Cattle Market Pulse

Athens Regional Stockyard Market Report

Athens, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 8, 2020

1,364 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Athens Regional Stockyard report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $117.68/cwt -0.92 vs last sale · ≈ $611/hd at 519 lb · 67 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $144.10/cwt +6.39 vs last sale · ≈ $689/hd at 478 lb · 48 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $128.41/cwt -8.92 vs last sale · ≈ $743/hd at 579 lb · 47 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,364 1,000 1,283
Feeder cattle 1,097 799 1,004
Slaughter cattle 168 144 183
Replacement cattle 99 57 96

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers weighing up to 500 lb. sharply higher, with those weighing over 500 lbs. 3.00 lower. Feeder heifers measuring 2.00 higher overall, with feeder bulls mostly steady overall. Slaughter cows gauging 6.00 lower with slaughter bulls mostly steady.

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
360 360 2 165.00 $165.00 $594 +17.50
405–438 424 6 151.00–164.00 $158.02 $670 +19.06
455–490 473 16 144.00–160.00 $150.86 $714 +9.75
501–543 value added 515 6 146.00–152.00 $148.11 $763 —
519–545 528 20 126.00–136.50 $131.34 $693 -6.43
550–595 577 37 121.00–131.00 $126.34 $729 -3.88
573–594 value added 585 10 134.00–140.00 $136.08 $796 -7.92
605–645 628 20 120.00–130.00 $125.32 $787 -3.95
650–690 666 12 116.00–125.00 $121.08 $806 -1.57
712–735 722 8 111.00–122.50 $116.52 $841 —
755–775 765 2 108.00–116.00 $111.95 $856 +8.83
775 value added 775 1 124.00 $124.00 $961 —
800 fancy 800 1 124.00 $124.00 $992 —
880 880 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,012 —
930 930 1 102.00 $102.00 $949 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 120.00 $120.00 $408 —
460 460 1 124.00 $124.00 $570 —
630 630 1 118.00 $118.00 $743 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 140.00 $140.00 $539 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–295 270 7 130.00–143.00 $138.30 $373 +7.23
300 300 1 122.50 $122.50 $368 -1.86
300–343 319 12 127.50–142.50 $136.13 $434 +11.77
350–395 376 17 130.00–142.00 $133.73 $503 +10.34
382 value added 382 7 145.00 $145.00 $554 —
385 385 1 123.00 $123.00 $474 -0.39
410–448 425 15 121.00–134.00 $127.08 $540 +6.27
410–445 fancy 427 7 136.00–145.00 $138.96 $593 —
450–460 fancy 455 2 135.00 $135.00 $614 —
450–495 482 42 120.00–129.00 $125.19 $603 +4.41
503–505 fancy 503 9 123.00–124.00 $123.89 $623 —
500–549 521 57 110.00–121.00 $116.89 $609 +1.34
540 540 1 107.00 $107.00 $578 -8.55
550–599 570 44 108.00–121.00 $113.67 $648 ±0.00
605–635 fancy 618 3 114.00–115.00 $114.33 $707 —
600–640 630 14 100.00–110.00 $104.11 $656 -2.95
650 fancy 650 1 117.00 $117.00 $760 —
650–698 679 11 94.00–104.00 $99.53 $676 -1.98
700–735 722 9 80.00–94.00 $87.12 $629 -8.42
753 753 2 95.50 $95.50 $719 -0.50
825–830 828 2 75.00–79.00 $77.01 $638 —
935 935 1 84.00 $84.00 $785 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 110.00 $110.00 $512 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305 1305 1 65.00 $65.00 $848 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 104.00 $104.00 $504 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 282 5 150.00–160.00 $154.06 $434 -3.26
300–340 318 10 140.00–155.00 $148.00 $471 -1.38
315–340 fancy 323 3 157.50–162.50 $159.74 $516 -3.26
350–390 373 11 140.00–153.00 $147.12 $549 +3.75
355–398 fancy 387 10 157.00–170.00 $162.46 $629 —
400–445 416 12 135.00–150.00 $144.65 $602 +6.59
405–445 fancy 426 16 152.50–157.00 $155.83 $664 —
450–495 478 34 130.00–145.00 $140.57 $672 +5.76
450–485 fancy 478 14 151.50–158.00 $152.68 $730 —
500–541 525 41 121.50–135.00 $127.66 $670 -2.13
560 fancy 560 1 132.00 $132.00 $739 —
555–591 582 34 119.00–126.00 $122.16 $711 +0.58
603–648 624 10 108.00–119.00 $114.15 $712 -1.34
650 fancy 650 1 119.00 $119.00 $774 —
650–693 673 15 101.00–109.00 $102.83 $692 +0.83
703–743 717 15 85.00–100.00 $92.63 $664 +1.63
752–795 770 8 80.00–89.50 $86.11 $663 -9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 323 2 125.00–131.00 $128.21 $414 —
350–355 353 2 132.50–135.00 $133.74 $472 —
430–445 438 2 127.00–128.00 $127.51 $558 —
485 485 1 127.00 $127.00 $616 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1600–1700 1650 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 2 1,525.00–1,700.00 $1,612.50 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 125.00 $125.00 $250 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $802 —
1280–1550 1442 75-80% 3 42.00–45.00 $43.37 $625 —
1135–1715 1444 75-80% 30 47.00–56.50 $52.28 $755 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1460 1183 80-85% 27 47.00–56.50 $51.69 $611 -15.03
1055–1375 1203 80-85% 3 58.50–60.50 $59.43 $715 —
1330 1330 80-85% 1 45.00 $45.00 $598 -14.36
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1385 1162 85-90% 13 43.00–48.00 $45.93 $534 -3.71

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1615–2075 1865 11 72.00–80.50 $76.26 $1,422 —
1890–2240 2023 4 82.00–88.00 $84.60 $1,711 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 (<2 yrs)Open 1 725.00 $725.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050–1300 1140 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 650.00–750.00 $689.00
1100–1450 1233 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 800.00–900.00 $858.33
1150–1400 1260 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 670.00–875.00 $774.00
1200–1350 1275 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 725.00–735.00 $730.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–800 750 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–650.00 $625.00
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 3 825.00 $825.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.