Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, October 31, 2020

438 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $116.35/cwt +2.75 vs last sale · ≈ $548/hd at 471 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.86/cwt +10.58 vs last sale · ≈ $602/hd at 520 lb · 18 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $118.21/cwt +15.77 vs last sale · ≈ $735/hd at 622 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 438 884 905
Feeder cattle 319 740 729
Slaughter cattle 100 124 129
Replacement cattle 19 20 47

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 5.00 higher overall, with feeder bulls weighing over 600 lbs. sharply higher due to higher demand. No comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone was noted; also no comparisons available for feeder bulls weighing up to 500 lbs., but a lower undertone was noted. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 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
325 325 1 141.00 $141.00 $458 -3.00
355 355 1 147.00 $147.00 $522 +12.00
465–470 468 2 129.00–137.00 $132.98 $622 +6.71
500–503 502 5 119.00–130.00 $127.61 $641 +7.62
550–590 575 6 119.00–131.00 $124.59 $716 +7.25
640–648 645 4 117.00–118.00 $117.75 $759 +5.27
650–673 value added 662 4 122.00–123.00 $122.51 $811 —
720 720 1 115.00 $115.00 $828 +8.02
725 725 1 117.00 $117.00 $848 +10.02
770 770 1 115.00 $115.00 $886 +13.49
865 865 1 109.00 $109.00 $943 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 127.00 $127.00 $400 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–340 328 12 117.00–125.00 $119.46 $392 +2.65
355–365 360 4 116.00–122.50 $119.35 $430 +5.11
375 fancy 375 1 135.00 $135.00 $506 +9.00
415–445 433 5 114.00–123.00 $116.23 $503 +0.07
450–493 471 22 112.00–120.00 $116.35 $548 +2.75
505–540 520 18 112.00–120.50 $115.86 $602 +10.58
550–590 570 4 106.00–114.00 $110.91 $632 +10.33
610–640 619 5 92.00–103.00 $97.38 $603 +2.22
650–695 666 8 90.00–105.00 $97.76 $651 +8.45
750 750 1 86.00 $86.00 $645 +1.00
860–890 870 3 87.00–90.00 $88.98 $774 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
267 267 3 125.00 $125.00 $334 —
575 575 1 97.00 $97.00 $558 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1320 1305 2 66.00–70.00 $68.02 $888 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 105.00 $105.00 $284 —
425 425 1 94.00 $94.00 $400 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–335 333 2 132.50–148.00 $140.19 $467 -8.29
385–390 388 2 131.00–140.00 $135.47 $526 -4.99
425–443 437 3 132.50–134.00 $132.99 $581 -0.63
465–495 480 7 120.00–129.00 $123.68 $594 -1.92
523 fancy 523 2 127.00 $127.00 $664 —
500–545 526 11 112.00–125.00 $118.41 $623 +1.30
560 fancy 560 1 129.00 $129.00 $722 —
565–595 575 7 114.00–121.00 $118.28 $680 +6.07
600–638 622 15 113.00–121.00 $118.21 $735 +16.91
650–670 660 2 116.00–120.00 $117.97 $779 +13.85
720–740 728 3 106.00–114.00 $109.65 $798 +10.19
820 820 1 99.00 $99.00 $812 +14.61
870 870 2 83.00 $83.00 $722 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 125.00 $125.00 $488 ±0.00
430 430 1 123.00 $123.00 $529 +1.47
460 460 1 115.00 $115.00 $529 +5.07
580 580 1 111.00 $111.00 $644 —
715 715 1 88.00 $88.00 $629 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 130.00 $130.00 $442 —
425 425 1 125.00 $125.00 $531 +12.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1150 1118 80-85% 2 47.00 $47.00 $525 —
925–1445 1166 80-85% 22 51.00–61.00 $57.11 $666 +3.26
1225 1225 80-85% 1 62.00 $62.00 $760 +1.92
1245 1245 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $847 +7.92
1290 1290 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $748 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1695 1354 75-80% 8 53.00–60.00 $55.37 $750 —
1095–1885 1460 75-80% 13 50.00–60.00 $54.85 $801 —
1410–1565 1488 75-80% 2 45.00–46.00 $45.53 $677 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1035 991 85-90% 6 45.00–52.00 $48.11 $477 —
1015–1070 1043 85-90% 2 59.00–63.00 $61.05 $637 —
1090 1090 85-90% 1 53.00 $53.00 $578 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185 1185 1 69.00 $69.00 $818 —
1400–1875 1679 5 73.00–80.00 $77.56 $1,302 —
2325 2325 1 69.00 $69.00 $1,604 —

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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) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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)Open 2 925.00–940.00 $932.50 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 1 71.00 $71.00 $593 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610 610 1 81.00 $81.00 $494 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 80.00 $80.00 $212 —

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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.