Cattle Market Pulse

KY-TN Livestock Market Report

Guthrie, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 20, 2021

758 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest KY-TN Livestock Market report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.64/cwt +5.10 vs last sale · ≈ $819/hd at 544 lb · 49 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.68/cwt +7.68 vs last sale · ≈ $766/hd at 552 lb · 48 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.80/cwt +5.24 vs last sale · ≈ $764/hd at 627 lb · 39 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 758 734 904
Feeder cattle 619 575 752
Slaughter cattle 94 159 116
Replacement cattle 45 — 36

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers traded steady to 5.00 higher. Feeder heifers 6.00-8.00 higher. Feeder bulls traded 3.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls traded steady to 3.00 higher.

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
275–298 295 7 175.00–180.00 $179.33 $529 —
375 375 2 167.00 $167.00 $626 -3.39
418 418 4 163.00 $163.00 $681 +3.00
480 480 11 153.00 $153.00 $734 -0.43
530–548 544 49 143.00–151.50 $150.64 $819 +5.10
623–631 625 17 141.00–144.50 $142.04 $888 +2.04
693 693 3 132.00 $132.00 $915 —
804 804 4 122.00 $122.00 $981 —
994 994 8 108.50 $108.50 $1,078 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 2 138.00 $138.00 $611 -8.00
469 469 4 147.00 $147.00 $689 +1.00
608–640 625 12 119.00–130.00 $128.22 $801 -5.78
795 795 1 113.00 $113.00 $898 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–292 290 7 157.50–159.00 $158.79 $460 +18.79
310 310 1 145.00 $145.00 $450 -6.00
357–364 358 25 146.00–149.00 $148.51 $532 +8.51
436–437 436 32 147.00–149.00 $147.50 $643 +7.75
480–487 485 38 145.00–146.50 $145.39 $705 +7.39
518–547 536 8 133.00–134.00 $133.64 $716 +5.33
550–570 552 48 136.00–139.00 $138.68 $766 +7.68
610–631 627 39 121.00–125.00 $121.80 $764 +5.24
710–733 722 4 109.00–111.00 $109.98 $794 +6.98
763–764 764 12 111.00–115.00 $114.33 $873 +6.33
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
243 243 2 122.50 $122.50 $298 —
255 255 3 135.00 $135.00 $344 —
367–375 368 6 130.00–141.00 $139.13 $512 -0.04
415–426 422 6 115.00–118.00 $117.02 $494 —
455 455 5 131.00 $131.00 $596 —
503–548 527 11 120.00–131.00 $125.87 $663 —
620 620 1 119.00 $119.00 $738 —
680 680 5 107.00 $107.00 $728 —
755 755 1 101.00 $101.00 $763 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308 308 —— 2 165.00 $165.00 $508 -11.00
361–372 362 —— 24 173.00–174.00 $173.87 $629 +3.36
423 423 —— 26 160.00 $160.00 $677 +6.39
487 487 —— 23 148.25 $148.25 $722 +2.35
547 547 —— 18 144.75 $144.75 $792 +9.59
622 622 —— 16 135.00 $135.00 $840 +3.16
700 700 —— 12 127.00 $127.00 $889 +6.40
820 820 —— 6 99.50 $99.50 $816 -5.00
1190–1380 1295 (<2 yrs)N/A 3 102.00–142.50 $120.16 $1,556 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 147.50 $147.50 $494 —
373 373 2 161.00 $161.00 $601 +2.00
400–441 437 11 141.00–146.00 $143.06 $625 -3.94
540 540 4 138.50 $138.50 $748 —
550 550 1 122.50 $122.50 $674 +1.50
637–646 643 8 122.50–123.50 $122.87 $790 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1200 1069 85-90% 4 55.00–57.00 $55.84 $597 -1.31
1070–1205 1138 85-90% 2 70.00–74.00 $72.12 $821 —
1000–1455 1199 85-90% 28 58.00–68.50 $63.57 $762 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1200 1150 80-85% 2 67.00–69.00 $68.04 $782 —
1000–1510 1275 80-85% 13 70.00–78.00 $73.79 $941 —
1600 1600 80-85% 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,264 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 75-80% 1 58.00 $58.00 $870 -12.15
1350–1710 1520 75-80% 11 68.00–73.50 $70.25 $1,068 +0.10

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–2500 1639 6 84.00–91.00 $88.09 $1,444 —
1635–2480 1998 5 94.50–101.50 $98.21 $1,962 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1240 1240 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
1050–1450 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 780.00–980.00 $865.73
1235–1400 1318 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 785.00–935.00 $864.70

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 925.00 $925.00

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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
1050–1450 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,375.00–1,400.00 $1,385.50 —
1250–1500 1367 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,025.00–1,400.00 $1,260.98 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950 950 (<2 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —

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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.