $190.00 $998 —
500–546 value added 532 8 212.00–223.00 $216.00 $1,149 -17.13
550–597 value added 573 8 205.00–220.00 $215.41 $1,234 -8.38
580–595 588 2 184.00–193.00 $188.44 $1,108 -19.56
607–630 value added 615 3 200.00–208.00 $205.27 $1,262 +2.59
635–640 637 3 190.00–192.00 $191.34 $1,219 —
667–686 682 13 180.00–194.00 $186.12 $1,269 —
703 703 3 173.00 $173.00 $1,216 +8.00
755–793 784 5 152.00–157.50 $153.46 $1,203 -24.54
885 885 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,230 +14.00
940 940 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,241 +8.00
1020 1020 1 92.00 $92.00 $938 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,210 —
633 633 4 180.00 $180.00 $1,139 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 160.00 $160.00 $320 —
265–280 273 2 172.50–190.00 $181.01 $494 -8.99
440 440 1 190.00 $190.00 $836 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165 1165 80-85% 1 83.00 $83.00 $967 —
1010–1465 1228 80-85% 11 84.00–91.00 $87.86 $1,079 -6.43
1025–1525 1264 80-85% 30 92.00–108.00 $99.39 $1,256 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–1000 908 85-90% 2 74.00–79.00 $76.75 $697 -15.25
895–1115 992 85-90% 3 56.00–70.00 $61.71 $612 —
890–1150 1023 85-90% 11 83.00–88.00 $85.35 $873 —
965–1245 1091 85-90% 12 90.00–102.00 $93.55 $1,021 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 75-80% 1 83.00 $83.00 $913 -6.00
1125–1790 1450 75-80% 14 95.00–107.00 $99.22 $1,439 —
1355–1685 1477 75-80% 3 88.00–91.00 $89.45 $1,321 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175 1175 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,304 —
1360 1360 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,210 —
1485–2155 1847 5 125.00–143.00 $130.67 $2,413 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
890–1090 998 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 7 91.00–105.00 $97.10 $969

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170–1175 1173 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 875.00–1,025.00 $950.16
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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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.