Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards (Tuesday) Market Report

Lexington, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 21, 2024

682 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $239.89/cwt +14.27 vs last sale · ≈ $2,123/hd at 885 lb · 94 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $244.46/cwt +18.46 vs last sale · ≈ $2,220/hd at 908 lb · 65 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $228.53/cwt +4.53 vs last sale · ≈ $2,263/hd at 990 lb · 64 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 682 990 810
Feeder cattle 632 895 752
Slaughter cattle 50 86 58
Replacement cattle — 9 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday feeder steers and heifers sold steady on similar quality. Yearlings sold 5.00 to 7.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter cows sold steady to 5.00 higher with very good demand. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00 to 10.00 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
315 315 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,008 —
310–340 value added 325 2 327.50–335.00 $331.42 $1,077 +11.42
363–375 value added 366 4 328.00–350.00 $344.36 $1,260 +11.05
410 value added 410 3 335.00–342.50 $337.83 $1,385 -10.82
475–485 483 4 299.00–310.00 $307.29 $1,484 -2.71
480–484 value added 484 9 315.00–330.00 $316.65 $1,533 -25.57
568–578 value added 576 37 291.00–310.00 $307.26 $1,770 +0.11
580–585 583 2 280.00 $280.00 $1,632 -10.02
610–636 value added 625 15 273.00–294.00 $285.97 $1,787 —
694 value added 694 8 281.00 $281.00 $1,950 -3.92
700 700 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,680 —
713 value added 713 10 253.00 $253.00 $1,804 -19.45
787 787 7 244.50 $244.50 $1,924 —
876–898 value added 885 93 239.50–240.75 $240.04 $2,124 —
895 895 1 226.00 $226.00 $2,023 +0.38
908 fancy 908 64 245.00 $245.00 $2,225 —
925 925 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,942 -16.00
978–994 987 12 208.00–210.00 $209.17 $2,065 -14.83
991 fancy 991 52 233.00 $233.00 $2,309 —
1093 1093 3 190.00 $190.00 $2,077 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–465 463 2 270.00–281.00 $275.53 $1,276 —
600 600 25 265.00 $265.00 $1,590 —
700 700 4 229.00 $229.00 $1,603 -1.61
870 870 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,740 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,785 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 value added 315 4 295.00 $295.00 $929 —
330 330 2 285.00 $285.00 $940 -22.50
415–416 value added 416 4 281.00–292.50 $283.87 $1,181 -1.75
407–436 428 8 265.00–271.00 $266.93 $1,142 —
486–499 value added 490 17 280.00–281.00 $280.70 $1,375 +5.70
507–517 512 4 250.00–259.00 $254.54 $1,303 -2.74
527–535 value added 530 3 266.00–285.00 $278.60 $1,477 +2.29
560–590 value added 581 31 261.00–263.00 $261.31 $1,518 -17.06
628 thin fleshed 628 29 266.00 $266.00 $1,670 —
656 thin fleshed 656 9 264.00 $264.00 $1,732 —
680–687 value added 684 8 251.00–258.00 $252.25 $1,725 +8.33
700 700 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,547 —
701–745 value added 712 4 230.00–235.00 $233.69 $1,664 -1.15
750–775 763 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,526 +2.07
802 802 4 195.00 $195.00 $1,564 ±0.00
905–925 915 2 187.00–190.00 $188.48 $1,725 +9.19
980 980 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,813 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 285.00 $285.00 $784 —
481–490 483 4 244.00–252.00 $249.97 $1,207 +13.50
506 506 3 249.00 $249.00 $1,260 +6.00
575–595 585 2 233.00–241.00 $237.07 $1,387 -1.61
601–635 625 13 200.00–205.00 $202.98 $1,269 -27.02
700–745 720 3 180.00–188.00 $183.45 $1,321 -13.87
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,050 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 297.00 $297.00 $891 —
360 360 2 292.00 $292.00 $1,051 +0.46
473–480 value added 475 6 292.00–305.00 $299.32 $1,422 -12.80
460–487 478 3 285.00–292.00 $289.75 $1,385 -10.22
500–510 value added 509 7 282.00–287.50 $282.77 $1,439 -20.65
515 515 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,390 -9.00
580–595 588 2 262.00–266.00 $264.03 $1,552 -10.20
630–640 638 4 240.00–241.00 $240.75 $1,536 -4.93
646 fancy 646 17 275.00 $275.00 $1,776 —
651 651 3 240.00 $240.00 $1,562 -8.47
763 763 6 244.00 $244.00 $1,862 +14.04
815 815 1 206.00 $206.00 $1,679 —
933–948 941 6 170.00–174.00 $171.98 $1,618 -8.02
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 267.50 $267.50 $709 —
535 535 3 250.00 $250.00 $1,338 —
600 600 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,380 —
650 650 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,462 -5.50
738 738 3 214.00 $214.00 $1,579 —
783 783 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,644 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1645 1418 75-80% 16 131.00–149.00 $139.63 $1,980 +3.74
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1355 1162 80-85% 3 122.00–127.00 $125.17 $1,454 -2.13
1045–1830 1263 80-85% 10 130.00–146.00 $138.48 $1,749 +0.74
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1100 980 85-90% 2 105.00–108.00 $106.68 $1,045 —
930–1165 1048 85-90% 2 123.00–139.00 $131.90 $1,382 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1760 1364 4 154.00–159.00 $156.16 $2,130 —
1500 1500 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,935 -32.69
1970–2080 2023 3 168.00–185.00 $179.34 $3,628 —

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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.