Cattle Market Pulse

Athens Regional Stockyard Market Report

Athens, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 15, 2020

878 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 $111.08/cwt -6.60 vs last sale · ≈ $584/hd at 526 lb · 36 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.88/cwt -6.58 vs last sale · ≈ $500/hd at 385 lb · 33 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.05/cwt -6.81 vs last sale · ≈ $528/hd at 425 lb · 31 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 878 1,364 795
Feeder cattle 698 1,097 622
Slaughter cattle 119 168 119
Replacement cattle 61 99 54

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers weighing less than 500 lbs. sharply lower, with those weighing over 500 lbs. 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers 6.00 to 7.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls 3.00 lower. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 2.00 lower overall, with slaughter bulls 6.00 to 7.00 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
315–345 332 3 139.00–147.50 $144.12 $478 —
355 fancy 355 1 158.00 $158.00 $561 —
357–390 365 9 131.00–139.00 $135.43 $494 -29.57
392 value added 392 14 147.50 $147.50 $578 —
405–445 429 25 135.00–147.00 $144.88 $622 -13.14
450–495 471 10 134.00–142.00 $138.65 $653 -12.21
502 value added 502 9 136.50 $136.50 $685 -11.61
518–528 522 20 128.00–133.00 $131.05 $684 -0.29
555–565 560 3 121.00–131.00 $126.64 $709 +0.30
560 value added 560 1 134.00 $134.00 $750 -2.08
600 value added 600 3 127.00 $127.00 $762 —
635–640 638 6 118.00–121.00 $119.66 $763 -5.66
695 695 1 117.00 $117.00 $813 -4.08
700 700 1 115.00 $115.00 $805 -1.52
863 value added 863 6 107.50 $107.50 $928 —
980 980 1 97.00 $97.00 $951 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 135.00 $135.00 $297 —
279–295 284 7 131.00–136.00 $134.55 $382 -3.75
310–315 313 2 130.00–137.50 $133.72 $419 -2.41
363–393 375 9 118.00–126.00 $120.23 $451 -13.50
389 value added 389 24 133.50 $133.50 $519 -11.50
405–430 fancy 413 4 130.00–133.00 $131.74 $544 -7.22
400–447 427 25 115.00–126.00 $122.14 $522 -4.94
430 value added 430 2 132.50 $132.50 $570 —
450–495 474 21 112.00–126.50 $118.89 $564 -6.30
482 value added 482 3 129.00 $129.00 $622 —
515 value added 515 5 119.00 $119.00 $613 —
500–545 528 31 103.00–116.00 $109.80 $580 -7.09
555–595 579 17 102.00–111.00 $107.73 $624 -5.94
588 value added 588 4 113.50 $113.50 $667 —
600–645 620 11 95.00–102.00 $99.90 $619 -4.21
680 680 1 102.00 $102.00 $694 +2.47
705–710 708 2 84.00–85.00 $84.50 $598 -2.62
808 808 2 92.00 $92.00 $743 +14.99
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 115.00 $115.00 $380 —
380–393 392 13 110.00–111.50 $111.39 $437 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 373 9 140.00–155.00 $145.50 $543 -1.62
405–410 fancy 408 2 147.00–149.00 $147.99 $604 -7.84
402–448 427 21 133.00–144.00 $137.48 $587 -7.17
450–495 468 21 125.00–139.00 $131.82 $617 -8.75
500–543 523 25 122.00–130.00 $126.65 $662 -1.01
595 595 1 112.00 $112.00 $666 -10.16
600–648 628 10 105.00–113.00 $106.98 $672 -7.17
650–690 668 16 99.00–112.00 $108.47 $725 +5.64
705 705 1 109.00 $109.00 $768 +16.37
835 value added 835 2 86.00 $86.00 $718 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 137.50 $137.50 $502 —
535 535 1 111.00 $111.00 $594 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165 1165 85-90% 1 55.50 $55.50 $647 +9.57
890–1470 1210 85-90% 19 40.00–50.00 $43.77 $530 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1310 1218 75-80% 2 60.00 $60.00 $731 —
1195–1895 1464 75-80% 12 44.00–55.00 $48.68 $713 —
1550–1580 1565 75-80% 2 58.00–65.50 $61.71 $966 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1375 1210 80-85% 13 45.00–56.00 $50.17 $607 -9.26

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–2120 1734 6 65.00–74.00 $69.63 $1,207 —
2075 2075 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,702 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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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.