Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 6, 2024

251 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $259.75/cwt +13.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,603/hd at 617 lb · 12 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $289.00/cwt +12.31 vs last sale · ≈ $1,315/hd at 455 lb · 10 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $267.00/cwt +7.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,367/hd at 512 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 251 113 100
Feeder cattle 165 83 68
Slaughter cattle 34 24 16
Replacement cattle 52 6 16

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: No trend on feeder steers due to low receipts last week. Feeder heifers sold 4.00-6.00 higher. An overall plain quality feeder offering saw moderate demand from buyers. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher 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
448 448 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,344 —
455–493 484 4 300.00–310.00 $302.35 $1,463 -13.65
544 544 8 300.00 $300.00 $1,632 -7.00
590 590 2 293.00 $293.00 $1,729 —
609 value added 609 10 297.00 $297.00 $1,809 —
815 815 1 232.00 $232.00 $1,891 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 2 278.00 $278.00 $1,348 —
590 590 2 280.00 $280.00 $1,652 —
610 610 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,616 —
720 720 1 243.00 $243.00 $1,750 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357–370 360 4 295.00–298.00 $297.23 $1,070 -12.77
412 412 9 290.00 $290.00 $1,195 —
455 455 10 289.00 $289.00 $1,315 +12.31
512 512 10 267.00 $267.00 $1,367 +7.00
568–571 570 10 249.50–253.00 $250.55 $1,428 +4.16
613 613 4 255.00 $255.00 $1,563 —
670 670 2 225.00–227.00 $226.00 $1,514 -1.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 282.50 $282.50 $805 —
400 400 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,100 +19.00
450–473 465 3 261.00–270.00 $263.90 $1,227 —
560 560 3 231.00 $231.00 $1,294 —
603–640 615 3 230.00–238.00 $235.23 $1,447 +5.23
660 660 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,419 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 270.00 $270.00 $824 —
530 530 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,086 —

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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 1 320.00 $320.00 $960 -17.50
362 362 3 331.00 $331.00 $1,198 —
425–428 426 5 296.00–311.00 $304.97 $1,299 -24.03
455 455 2 305.00 $305.00 $1,388 -3.19
508 508 8 294.00 $294.00 $1,494 +8.70
550–590 561 7 264.00–284.00 $277.99 $1,560 —
617 617 12 259.75 $259.75 $1,603 +13.75
705 705 2 241.00 $241.00 $1,699 +2.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435–440 436 5 260.00–286.00 $279.10 $1,217 —
482 482 3 255.00 $255.00 $1,229 —
524 524 5 275.00 $275.00 $1,441 +5.00
645 645 1 239.00 $239.00 $1,542 —
740 740 1 212.00 $212.00 $1,569 +22.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1280 1280 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1520 1325 75-80% 10 119.00–128.00 $124.39 $1,648 +0.25
1315–1685 1492 75-80% 9 130.00–138.00 $132.66 $1,979 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 80-85% 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,375 —
905–1225 1119 80-85% 6 114.00–122.00 $117.95 $1,320 —
1150–1165 1158 80-85% 2 103.00–108.00 $105.52 $1,222 -17.49
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1120 1025 85-90% 2 106.00–111.00 $108.27 $1,110 +1.62

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245 1245 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,631 —
1740–1770 1755 2 157.00–158.00 $157.50 $2,764 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1140–1485 1269 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,600.00–2,275.00 $1,872.85
1305 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 2,150.00 $2,150.00
1125–1400 1308 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 2,400.00–2,600.00 $2,542.68
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065–1090 1082 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,750.00–1,800.00 $1,766.41

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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
1065 1065 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 2,900.00 $2,900.00 —
1100–1140 1120 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 2,400.00–2,450.00 $2,425.45 —
1150–1275 1196 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 2,350.00–3,300.00 $3,043.64 —
1245 1245 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,700.00 $1,700.00 —
1070–1350 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 2,300.00–3,000.00 $2,806.40 —
1255 1255 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,400.00 $2,400.00 —
1130–1415 1262 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 10 2,300.00–3,500.00 $3,114.70 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
890 890 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,400.00 $2,400.00 —
930 930 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 3,050.00 $3,050.00 —
975 thin fleshed 975 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
830–875 853 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,550.00–1,850.00 $1,696.04 —

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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.