Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, March 20, 2021

611 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $125.70/cwt -2.54 vs last sale · ≈ $596/hd at 474 lb · 27 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $145.75/cwt -0.17 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 523 lb · 21 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $158.00/cwt +1.92 vs last sale · ≈ $672/hd at 425 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 611 1,115 365
Feeder cattle 492 873 236
Slaughter cattle 91 194 121
Replacement cattle 28 48 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, on a lighter test, feeder steers and heifers remaining mostly steady overall with feeder bulls 2.00 higher. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 4.00 higher with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts, however, a higher undertone was noted.

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
340 340 1 154.00 $154.00 $524 -18.25
350–395 373 4 154.00–167.50 $160.90 $600 -0.25
445 445 1 154.00 $154.00 $685 -6.50
450–490 473 9 146.00–168.00 $160.09 $757 +2.85
500 fancy 500 1 163.00 $163.00 $815 —
500–540 524 12 139.00–155.00 $145.00 $760 -7.94
550–593 571 8 137.00–146.00 $141.45 $808 -1.26
600–645 617 15 128.00–144.00 $137.71 $850 -0.13
655 655 1 135.00 $135.00 $884 +0.45
710–730 720 2 122.00–123.00 $122.51 $882 +1.91
760–779 776 6 119.00–126.00 $120.14 $932 —
850 value added 850 1 108.00 $108.00 $918 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478–495 485 4 139.00–141.00 $140.00 $679 —
535 535 2 135.00 $135.00 $722 —
560 560 1 129.00 $129.00 $722 +6.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 147.50 $147.50 $583 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 152.50 $152.50 $358 —
250–299 281 11 135.00–150.00 $141.80 $398 —
325–345 339 5 127.50–141.00 $133.07 $451 +0.11
350–395 376 12 130.00–142.00 $137.64 $518 +2.98
400–430 418 14 124.00–136.00 $129.96 $543 -2.69
410–425 fancy 418 2 138.00–139.00 $138.49 $579 —
450–490 472 23 117.00–129.00 $124.74 $589 -3.50
475 fancy 475 1 132.00 $132.00 $627 —
487 value added 487 3 131.00 $131.00 $638 —
505–545 524 16 115.00–127.00 $121.72 $638 +1.51
545 545 1 109.00 $109.00 $594 -11.21
550–590 567 12 111.00–123.00 $117.70 $667 +2.99
600–618 609 6 106.00–112.00 $108.98 $664 +0.01
665 665 2 106.00–110.00 $108.00 $718 +0.20
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 358 3 118.00 $118.00 $422 -2.00
425 425 1 117.00 $117.00 $497 -3.25

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–235 228 2 160.00–165.00 $162.42 $370 —
255–265 260 3 150.00–157.50 $152.55 $397 -4.90
320 fancy 320 1 175.00 $175.00 $560 +1.54
310–335 323 3 150.00–167.50 $159.05 $514 +0.70
358–395 378 15 154.00–168.00 $160.69 $607 -3.22
400–445 425 17 152.00–166.00 $158.00 $672 +1.92
455–490 467 11 148.00–165.00 $155.36 $726 +6.00
513–535 fancy 520 3 152.00 $152.00 $790 -2.48
500–545 524 18 135.00–149.00 $144.71 $758 +1.12
550–585 569 15 130.00–146.00 $141.75 $807 +4.69
600–645 627 9 124.00–139.00 $127.76 $801 +0.09
660 660 2 126.00–134.00 $130.00 $858 +5.01
705–740 726 4 110.00–121.00 $116.56 $846 +6.79
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–330 318 2 130.00–140.00 $134.80 $429 -0.43
375 375 1 140.00 $140.00 $525 -12.50
455–495 479 5 138.00–140.00 $139.41 $668 +4.41
575–585 580 2 122.00–127.00 $124.52 $722 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 2 157.50 $157.50 $378 —
280 280 1 127.50 $127.50 $357 —
300–323 315 3 140.00–147.00 $144.78 $456 —
350 350 1 135.00 $135.00 $472 —
550 550 1 120.00 $120.00 $660 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1150 1115 80-85% 2 69.00 $69.00 $769 —
865–1455 1200 80-85% 20 57.00–67.00 $61.44 $737 -1.39
1230 1230 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $836 +5.17
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1645 1387 75-80% 18 57.00–65.00 $61.68 $856 —
1610 1610 75-80% 1 69.00 $69.00 $1,111 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765–1150 932 85-90% 5 59.00–92.00 $68.48 $638 +5.36
995 995 85-90% 1 54.00 $54.00 $537 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140 1140 1 74.00 $74.00 $844 —
1425 1425 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,411 —
1155–1955 1443 6 81.00–89.00 $84.70 $1,222 —
1485–1550 1518 2 92.00–94.00 $93.02 $1,412 —
1990–2235 2087 3 85.00–86.00 $85.33 $1,781 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1050 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 800.00–1,125.00 $962.50
1000–1200 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 825.00–1,025.00 $925.00
1050–1200 1117 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 575.00–725.00 $658.33
1250 1250 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1450 1450 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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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)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,250.00–1,475.00 $1,333.33 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,200.00–1,225.00 $1,212.50 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —

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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.