Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, March 6, 2021

1,087 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $162.39/cwt +8.56 vs last sale · ≈ $693/hd at 427 lb · 47 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.72/cwt +8.22 vs last sale · ≈ $624/hd at 470 lb · 39 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $156.55/cwt +9.35 vs last sale · ≈ $742/hd at 474 lb · 38 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,087 737 822
Feeder cattle 850 615 643
Slaughter cattle 192 104 159
Replacement cattle 45 18 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder classes measuring 5.00 to 6.00 higher overall on a heavier test. Regarding slaughter classes, boning cows 1.00 lower with breaker and lean cows 4.00 to 5.00 lower, and bulls 2.00 to 3.00 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 1 178.00 $178.00 $614 +2.52
410–435 427 9 155.00–169.00 $162.49 $694 +0.37
450–495 475 6 147.00–163.00 $157.12 $746 +7.04
500–535 521 7 145.00–159.00 $152.73 $796 +11.15
550 fancy 550 1 158.00 $158.00 $869 —
565–590 580 5 136.00–146.00 $140.19 $813 +3.03
600 fancy 600 1 146.00 $146.00 $876 —
610–645 622 7 129.00–143.00 $137.97 $858 +3.31
650 fancy 650 1 143.00 $143.00 $930 —
650–695 669 8 127.00–137.00 $132.07 $884 +4.63
715–720 718 2 117.00–125.00 $120.99 $869 -2.80
750–780 762 3 115.00–124.00 $119.29 $909 +0.01

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–245 235 2 145.00–152.50 $148.59 $349 —
260 fancy 260 1 150.00 $150.00 $390 —
275–297 290 8 130.00–144.00 $136.47 $396 +4.66
305–345 327 18 131.00–142.50 $138.55 $453 +2.28
330–340 fancy 335 2 147.00–151.00 $149.03 $499 —
355–398 378 18 137.50–147.00 $141.31 $534 +11.00
400–445 423 34 131.00–144.00 $137.52 $582 +9.19
420–430 fancy 425 2 148.00 $148.00 $629 —
450 fancy 450 1 149.00 $149.00 $670 —
450–495 471 38 128.00–139.00 $132.29 $623 +7.79
505–515 fancy 510 2 135.00 $135.00 $688 —
500–545 523 36 118.00–133.00 $127.19 $665 +7.19
550–595 577 22 119.00–129.00 $123.95 $715 +8.98
600–620 fancy 607 3 123.00–124.00 $123.66 $751 —
600–635 615 11 108.00–119.00 $114.08 $702 +2.96
670 fancy 670 1 120.00 $120.00 $804 —
650–690 678 7 103.00–113.00 $106.81 $724 -2.35
710–735 723 2 105.00 $105.00 $759 —
755–795 775 2 95.00–109.00 $101.82 $789 +3.52
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 125.00 $125.00 $394 +5.86
410–445 428 2 127.50–128.00 $127.76 $547 +8.76
460 460 1 119.00 $119.00 $547 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1100 1085 2 86.00–89.00 $87.52 $950 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318 318 2 122.50 $122.50 $390 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–288 280 8 162.50–174.00 $171.05 $479 +5.08
280 fancy 280 1 190.00 $190.00 $532 —
305–345 324 17 157.50–175.00 $166.45 $539 -5.20
355–376 fancy 370 6 180.00–181.00 $180.68 $669 -1.82
350–395 373 29 160.00–178.00 $169.14 $631 +0.89
400–445 427 47 150.00–172.00 $162.39 $693 +13.02
450–495 474 38 144.00–166.00 $156.55 $742 +10.01
510 fancy 510 1 159.00 $159.00 $811 +8.80
500–548 524 30 137.50–156.00 $147.90 $775 +12.39
550–575 fancy 565 3 150.00–153.00 $151.34 $855 +3.34
550–595 569 19 130.00–146.00 $137.67 $783 +2.47
590 thin fleshed 590 1 122.00 $122.00 $720 —
600–625 fancy 612 3 140.00–142.00 $140.68 $861 +4.68
600–645 621 14 126.00–138.00 $132.13 $821 +7.23
655–685 664 13 120.00–135.00 $129.39 $859 +8.26
690 thin fleshed 690 1 118.00 $118.00 $814 —
700–745 721 10 114.00–125.00 $119.28 $860 +10.42
765–790 775 5 110.00–114.00 $113.00 $876 +8.19
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485–490 488 2 129.00–140.00 $134.53 $657 +18.53
660 660 1 110.00 $110.00 $726 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 80-85% 1 79.00 $79.00 $695 —
1070–1405 1240 80-85% 3 72.00–79.00 $74.72 $927 +6.73
1070–1480 1255 80-85% 15 65.00–75.00 $69.82 $876 -0.18
1080–1545 1262 80-85% 20 59.00–69.00 $63.62 $803 -6.38
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375 1375 75-80% 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,031 —
1265–1640 1394 75-80% 7 60.00–69.00 $63.15 $880 —
1200–1775 1440 75-80% 20 55.00–63.00 $58.66 $845 -8.41
1475 1475 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $1,003 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–970 933 85-90% 4 61.00–69.00 $65.36 $610 —
815–1145 1017 85-90% 9 52.00–59.00 $55.42 $564 —
825–1535 1105 85-90% 5 58.00–64.00 $60.93 $673 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1700 1530 2 90.00–91.00 $90.44 $1,384 —
1545–2040 1817 6 84.00–95.00 $87.18 $1,584 -18.26

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1000 975 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 670.00–680.00 $675.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1200 1200 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 840.00 $840.00
1500 1500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Middle Aged (5-8 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
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 650 2 94.00 $94.00 $611 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 92.50 $92.50 $324 —

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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.