Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, October 17, 2020

1,074 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Volunteer Stockyards report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $114.98/cwt +5.29 vs last sale · ≈ $607/hd at 528 lb · 52 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $125.80/cwt -0.73 vs last sale · ≈ $655/hd at 521 lb · 33 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.68/cwt +4.62 vs last sale · ≈ $517/hd at 425 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,074 977 1,033
Feeder cattle 892 793 813
Slaughter cattle 134 152 180
Replacement cattle 48 32 40

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers measuring 4.00 higher overall, with feeder heifers and bulls 1.00 higher. Slaughter cows 1.00 lower overall, with slaughter bulls 2.00 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
375–385 381 4 146.00–160.00 $150.45 $573 +4.81
400–435 426 11 135.00–149.00 $138.93 $592 +0.11
455–495 473 7 132.00–145.00 $139.76 $661 +1.77
510 fancy 510 1 143.00 $143.00 $729 —
508–545 524 15 126.00–137.00 $129.82 $680 -1.01
530 530 1 118.00 $118.00 $625 -12.83
565–585 577 8 127.00–137.00 $129.38 $747 +3.35
600–640 617 17 121.00–134.00 $126.75 $782 +3.28
660–675 669 4 122.00–128.00 $124.52 $833 +3.53
700–715 708 3 117.00–123.00 $119.66 $847 +0.98
755 755 1 111.00 $111.00 $838 +0.98
830 830 1 112.00 $112.00 $930 +2.87
850 850 1 106.00 $106.00 $901 -5.00
910–925 918 2 104.00–108.00 $105.98 $973 —
995 995 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,114 —
1090 1090 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,014 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 130.00 $130.00 $474 —
400 400 1 125.00 $125.00 $500 —
490 490 1 129.00 $129.00 $632 —
520–543 537 4 120.00–123.00 $120.73 $648 —
585 585 1 120.00 $120.00 $702 +12.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 110.00 $110.00 $566 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–270 265 3 120.00–130.00 $126.79 $336 +4.36
320–340 333 3 122.50–127.50 $124.61 $415 -3.61
350–395 372 13 115.00–126.00 $120.91 $450 -7.09
400–445 425 29 114.00–126.00 $121.68 $517 +4.62
450–490 471 17 113.00–123.00 $116.79 $550 +1.36
493 value added 493 3 128.00 $128.00 $631 —
500–545 525 45 108.00–118.00 $113.89 $598 +4.20
546 value added 546 7 122.00 $122.00 $666 —
550–595 571 28 106.00–118.00 $111.00 $634 +1.29
600 fancy 600 1 115.00 $115.00 $690 —
600–645 617 22 99.00–109.00 $104.86 $647 -1.05
657–678 value added 666 8 109.00–112.50 $111.44 $742 —
655–690 679 6 95.00–107.00 $101.98 $692 +7.98
700–725 713 2 94.00–105.00 $99.40 $709 -3.42
760–778 771 5 87.00–97.00 $93.01 $717 —
810–815 813 3 89.00–96.00 $92.33 $751 —
885–895 890 2 88.00 $88.00 $783 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 323 2 112.50–114.00 $113.28 $366 —
395 395 1 110.00 $110.00 $434 —
468–475 470 9 100.00–106.50 $104.87 $493 -1.13

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–277 275 4 140.00–142.50 $141.89 $390 -8.11
310 fancy 310 1 155.00 $155.00 $480 —
305–345 327 5 137.50–144.00 $139.94 $458 -6.09
355–395 373 11 140.00–150.00 $143.69 $536 +10.27
405–420 fancy 412 3 143.00–150.00 $145.63 $600 —
400–448 431 20 130.00–140.00 $134.11 $578 +1.72
450 fancy 450 1 141.00 $141.00 $634 —
450–495 470 26 126.00–135.00 $130.44 $613 -1.45
500–535 fancy 520 6 133.00–136.00 $135.01 $702 —
500–545 521 27 119.00–131.00 $123.75 $645 -2.78
550–595 572 24 118.00–128.00 $121.38 $694 -0.32
605 fancy 605 2 126.00 $126.00 $762 +3.00
605–645 621 15 114.00–123.00 $118.35 $735 +6.02
650–695 666 17 112.00–122.00 $117.49 $782 +0.41
708–735 719 5 103.00–115.00 $110.77 $796 -1.45
760 fancy 760 1 114.00 $114.00 $866 —
755–775 764 6 98.00–110.00 $103.16 $788 -4.48
820–825 823 3 100.00–109.00 $105.33 $867 +8.86
865–885 880 4 89.00–94.00 $90.23 $794 +1.23
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 127.50 $127.50 $370 -10.00
400–405 403 2 122.00–127.00 $124.52 $502 +2.52
488 488 2 121.00 $121.00 $590 —
500 500 1 115.00 $115.00 $575 -3.00
645 645 1 110.00 $110.00 $710 +9.51
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 137.50 $137.50 $406 +1.24
340 340 1 132.00 $132.00 $449 —
390–395 393 2 127.50–135.00 $131.27 $516 —
565 565 1 112.00 $112.00 $633 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930 930 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $539 —
895–1335 1126 80-85% 13 44.00–52.00 $47.89 $539 -6.98
1195 1195 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $717 —
1020–1380 1202 80-85% 6 46.00–57.00 $52.48 $631 +1.13
1250 1250 80-85% 1 56.00 $56.00 $700 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 75-80% 1 54.00 $54.00 $597 —
1065–1545 1385 75-80% 7 44.00–52.00 $48.53 $672 -1.36
1465 1465 75-80% 1 54.00 $54.00 $791 —
1125–1855 1485 75-80% 12 40.00–49.00 $44.11 $655 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $513 —
935–1165 1014 85-90% 8 40.00–49.00 $43.75 $444 -1.36
895–1180 1027 85-90% 6 42.00–50.00 $44.67 $459 -0.44

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245 1245 1 65.00 $65.00 $809 +1.00
1380–2025 1630 12 70.00–77.00 $73.54 $1,199 —
1775–2000 1888 2 80.00–84.00 $82.12 $1,550 —
2215 2215 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,661 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 875.00–925.00 $900.00
1050–1250 1167 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 850.00–975.00 $908.33
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
1400 1400 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 735.00 $735.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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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
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 900.00–950.00 $925.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 950.00–1,175.00 $1,062.50 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 925.00–1,125.00 $1,025.00 —

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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.