Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, January 16, 2021

729 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.44/cwt +4.13 vs last sale · ≈ $584/hd at 520 lb · 36 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $139.07/cwt +1.46 vs last sale · ≈ $653/hd at 469 lb · 19 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $109.52/cwt -8.08 vs last sale · ≈ $467/hd at 426 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 729 551 854
Feeder cattle 544 352 691
Slaughter cattle 145 164 147
Replacement cattle 40 35 16

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers weighing up to 600 lbs. sharply higher with those weighing over 600 lbs. mostly steady. Feeder heifers weighing up to 450 lbs. sharply lower with those weighing over 450 lbs. 2.00 lower. Feeder bulls measuring 2.00 to 3.00 higher, with exception of those weighing up to 400 lbs. and 5-weights sharply higher. Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady overall with exception of lean cows 3.00 to 4.00 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
345 345 1 160.00 $160.00 $552 —
375 375 1 160.00 $160.00 $600 +17.00
400–410 405 2 140.00–147.50 $143.70 $582 -3.93
430 fancy 430 1 162.00 $162.00 $697 —
480–494 492 8 151.00–157.00 $156.27 $769 +11.37
555–590 567 3 134.00–149.00 $140.29 $795 +16.44
603–638 617 10 120.00–130.00 $124.02 $765 +4.57
705–730 718 2 108.00–120.00 $114.10 $819 +0.81
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
563–580 567 4 126.00–127.00 $126.74 $719 —
690 690 1 116.00 $116.00 $800 —
775 775 1 102.00 $102.00 $790 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 114.00 $114.00 $593 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 130.00 $130.00 $266 —
275 value added 275 1 131.00 $131.00 $360 —
290 290 1 123.00 $123.00 $357 -6.00
310 value added 310 1 122.00 $122.00 $378 —
308–345 319 6 108.00–118.00 $112.56 $359 -18.44
355 value added 355 1 119.00 $119.00 $422 —
355–390 378 9 104.00–112.00 $107.73 $407 -13.18
400–445 424 15 105.00–112.00 $107.42 $455 -7.56
437 value added 437 3 120.00 $120.00 $524 —
455–495 476 17 107.00–118.00 $113.25 $539 -2.20
500–545 518 30 105.00–115.00 $111.73 $579 +2.19
527 value added 527 6 116.00 $116.00 $611 —
555–581 573 11 104.00–110.00 $106.91 $613 -2.99
600–635 612 9 96.00–103.00 $100.21 $613 -0.92
675 675 1 100.00 $100.00 $675 ±0.00
700–715 707 5 86.00–93.00 $90.38 $639 +0.36
752 752 3 95.00 $95.00 $714 —
820 820 1 90.00 $90.00 $738 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 175.00 $175.00 $508 —
340 340 1 175.00 $175.00 $595 +30.00
350 fancy 350 1 177.50 $177.50 $621 —
350–390 370 16 145.00–158.00 $151.69 $561 +0.69
425 value added 425 1 158.00 $158.00 $672 —
415–445 434 5 139.00–148.00 $143.97 $625 +6.55
455–495 469 17 130.00–150.00 $137.19 $643 -0.42
455–490 fancy 473 2 154.00–156.00 $155.04 $733 —
500–545 527 13 133.00–153.00 $145.95 $769 +24.71
555 fancy 555 1 143.00 $143.00 $794 —
550–595 570 10 124.00–138.00 $129.16 $736 +8.66
600–645 621 11 114.00–125.00 $119.08 $739 —
650–685 669 9 107.00–118.00 $110.45 $739 -1.55
705–745 718 3 100.00–108.00 $105.38 $757 +5.07
755 755 1 103.00 $103.00 $778 +8.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 140.00 $140.00 $427 —
355 355 1 130.00 $130.00 $462 +10.00
400–405 403 2 120.00–127.50 $123.73 $499 +9.73
455–485 470 2 115.00–124.00 $119.36 $561 —
515–540 523 3 105.00–110.00 $108.28 $566 —
675 675 1 102.00 $102.00 $688 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–290 270 3 135.00–145.00 $139.75 $377 +12.25
350 350 1 125.00 $125.00 $438 -16.35
420 420 1 130.00 $130.00 $546 ±0.00
485 485 1 125.00 $125.00 $606 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895–1020 958 80-85% 2 65.00–66.00 $65.47 $627 —
1075–1380 1253 80-85% 3 68.00–69.00 $68.29 $856 —
1070–1430 1257 80-85% 18 50.00–59.00 $55.45 $697 —
1215–1385 1298 80-85% 3 57.00–66.00 $62.70 $814 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1535 1357 75-80% 8 54.00–63.00 $57.92 $786 —
1115–1850 1491 75-80% 17 51.00–60.00 $55.63 $829 +2.20
1655 1655 75-80% 1 63.00 $63.00 $1,043 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1275 1070 85-90% 5 50.00–57.00 $53.93 $577 —
945–1225 1099 85-90% 6 43.00–52.00 $47.54 $522 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1660 1486 5 75.00–80.00 $77.07 $1,145 —
1760–2140 1927 3 80.00–86.00 $83.78 $1,614 —

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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)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1000–1100 1033 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 825.00–1,000.00 $891.67
1050–1200 1150 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 625.00–800.00 $683.33
1050–1400 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 710.00–875.00 $758.75
1200–1300 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,190.00–1,210.00 $1,200.00
1150–1400 1275 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 750.00–900.00 $825.00
1350 1350 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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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 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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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.