Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, February 27, 2021

737 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.00/cwt +7.02 vs last sale · ≈ $629/hd at 524 lb · 33 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $153.83/cwt +6.88 vs last sale · ≈ $658/hd at 427 lb · 23 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.42/cwt +12.29 vs last sale · ≈ $549/hd at 424 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 737 522 402
Feeder cattle 615 300 319
Slaughter cattle 104 196 83
Replacement cattle 18 26 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 5.00 higher overall, with feeder bulls 8.00 to 9.00 higher, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts from last week. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and boning cows 2.00 to 4.00 lower overall with lean cows 2.00 to 4.00 higher, and slaughter bulls 5.00 to 7.00 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
335–345 340 2 174.00–177.00 $175.48 $597 —
375–395 385 4 157.00–166.00 $161.15 $620 -7.85
405–435 417 5 152.50–167.00 $162.12 $676 +10.12
450–480 465 3 147.00–155.00 $150.08 $698 +18.35
531–545 value added 534 5 145.50–146.00 $145.60 $778 —
535–545 542 7 138.00–144.00 $141.58 $767 -5.42
553–585 566 5 134.00–140.00 $137.16 $776 +2.71
610–648 623 19 125.00–137.00 $134.66 $839 +0.66
650–685 673 7 124.00–129.00 $127.44 $858 +0.95
695 695 1 114.00 $114.00 $792 -12.49
715–720 716 5 119.00–125.00 $123.79 $886 +6.79
750–780 767 3 115.00–123.00 $119.28 $915 —
810–830 820 2 106.00–116.00 $110.94 $910 —
885 885 1 104.00 $104.00 $920 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
787 787 5 109.00 $109.00 $858 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,167 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 287 3 131.00–132.50 $131.81 $378 -5.69
300–347 330 16 130.00–139.00 $136.27 $450 +9.96
350–390 378 20 125.00–137.00 $130.31 $493 +3.49
395 395 1 122.00 $122.00 $482 -4.82
410–423 value added 419 3 136.00–137.00 $136.67 $573 —
400–445 425 20 123.00–135.00 $128.33 $545 +12.63
450–495 478 16 119.00–129.00 $124.50 $595 +11.13
500–548 524 33 112.00–125.00 $120.00 $629 +7.02
550–595 577 22 110.00–121.00 $114.97 $663 +2.85
610–645 627 8 106.00–115.00 $111.12 $697 +2.12
627 value added 627 15 119.50 $119.50 $749 —
655–675 664 5 104.00–114.00 $109.16 $725 +5.81
688 value added 688 4 117.50 $117.50 $808 —
755–790 768 3 96.00–100.00 $98.30 $755 -0.70
840 840 1 97.00 $97.00 $815 +4.00
850–895 878 4 94.00–99.00 $96.48 $847 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303–320 309 3 117.50–120.00 $119.14 $368 —
370–385 378 2 115.00–120.00 $117.55 $444 +0.05
405 405 1 119.00 $119.00 $482 —
565 565 1 103.00 $103.00 $582 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–295 283 3 160.00–177.50 $165.97 $470 -1.53
305–335 322 13 160.00–180.00 $171.65 $553 +14.15
320–340 fancy 330 2 185.00 $185.00 $610 +5.49
352 fancy 352 3 182.50 $182.50 $642 —
350–385 369 4 160.00–177.50 $168.25 $621 +12.48
410–435 fancy 417 7 160.00–166.00 $164.03 $684 +4.03
405–445 432 16 144.00–157.50 $149.37 $645 +6.15
450 fancy 450 1 161.00 $161.00 $724 +15.00
455–490 479 21 140.00–157.00 $146.54 $702 +12.70
500–548 519 11 129.00–141.00 $135.51 $703 +8.35
510–535 fancy 526 4 147.00–156.00 $150.20 $790 +8.20
553 fancy 553 6 148.00 $148.00 $818 +13.46
550–598 574 16 130.00–140.00 $135.20 $776 +12.37
610 fancy 610 2 136.00 $136.00 $830 ±0.00
605–645 626 10 120.00–133.00 $124.90 $782 +2.60
650–690 665 6 117.00–127.00 $121.13 $806 +5.87
700–745 716 6 104.00–112.00 $108.86 $779 -4.14
750–790 775 6 102.00–110.00 $104.81 $812 —
825–835 830 2 100.00–109.00 $104.47 $867 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 140.00 $140.00 $371 —
425–440 433 2 132.50–136.00 $134.22 $581 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
283 283 2 150.00 $150.00 $424 —
480 480 1 116.00 $116.00 $557 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1385 1163 80-85% 4 61.00–66.00 $62.71 $729 —
1105–1270 1188 80-85% 2 74.00–76.00 $74.93 $890 —
1075–1360 1212 80-85% 8 64.00–73.00 $67.99 $824 -0.96
1285 1285 80-85% 1 70.00 $70.00 $900 —
1110–1635 1295 80-85% 7 75.00–80.00 $77.89 $1,009 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1675 1448 75-80% 8 64.00–74.00 $67.07 $971 —
1265–1685 1548 75-80% 4 58.00–69.00 $63.64 $985 —
1450–1780 1615 75-80% 2 50.00–55.00 $52.24 $844 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1075 997 85-90% 6 62.00–68.00 $64.72 $645 -1.49
1085 1085 85-90% 1 68.00 $68.00 $738 —
995–1325 1161 85-90% 4 58.00–63.00 $59.84 $695 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1950 1731 6 89.00–100.00 $94.92 $1,643 -13.06
1415–2145 1779 4 85.00–95.00 $91.44 $1,627 +6.23
1670–1920 1825 4 104.00–108.00 $105.44 $1,924 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
900–1400 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–1,025.00 $912.50
1250 1250 Aged (>8 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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 103.00 $103.00 $417 —
450 450 1 100.00 $100.00 $450 —

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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.