Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, December 19, 2020

510 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $150.37/cwt +25.25 vs last sale · ≈ $697/hd at 463 lb · 17 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $107.84/cwt +6.56 vs last sale · ≈ $559/hd at 519 lb · 14 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $124.69/cwt +15.03 vs last sale · ≈ $775/hd at 621 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 510 1,257 0
Feeder cattle 403 997 0
Slaughter cattle 94 206 0
Replacement cattle 13 54 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers holding mostly steady overall, with feeder bulls 6.00 to 7.00 higher, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 lower overall.

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
308 308 4 165.00 $165.00 $508 -6.00
435 435 1 158.00 $158.00 $687 +23.79
450–495 480 5 144.00–155.00 $149.88 $719 +18.52
505 fancy 505 1 149.00 $149.00 $752 +4.00
500–540 520 2 127.00–136.00 $131.67 $685 +3.92
550–581 563 10 121.00–132.00 $126.19 $710 -1.17
613–640 623 7 115.00–125.00 $121.86 $759 +1.04
640 value added 640 1 127.00 $127.00 $813 —
655 655 1 115.00 $115.00 $753 -6.43
695 695 1 106.00 $106.00 $737 -15.43
700–710 708 4 112.00–118.00 $114.49 $811 -3.75
802 802 3 108.00 $108.00 $866 +3.50
895 895 2 105.00 $105.00 $940 -5.00
1030 1030 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,061 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 112.00 $112.00 $577 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 115.00 $115.00 $564 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 330 3 115.00–120.00 $116.69 $385 -1.08
360 360 1 115.00 $115.00 $414 -3.00
360 fancy 360 1 136.00 $136.00 $490 —
413–445 424 6 108.00–113.00 $110.18 $467 -6.22
450–490 478 9 110.00–124.00 $115.91 $554 +6.88
485 fancy 485 1 128.00 $128.00 $621 +10.00
505–515 510 6 100.00–103.00 $101.00 $515 -0.28
510–530 525 8 106.00–120.00 $112.97 $593 +11.69
558–595 584 7 95.00–107.00 $101.62 $593 -1.82
600–640 615 9 90.00–100.00 $95.09 $585 +6.09
650–685 663 10 93.00–103.00 $97.50 $646 -2.98
730–745 738 3 95.00–98.00 $97.00 $716 +4.01
750–780 765 2 96.00–99.00 $97.47 $746 —
930 930 1 82.00 $82.00 $763 —
933 933 3 85.00 $85.00 $793 —
990 990 2 85.00 $85.00 $842 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135 1135 1 76.00 $76.00 $863 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–288 285 4 140.00–155.00 $146.20 $417 -5.80
330 330 1 140.00 $140.00 $462 -11.74
330 value added 330 2 165.00 $165.00 $544 —
355–380 373 7 140.00–147.50 $143.97 $537 -2.62
415 value added 415 1 154.00 $154.00 $639 —
410–445 426 11 145.00–149.00 $146.47 $624 +9.63
450 fancy 450 1 148.00 $148.00 $666 —
452–493 value added 459 12 152.00–156.00 $155.28 $713 —
455–493 480 4 127.00–144.00 $136.23 $654 +11.11
500–525 fancy 513 3 146.00–154.00 $149.27 $766 +18.16
500–535 525 8 122.00–136.00 $127.09 $667 +8.51
530 530 1 113.00 $113.00 $599 -5.58
550 value added 550 5 149.00 $149.00 $820 —
555–575 561 7 119.00–130.00 $123.18 $691 +7.28
600 fancy 600 1 128.00 $128.00 $768 +10.03
603–625 609 6 110.00–119.00 $113.82 $693 +4.74
637 value added 637 6 135.00 $135.00 $860 —
670–680 675 2 109.00–115.00 $111.98 $756 +2.02
705–715 710 2 105.00–107.00 $106.01 $753 -1.88
750–795 768 5 100.00–106.00 $102.36 $786 -1.11
820 820 2 94.00–95.00 $94.50 $775 -1.16
865–875 870 2 86.00–91.00 $88.49 $770 —
915–940 928 2 82.00–84.00 $82.99 $770 —
1005–1035 1025 3 78.00–90.00 $84.73 $868 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–395 382 3 130.00 $130.00 $497 —
665 665 1 101.00 $101.00 $672 +3.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 122.50 $122.50 $466 -7.50
570 570 1 111.00 $111.00 $633 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305 1305 75-80% 1 57.00 $57.00 $744 —
1235–1515 1364 75-80% 8 49.00–54.00 $51.50 $702 +2.07
1180–1655 1377 75-80% 19 45.00–55.00 $47.18 $650 -2.25
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1260 1122 80-85% 10 46.00–55.00 $49.77 $558 -8.78
1080–1270 1179 80-85% 4 50.00–55.00 $51.15 $603 -2.20
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920 920 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $524 —
915–1010 963 85-90% 2 42.00–46.00 $43.90 $423 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,142 —
1255–1640 1467 5 65.00–76.00 $71.43 $1,048 —
1430–2040 1735 2 75.00–77.00 $76.18 $1,322 —

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
650 650 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
655 655 2 69.00 $69.00 $452 —
790 790 1 74.00 $74.00 $585 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940 940 1 76.00 $76.00 $714 -3.00

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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.