Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 16, 2023

1,255 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 $220.77/cwt +18.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,147/hd at 520 lb · 126 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $194.40/cwt +6.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,512/hd at 778 lb · 74 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $203.58/cwt +3.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,614/hd at 793 lb · 70 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,255 648 936
Feeder cattle 1,143 528 853
Slaughter cattle 106 116 69
Replacement cattle 6 4 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with very good demand for weaned 500-700 lbs and yearlings. Feeder heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with very good demand. 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
240 value added 240 1 235.00 $235.00 $564 —
340 value added 340 3 229.00 $229.00 $779 -1.00
370 370 3 226.00 $226.00 $836 —
375 value added 375 2 230.00 $230.00 $862 -10.00
405 405 1 212.50 $212.50 $861 +17.50
402–427 value added 418 7 220.00–248.00 $237.76 $994 +1.23
472 472 2 219.00 $219.00 $1,034 —
450–492 value added 477 46 221.00–246.00 $240.49 $1,147 -3.38
501–546 value added 529 55 221.00–249.00 $236.59 $1,252 +9.58
560–587 value added 580 38 229.00–250.00 $239.27 $1,388 +9.40
602–632 value added 615 14 211.00–240.00 $231.22 $1,422 -1.12
643 643 5 200.00 $200.00 $1,286 -6.79
651–698 value added 672 61 211.00–230.00 $224.79 $1,511 +6.79
680 680 4 199.00 $199.00 $1,353 —
713–734 value added 730 18 200.00–220.00 $215.70 $1,575 —
761–795 value added 793 70 195.00–203.95 $203.58 $1,614 +3.58
810–821 819 5 190.00–196.00 $194.81 $1,595 —
862–880 879 65 196.00–199.00 $197.72 $1,738 +18.72
900 900 57 188.00–195.60 $195.47 $1,759 —
965–974 974 58 181.25–190.00 $181.40 $1,767 —
1005 1005 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,809 —
1006 fancy 1006 56 182.90 $182.90 $1,840 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 182.50 $182.50 $812 —
487 487 2 207.00 $207.00 $1,008 —
750–790 769 5 170.00–186.00 $178.14 $1,370 —
1050 1050 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,040 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 value added 385 10 192.00–204.00 $193.20 $744 —
400–435 value added 426 24 212.00–226.00 $223.10 $950 +11.56
460–493 value added 476 9 212.00–225.00 $218.55 $1,040 +15.11
501–545 value added 519 121 206.00–239.00 $222.08 $1,153 +18.59
530–540 538 5 187.00–197.00 $188.97 $1,017 +6.97
555–590 573 2 189.00–192.00 $190.45 $1,091 +5.45
555–586 value added 579 53 201.00–223.50 $216.31 $1,252 +23.28
600–640 620 2 184.00–194.00 $188.84 $1,171 +13.84
605–642 value added 624 55 203.00–221.00 $214.38 $1,338 +21.91
668–681 value added 676 10 199.00–211.00 $203.16 $1,373 +12.81
677–685 680 3 181.00–194.00 $185.37 $1,261 +8.37
701 value added 701 13 201.00 $201.00 $1,409 —
705–741 730 6 149.00–155.00 $153.22 $1,119 —
775–778 value added 778 74 186.00–194.75 $194.40 $1,512 +4.90
850 850 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,130 +30.50
853–865 value added 855 6 183.00–184.00 $183.17 $1,566 —
950 value added 950 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,624 —
1165 1165 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,456 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–330 320 2 167.50–180.00 $173.95 $557 +7.37
367 367 2 187.00 $187.00 $686 +22.00
450–470 467 7 179.00–184.00 $179.69 $839 +11.17
538 538 5 177.00 $177.00 $952 +2.80
555–577 570 3 166.00–172.00 $167.95 $957 —
645 645 2 166.00 $166.00 $1,071 —
665–695 680 2 155.00–163.00 $158.91 $1,081 —
835 835 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,027 —
885 885 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,053 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–322 322 5 212.00–215.00 $212.60 $685 +12.60
400–427 value added 419 10 220.00–235.00 $224.30 $940 -11.65
470 value added 470 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,086 -0.48
510–546 value added 527 17 197.00–230.00 $219.15 $1,155 +3.15
530–545 538 2 191.00–196.00 $193.47 $1,041 +3.47
560–587 value added 578 3 215.00–216.00 $215.32 $1,245 -0.09
617–642 value added 631 17 206.00–210.00 $207.75 $1,311 +2.48
685 685 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,329 +7.88
840 840 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,201 —
860–880 870 2 125.00–134.00 $129.55 $1,127 -9.45
992 992 2 114.00 $114.00 $1,131 —
1025 1025 1 90.00 $90.00 $922 -2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 2 200.00 $200.00 $590 +18.99
360–390 375 3 180.00–191.00 $187.15 $702 —
485 485 1 170.00 $170.00 $824 —
515–535 525 2 165.00–182.00 $173.34 $910 —
740 740 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,036 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 187.00 $187.00 $870 —
550–565 558 2 177.50–201.00 $189.09 $1,055 -15.91
820 820 1 148.00 $148.00 $1,214 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–345 333 2 155.00–160.00 $157.41 $524 —
400 400 1 141.00 $141.00 $564 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1215 1160 80-85% 4 86.00–95.00 $89.73 $1,041 +6.73
1260 1260 80-85% 1 79.00 $79.00 $995 -20.39
990–1755 1302 80-85% 26 95.00–124.00 $111.26 $1,449 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1910 1475 75-80% 25 98.00–126.00 $109.93 $1,621 +20.48
1585 1585 75-80% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,284 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 85-90% 1 75.00 $75.00 $716 —
830–1245 1024 85-90% 8 84.00–89.00 $86.55 $886 +1.20
920–1290 1087 85-90% 8 91.00–109.00 $98.25 $1,068 +4.70

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–2035 1566 4 110.00–114.00 $111.46 $1,745 —
1290–1980 1667 9 121.00–141.00 $130.66 $2,178 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155–1270 1232 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,025.00–1,225.00 $1,145.30
1165–1445 1273 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,025.00–1,425.00 $1,231.74

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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.