Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, April 3, 2021

422 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $143.95/cwt -1.72 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 530 lb · 17 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $143.42/cwt +6.24 vs last sale · ≈ $535/hd at 373 lb · 16 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.81/cwt +4.15 vs last sale · ≈ $642/hd at 466 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 422 858 638
Feeder cattle 308 679 502
Slaughter cattle 98 110 97
Replacement cattle 16 69 39

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, on a lighter test due to the holiday weekend, feeder heifers measuring 5.00 to 6.00 higher overall with feeder bulls 4.00 higher, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone was noted. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 4.00 higher overall with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts.

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
250 250 1 177.50 $177.50 $444 -3.33
330–340 335 2 176.00–180.00 $177.97 $596 +0.47
370–380 375 5 178.00–189.00 $184.17 $691 +13.04
410 value added 410 1 179.00 $179.00 $734 —
415–440 431 5 164.00–170.00 $166.39 $717 +6.67
475 value added 475 2 174.00 $174.00 $826 —
455–495 477 3 155.00–166.00 $159.51 $761 +4.69
515–542 531 13 147.00–161.00 $157.30 $835 +9.13
550–595 578 3 140.00–150.00 $143.51 $829 +0.25
583 value added 583 2 155.00 $155.00 $904 —
625–630 627 3 143.00–147.00 $145.66 $913 +8.29
650–665 660 3 140.00–142.50 $141.68 $935 -0.32
705–725 715 2 130.00–132.00 $131.01 $937 +10.01
765 value added 765 2 129.00 $129.00 $987 —
765–795 778 3 124.00–126.00 $125.34 $975 +2.34
808 value added 808 3 124.50 $124.50 $1,006 —
920–945 932 3 107.00–114.00 $110.34 $1,028 +4.34
1020 1020 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,132 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 148.00 $148.00 $688 —
500 500 1 137.50 $137.50 $688 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 2 162.50 $162.50 $374 +15.97
280–285 281 7 147.50–154.00 $153.06 $430 +18.81
310–345 333 4 137.50–150.00 $142.26 $474 +5.23
335 thin fleshed 335 1 132.50 $132.50 $444 —
360 fancy 360 5 152.00 $152.00 $547 —
355–398 379 11 134.00–145.00 $139.52 $529 +2.34
415–445 429 13 130.00–144.00 $137.14 $588 +5.36
450–495 466 16 130.00–141.00 $137.81 $642 +5.14
500 value added 500 1 137.00 $137.00 $685 —
500–540 520 9 126.00–135.00 $130.99 $681 +7.22
540 540 1 119.00 $119.00 $643 +14.00
550–580 559 6 123.00–132.00 $127.46 $713 +9.56
600–625 617 5 113.00–124.00 $119.59 $738 +11.21
655–665 658 3 110.00–111.00 $110.34 $726 -1.06
670 670 1 101.00 $101.00 $677 -10.40
705 705 1 109.00 $109.00 $768 +2.88
710 710 1 100.00 $100.00 $710 -6.12
895 895 1 98.00 $98.00 $877 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–475 463 2 124.00–125.00 $124.51 $576 +5.15
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 122.00 $122.00 $647 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 170.00 $170.00 $450 -1.27
325–345 337 3 170.00–182.50 $177.44 $598 +4.68
370 fancy 370 1 185.00 $185.00 $684 ±0.00
370–395 381 4 170.00–180.00 $176.26 $672 +7.23
400–445 423 5 154.00–171.00 $162.98 $689 +9.66
460–485 472 5 157.00–161.00 $159.30 $752 +7.64
475 fancy 475 1 172.00 $172.00 $817 +7.48
505–535 fancy 520 2 156.00–159.00 $157.46 $819 +3.13
500–545 531 15 136.00–149.00 $142.15 $755 -1.67
577–595 584 6 135.00–142.00 $138.31 $808 +0.30
610–645 621 7 124.00–136.00 $132.15 $821 +0.68
655–695 678 7 124.00–131.00 $127.69 $866 +2.96
700–745 725 3 118.00–125.00 $121.31 $879 +4.29
760 760 1 119.00 $119.00 $904 +20.00
920 920 1 95.00 $95.00 $874 +0.01
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 125.00 $125.00 $612 —
510 510 1 129.00 $129.00 $658 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1350 1350 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 155.00 $155.00 $550 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1070 970 80-85% 3 72.00–97.00 $80.57 $782 -0.97
985–1450 1209 80-85% 9 73.00–76.00 $74.28 $898 +8.66
955–1465 1212 80-85% 9 63.00–71.00 $67.98 $824 +2.36
1170–1290 1221 80-85% 4 65.00–73.00 $69.24 $845 +3.62
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–885 810 85-90% 4 70.00–105.00 $91.07 $738 —
950 950 85-90% 1 68.00 $68.00 $646 —
935–1005 958 85-90% 5 56.00–65.00 $60.61 $581 —
1070–1190 1130 85-90% 2 61.00–63.00 $62.05 $701 -0.95
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170 1170 75-80% 1 53.00 $53.00 $620 —
1200 1200 75-80% 1 66.00 $66.00 $792 —
1225–1690 1398 75-80% 10 62.00–70.00 $65.43 $915 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1660 1403 6 84.00–92.00 $86.94 $1,220 —
1500–1770 1635 3 99.00–102.00 $100.31 $1,640 —
1680–1755 1723 3 101.00–106.00 $102.70 $1,770 —
2120 2120 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,950 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00

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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 1,325.00 $1,325.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,280.00 $1,280.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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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.