Cattle Market Pulse

Cattleman's Livestock Market Report

Bowling Green, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 20, 2026

227 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 2-3 bulls $431.37/cwt -8.63 vs last sale · ≈ $2,243/hd at 520 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 227 413 241
Feeder cattle 169 202 150
Slaughter cattle 38 41 47
Replacement cattle 20 170 44

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers sold unevenly steady on a light test. Feeder heifers traded sharply higher. The feeder calf prices rebounded back to prices seen two to three weeks ago with much stronger demand than last week. Slaughter cows sold steady and slaughter bulls were 4.00-6.00 lower.

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
335 335 1 590.00 $590.00 $1,976 —
410 410 2 565.00 $565.00 $2,316 —
450 450 1 547.50 $547.50 $2,464 +22.50
510 510 2 482.50 $482.50 $2,461 -33.55
585 585 3 450.00 $450.00 $2,632 +19.00
645 645 1 410.00 $410.00 $2,644 -15.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 470.00 $470.00 $1,904 -15.29
535 535 1 406.00 $406.00 $2,172 -67.00
585–595 590 2 370.00–375.00 $372.52 $2,198 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635 635 2 395.00 $395.00 $2,508 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 590.00 $590.00 $1,682 +65.00
350 350 4 540.00 $540.00 $1,890 +55.00
404 404 9 490.00 $490.00 $1,980 +24.39
450 450 3 462.50 $462.50 $2,081 -8.50
503–509 506 9 430.00–447.50 $437.73 $2,215 +3.73
568 568 4 402.53 $402.53 $2,286 +17.53
627 627 3 365.00 $365.00 $2,289 ±0.00
660–695 676 7 320.00–327.50 $324.71 $2,195 —
713 713 2 325.00 $325.00 $2,317 -3.42
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 420.00 $420.00 $1,344 -55.00
443 443 2 455.00 $455.00 $2,016 +25.00
533 533 4 407.50 $407.50 $2,172 +4.97
582 582 5 380.00 $380.00 $2,212 +51.00
603 603 6 340.00 $340.00 $2,050 —
665 665 2 290.00 $290.00 $1,928 —
995 995 1 262.50 $262.50 $2,612 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 580.00 $580.00 $1,943 -5.00
393 393 4 567.50 $567.50 $2,230 —
415–442 439 8 505.00–507.50 $507.20 $2,227 -22.31
472 472 9 505.00 $505.00 $2,384 —
504 504 8 497.50 $497.50 $2,507 -7.50
567–583 575 6 427.50–435.00 $431.20 $2,479 +1.01
605–645 627 6 410.00–420.00 $413.22 $2,591 —
695 695 2 370.00 $370.00 $2,572 —
768 768 6 335.00 $335.00 $2,573 —
815 815 1 310.00 $310.00 $2,526 -2.50
855 855 1 315.00 $315.00 $2,693 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 535.00 $535.00 $1,658 —
489 489 4 480.00 $480.00 $2,347 —
509–540 520 10 425.00–440.00 $431.37 $2,243 -8.63
610–625 620 3 360.00–395.00 $371.48 $2,303 —
710 710 1 322.50 $322.50 $2,290 +37.50
810 810 1 285.00 $285.00 $2,308 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1650 1650 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 3,325.00 $3,325.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290 1290 75-80% 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,935 —
1145–1465 1314 75-80% 5 161.00–166.00 $163.81 $2,152 —
1250–1530 1322 75-80% 6 180.00–183.00 $180.58 $2,387 —
1350 1350 75-80% 1 137.50 $137.50 $1,856 -5.50
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1250 1112 80-85% 6 159.00–167.50 $161.96 $1,801 -18.11
970–1215 1118 80-85% 3 145.00–152.50 $149.81 $1,675 -30.26
1195 1195 80-85% 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,685 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930 930 85-90% 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,674 +20.00
900–1120 1006 85-90% 4 126.00–141.00 $131.35 $1,321 —
1065–1070 1068 85-90% 2 150.00–157.00 $153.49 $1,639 +13.49
1105 1105 85-90% 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,779 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395 1395 1 201.00 $201.00 $2,804 —
1525–1610 1568 2 177.50–180.00 $178.72 $2,802 —
1495–1920 1708 2 206.00–216.00 $210.38 $3,593 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,975.00 $1,975.00
1085–1515 1333 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 2,250.00–2,850.00 $2,595.63
1265–1420 1343 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,900.00–2,950.00 $2,926.44
1265–1445 1354 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 2,600.00–3,325.00 $3,004.80
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 3,225.00 $3,225.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,200.00 $2,200.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 3,050.00 $3,050.00 -1,650.00

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1130 1130 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 4,750.00 $4,750.00 —

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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.