Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report, Bowling Green, KY

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 3, 2023

561 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Cattleman's Livestock report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $194.62/cwt +10.62 vs last sale · ≈ $985/hd at 506 lb · 85 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $226.51/cwt +40.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,191/hd at 526 lb · 41 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $192.72/cwt +5.07 vs last sale · ≈ $913/hd at 474 lb · 34 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 561 232 722
Feeder cattle 534 171 634
Slaughter cattle 20 39 45
Replacement cattle 7 22 43

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers traded very well with no trend due to low receipts last week. Feeder heifers sold 6.00-8.00 higher and bull calves were sharply lower. A good quality offering today saw a lighter demand from feeder calf buyers. Slaughter cows sold 5.00-7.00 higher on a light test and no trend on slaughter bulls.

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
273 fancy 273 2 230.00 $230.00 $628 —
315 315 1 212.50 $212.50 $669 —
367–398 fancy 387 16 236.00–241.00 $240.01 $929 —
405–422 415 6 200.00–211.00 $205.24 $852 -15.76
415–449 fancy 440 12 231.00–248.00 $242.01 $1,065 -5.17
450–496 fancy 492 13 220.00–230.00 $229.30 $1,128 —
498 498 3 187.00 $187.00 $931 —
501–545 value added 525 37 220.00–232.00 $230.26 $1,209 —
530–540 535 4 182.50–201.00 $191.84 $1,026 +5.84
565–580 value added 578 9 224.00–225.00 $224.89 $1,300 —
635 635 2 195.00 $195.00 $1,238 —
642–648 value added 645 12 212.00–216.00 $214.01 $1,380 —
724–727 726 16 172.00–185.75 $182.32 $1,324 —
790–797 792 9 165.50–168.00 $166.34 $1,317 —
868 868 5 173.00 $173.00 $1,502 —
960–967 963 7 154.00–164.50 $159.98 $1,541 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760 760 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,307 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 197.50 $197.50 $474 —
271 271 6 190.00 $190.00 $515 -11.21
283 fancy 283 2 203.00 $203.00 $574 —
303–333 315 5 191.00–200.00 $194.80 $614 —
395 395 2 200.00 $200.00 $790 +26.65
400–418 fancy 403 22 205.00–208.00 $207.43 $836 +6.43
466–478 474 34 190.50–196.00 $192.72 $913 +5.07
501–508 505 51 185.00–197.50 $189.03 $955 +5.03
508 value added 508 34 203.00 $203.00 $1,031 —
552–573 566 27 169.00–182.25 $177.83 $1,007 -1.17
619–649 632 20 163.00–169.00 $166.56 $1,053 +1.29
650–698 680 8 157.50–168.00 $162.42 $1,104 -3.90
755–760 759 5 145.00–149.00 $145.80 $1,107 -0.20
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 172.50 $172.50 $405 —
410 410 1 165.00 $165.00 $676 +3.48
455–475 459 5 150.00–162.50 $159.91 $734 +2.59
705–720 713 2 113.00–130.00 $121.59 $867 -11.73
820 820 1 110.00 $110.00 $902 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 2 170.00 $170.00 $688 —
580 580 1 167.50 $167.50 $972 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 205.00 $205.00 $605 —
310–325 318 2 210.00–222.50 $216.40 $688 —
303–345 fancy 326 8 227.50–245.00 $233.80 $762 -16.20
386 fancy 386 9 235.00 $235.00 $907 —
395 395 1 200.00 $200.00 $790 -27.50
442 fancy 442 6 225.00 $225.00 $994 -27.10
445 445 2 185.00 $185.00 $823 -35.00
474 fancy 474 8 213.00 $213.00 $1,010 +4.89
503–538 512 12 196.00–196.50 $196.37 $1,005 —
513 fancy 513 16 205.00 $205.00 $1,052 -13.50
555 fancy 555 12 203.50 $203.50 $1,129 -2.54
598 598 5 199.00 $199.00 $1,190 —
618–647 630 7 185.00–190.50 $188.08 $1,185 +23.08
697 697 3 171.00 $171.00 $1,192 +2.00
711–719 715 9 174.50–179.50 $177.26 $1,267 +16.51
783 783 2 151.50 $151.50 $1,186 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 2 165.00 $165.00 $635 -9.56
535 535 1 175.00 $175.00 $936 +14.00
678 678 2 140.00 $140.00 $949 —
735 735 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,132 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 2 158.00 $158.00 $932 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800 800 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $560 —
830 830 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $456 -0.49
930–1065 994 85-90% 4 84.00–86.00 $85.13 $846 —
1040–1060 1047 85-90% 3 88.00–94.50 $90.48 $947 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045 1045 80-85% 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,024 —
1095–1280 1189 80-85% 4 81.00–85.00 $83.56 $994 +2.92
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1450 1300 75-80% 2 86.50–88.00 $87.16 $1,133 —
1525 1525 75-80% 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,647 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,322 —
1760–2145 1953 2 126.00–129.50 $127.92 $2,498 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1095 1095 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
925 925 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00

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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
930 930 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,700.00 $1,700.00 —
1105–1195 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,600.00–1,800.00 $1,703.91 —

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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.