Cattle Market Pulse

Kentuckiana Livestock Market Report

Owensboro, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 18, 2026

306 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Kentuckiana Livestock Market report →

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $512.28/cwt +1.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,918/hd at 374 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $425.43/cwt -1.57 vs last sale · ≈ $2,230/hd at 524 lb · 21 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $425.76/cwt +5.76 vs last sale · ≈ $2,431/hd at 571 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 306 141 339
Feeder cattle 251 109 279
Slaughter cattle 49 28 58
Replacement cattle 6 4 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week steers and heifers sold mostly steady with spots 5.00 lower on a good quality offering of feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 lower and slaughter bulls sold steady with good demand for slaughter classes.

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
349 349 4 590.00 $590.00 $2,059 —
385 385 1 515.00 $515.00 $1,983 -50.00
430–438 433 5 490.00–515.00 $504.89 $2,186 —
472–491 483 7 490.00–510.00 $501.62 $2,423 +1.62
530–543 539 3 470.00 $470.00 $2,533 -17.00
560–579 577 9 450.00 $450.00 $2,596 —
625 625 1 410.00 $410.00 $2,562 -3.00
686 686 17 380.00 $380.00 $2,607 —
920 920 1 300.00 $300.00 $2,760 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740 740 2 280.00 $280.00 $2,072 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 440.00 $440.00 $2,332 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256 256 4 625.00 $625.00 $1,600 —
335 335 1 455.00 $455.00 $1,524 +15.00
365–388 fancy 373 17 522.00–525.00 $524.63 $1,957 -0.37
355–398 379 5 450.00–485.00 $470.31 $1,782 +15.31
425–448 446 14 426.00–450.00 $448.37 $2,000 -17.14
502 502 3 396.00 $396.00 $1,988 —
523–539 value added 528 18 430.00–431.00 $430.34 $2,272 +3.34
590 590 2 371.00 $371.00 $2,189 -13.00
644 644 10 361.00 $361.00 $2,325 —
670 670 3 325.00 $325.00 $2,178 —
728 728 7 320.00 $320.00 $2,330 -12.00
773 773 8 331.00 $331.00 $2,559 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,732 —
560 560 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,820 -10.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 1 212.00 $212.00 $2,003 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 1 325.00 $325.00 $2,031 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 356.00 $356.00 $2,011 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 4 615.00 $615.00 $1,722 —
320 320 1 555.00 $555.00 $1,776 —
352 fancy 352 8 574.00 $574.00 $2,020 +9.00
437–438 438 6 455.00–461.00 $458.00 $2,006 -62.00
447 fancy 447 9 501.00 $501.00 $2,239 —
465–490 486 6 442.00–451.00 $449.56 $2,185 —
508–515 514 12 460.00–465.00 $460.82 $2,369 +0.82
562–595 571 17 410.00–430.00 $425.76 $2,431 +5.76
669 669 7 370.00 $370.00 $2,475 —
767 767 7 330.00 $330.00 $2,531 —
850 850 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,295 —
1005 1005 1 251.00 $251.00 $2,523 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367 367 3 475.00 $475.00 $1,743 —
633 633 2 320.00 $320.00 $2,026 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,890 —
1060 1060 1 200.00 $200.00 $2,120 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095 1095 80-85% 1 178.00 $178.00 $1,949 —
1150–1265 1208 80-85% 2 131.00–145.00 $138.33 $1,671 -18.17
1060–1380 1232 80-85% 13 153.00–174.00 $163.83 $2,018 +7.33
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
745 745 85-90% 1 100.00 $100.00 $745 —
825–1150 988 85-90% 2 120.00–121.00 $120.58 $1,191 —
990–1050 1020 85-90% 2 164.00–169.00 $166.57 $1,699 +29.26
935–1090 1028 85-90% 4 143.00–156.00 $149.95 $1,541 +12.64
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1610 1525 75-80% 2 176.00 $176.00 $2,684 —
1440–1895 1620 75-80% 4 154.00–166.00 $159.94 $2,591 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1580–2010 1795 2 215.00 $215.00 $3,859 —
1940–2245 2093 2 225.00–230.00 $227.68 $4,765 -14.73

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1120 1120 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 251.00 $251.00 $2,811

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,200 —

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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.