Cattle Market Pulse

Russell Co. Stockyard Market Report

Russell Springs, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 31, 2023

352 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Russell Co. Stockyard report →

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $233.03/cwt +7.77 vs last sale · ≈ $897/hd at 385 lb · 25 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $252.58/cwt +8.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,081/hd at 428 lb · 23 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $236.67/cwt +7.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,149/hd at 486 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 352 514 614
Feeder cattle 317 485 578
Slaughter cattle 20 19 27
Replacement cattle 15 10 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder cattle sold sharply higher. The quality of today's feeder offering was higher than last week and feeder buyer demand was very strong. Slaughter cows sold steady on a light test and slaughter bulls were 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
235 235 1 265.00 $265.00 $623 —
325–330 328 2 252.50–267.50 $260.06 $853 +2.39
350–357 fancy 355 3 272.00–284.00 $280.05 $994 +5.84
380–395 388 2 246.00–261.00 $253.65 $984 +1.96
405 fancy 405 1 287.00 $287.00 $1,162 +38.61
407 407 2 261.50 $261.50 $1,064 +36.32
466–498 fancy 480 15 270.00–278.00 $276.25 $1,326 +25.91
480–495 490 3 255.00–264.00 $261.06 $1,279 +43.55
510–535 520 3 234.00–242.00 $238.60 $1,241 +15.08
528–530 value added 528 6 275.00–275.50 $275.42 $1,454 +37.43
565 565 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,328 +17.32
550–593 value added 569 12 253.00–270.00 $262.25 $1,492 +28.89
620–630 value added 625 2 240.00–242.00 $240.99 $1,506 —
700–730 value added 724 5 233.50–234.50 $234.31 $1,696 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 187.50 $187.50 $797 -5.00
610 610 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,183 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 fancy 278 3 234.00–235.00 $234.35 $651 —
331–335 fancy 333 7 227.00–230.00 $228.71 $762 -9.29
355–390 370 3 210.00–222.00 $217.50 $805 -2.98
355–396 fancy 387 22 230.00–242.50 $235.15 $910 -3.85
420–445 fancy 433 14 227.00–242.50 $237.38 $1,028 +21.10
445 445 1 210.00 $210.00 $934 +11.00
465–475 470 3 208.00–222.00 $214.13 $1,006 +3.64
460–498 fancy 488 19 233.00–244.00 $240.23 $1,172 +12.99
500–506 value added 505 5 229.00–233.00 $232.21 $1,173 +19.93
500–540 515 6 208.00–221.00 $215.18 $1,108 +17.92
553–558 value added 555 8 225.00–226.00 $225.62 $1,252 +11.12
605–630 value added 618 4 200.00–204.00 $202.00 $1,248 —
625–640 633 2 192.00–195.00 $193.52 $1,225 +1.52
677 value added 677 2 201.00 $201.00 $1,361 -7.55
750–762 758 3 169.00–185.00 $174.28 $1,321 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–465 460 2 188.00–197.50 $192.80 $887 +2.80
665 665 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,144 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 165.00 $165.00 $578 —
535 535 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,043 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 1 154.00 $154.00 $955 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 257.50 $257.50 $708 +14.72
305–345 330 4 250.00–261.00 $252.54 $833 —
375–380 377 4 221.00–251.00 $240.71 $907 -1.79
360–390 fancy 380 4 260.00–275.00 $263.55 $1,001 +0.96
405–438 fancy 428 23 247.50–254.00 $252.58 $1,081 -4.42
460–465 fancy 462 3 257.50–267.50 $264.14 $1,220 —
465–485 478 3 230.00–243.00 $236.34 $1,130 +16.48
522 522 2 226.00 $226.00 $1,180 +22.08
505–530 fancy 526 10 240.00–242.50 $240.35 $1,264 —
565 565 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,186 +9.99
633 fancy 633 4 235.50 $235.50 $1,491 —
656–660 fancy 657 5 215.00–219.00 $215.80 $1,418 —
820 820 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,476 —
832 fancy 832 2 192.50 $192.50 $1,602 —
895 895 2 160.00 $160.00 $1,432 —
930–947 941 3 140.00–150.00 $146.71 $1,381 —
970 970 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,261 -24.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 201.00 $201.00 $704 -12.00
405–425 415 2 169.00–207.50 $187.79 $779 +5.79
460 460 1 194.00 $194.00 $892 +24.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 180.00 $180.00 $954 —
560 560 1 140.00 $140.00 $784 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1070 990 85-90% 3 60.00–65.00 $61.58 $610 —
1020 1020 85-90% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,091 —
1035 1035 85-90% 1 54.00 $54.00 $559 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1635 1454 75-80% 4 103.00–107.00 $104.40 $1,518 —
1485 1485 75-80% 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,188 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200 1200 80-85% 1 74.00 $74.00 $888 —
1235 1235 80-85% 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,112 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370 1370 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,548 —
1410–1785 1585 3 120.00–129.00 $125.21 $1,985 —
2105 2105 1 133.00 $133.00 $2,800 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
895 thin fleshed 895 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
935 thin fleshed 935 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1005 1005 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1140 1140 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
1215 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,210.00 $1,210.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
935 935 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
940–960 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,050.00 $1,050.00
985 985 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
745 thin fleshed 745 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
825 825 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
855 thin fleshed 855 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
1105 1105 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 140.00 $140.00 $532 —
447 447 2 153.00 $153.00 $684 —
450 450 1 134.00 $134.00 $603 —
525–530 528 2 130.00–140.00 $135.02 $713 —

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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.