Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, February 20, 2021

522 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.98/cwt -3.06 vs last sale · ≈ $600/hd at 531 lb · 15 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.88/cwt -9.27 vs last sale · ≈ $530/hd at 469 lb · 13 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $124.78/cwt -3.74 vs last sale · ≈ $723/hd at 579 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 522 471 796
Feeder cattle 300 335 643
Slaughter cattle 196 116 139
Replacement cattle 26 20 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week and based on a light test, feeder heifers 4.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls 2.00 to 3.00 lower, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 2.00 higher overall with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts from last week.

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
365 365 1 169.00 $169.00 $617 ±0.00
430 430 1 152.00 $152.00 $654 +2.00
458–485 467 3 130.00–135.00 $131.73 $615 -15.77
520 520 1 147.00 $147.00 $764 +5.99
558–598 574 5 129.00–139.00 $134.45 $772 -6.02
614–625 617 7 134.00 $134.00 $827 -2.00
653–668 661 4 126.00–127.00 $126.49 $836 +3.81
700 value added 700 2 123.00 $123.00 $861 —
735 735 1 117.00 $117.00 $860 -3.58
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 119.00 $119.00 $672 +6.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350 1350 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,080 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 137.50 $137.50 $371 +7.50
300–335 322 3 120.00–137.50 $126.31 $407 -3.26
363–388 373 8 121.00–135.00 $126.82 $473 -6.15
410 fancy 410 1 130.00 $130.00 $533 —
405–445 426 9 113.00–119.00 $115.70 $493 -10.55
450 450 1 107.00 $107.00 $482 -15.15
450–495 471 12 109.00–123.00 $113.37 $534 -8.78
500–545 531 15 109.00–116.00 $112.98 $600 -3.65
565–595 581 7 110.00–115.00 $112.12 $651 +0.57
610 610 1 109.00 $109.00 $665 +5.17
670–683 679 3 100.00–105.00 $103.35 $702 +7.35
710–725 718 2 100.00–104.00 $101.98 $732 +4.48
750–755 752 3 97.00–100.00 $99.00 $744 +1.74
805 805 1 93.00 $93.00 $749 —
985 985 1 83.00 $83.00 $818 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 117.50 $117.50 $446 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450 1450 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,363 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 160.00 $160.00 $360 —
275 275 1 167.50 $167.50 $461 —
305 305 2 150.00–165.00 $157.50 $480 -14.12
335–345 fancy 340 2 179.00–180.00 $179.51 $610 —
350–395 369 6 150.00–165.00 $155.77 $575 +5.44
400 fancy 400 2 160.00 $160.00 $640 —
420–435 427 7 136.00–152.00 $143.22 $612 -4.76
455 fancy 455 1 146.00 $146.00 $664 —
450–485 462 7 130.00–140.00 $133.84 $618 -0.76
500–540 519 7 125.00–131.00 $127.16 $660 -3.13
545 fancy 545 1 142.00 $142.00 $774 -5.00
555–585 fancy 570 2 133.00–136.00 $134.54 $767 -8.46
550–595 581 10 119.00–129.00 $122.83 $714 -2.80
605–640 620 3 120.00–124.00 $122.30 $758 +6.65
645 fancy 645 2 136.00 $136.00 $877 —
653–695 675 8 108.00–121.00 $115.26 $778 +6.26
715 715 1 113.00 $113.00 $808 +4.56
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 129.00 $129.00 $542 +11.50
550 550 2 106.00–110.00 $108.00 $594 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725 725 1 104.00 $104.00 $754 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1505 1200 80-85% 22 67.00–76.00 $72.65 $872 +17.51
1005–1615 1217 80-85% 28 65.00–73.00 $68.95 $839 -1.68
1130–1415 1247 80-85% 5 74.00–79.00 $76.17 $950 -3.83
1415–1420 1418 80-85% 2 78.00–81.00 $79.50 $1,127 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240 1240 75-80% 1 76.00 $76.00 $942 —
1115–1565 1394 75-80% 8 68.00–72.00 $70.03 $976 —
1505 1505 75-80% 1 76.00 $76.00 $1,144 —
1305–1885 1577 75-80% 18 60.00–73.00 $65.79 $1,038 -2.01
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $662 —
880–1085 983 85-90% 2 64.00–68.00 $66.21 $651 -1.79
960–1135 1043 85-90% 7 58.00–68.00 $63.69 $664 —
985–1210 1112 85-90% 6 54.00–61.00 $57.93 $644 -0.57

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1695–1700 1698 2 94.00–99.00 $96.50 $1,639 —
1690–1745 1727 3 100.00–114.00 $107.98 $1,865 +21.46
1425–2095 1763 4 80.00–89.00 $85.21 $1,502 -7.54
1685–1990 1852 8 84.00–93.00 $89.78 $1,663 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1000 975 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 875.00–925.00 $900.00
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1000–1050 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 910.00–920.00 $915.00

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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 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 840.00 $840.00 —

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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.