Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 1, 2021

854 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.59/cwt -5.96 vs last sale · ≈ $640/hd at 518 lb · 29 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.11/cwt -9.41 vs last sale · ≈ $597/hd at 473 lb · 28 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $134.57/cwt -0.21 vs last sale · ≈ $761/hd at 566 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 854 861 989
Feeder cattle 639 672 726
Slaughter cattle 149 130 187
Replacement cattle 66 59 76

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 5.00 lower, with feeder bulls mostly steady overall, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, but a lower undertone was noted. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 2.00 to 4.00 higher overall.

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
380 380 1 162.50 $162.50 $618 -1.62
415 value added 415 1 164.00 $164.00 $681 —
425–435 428 3 148.00–150.00 $149.00 $638 -6.38
435 fancy 435 1 172.00 $172.00 $748 —
455–490 473 2 152.00–166.00 $158.74 $751 +4.19
505–520 513 3 137.00–145.00 $140.69 $722 -4.21
570–595 586 10 130.00–140.00 $134.99 $791 -2.57
605–640 621 5 126.00–134.00 $130.81 $812 -1.96
655–660 658 2 129.00–132.00 $130.51 $859 +6.75
750 750 1 124.00 $124.00 $930 +1.59
870 870 1 113.00 $113.00 $983 —
1020 1020 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,040 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
605 605 1 125.00 $125.00 $756 —
770 770 1 110.00 $110.00 $847 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 228 2 142.50–147.50 $145.19 $331 —
275 275 1 139.00 $139.00 $382 —
300–330 313 4 128.00–140.00 $134.37 $421 -3.90
360 fancy 360 1 141.00 $141.00 $508 —
350–395 371 19 126.00–136.00 $131.54 $488 -2.52
400–445 422 27 124.00–135.00 $129.52 $547 -5.28
450 fancy 450 1 140.00 $140.00 $630 —
450–495 474 27 120.00–131.00 $125.60 $595 -9.92
500–540 518 29 119.00–129.00 $123.59 $640 -5.96
550–590 566 21 115.00–129.00 $121.93 $690 -3.48
600–635 610 7 113.00–118.00 $115.43 $704 -1.03
650–695 677 10 107.00–120.00 $113.96 $772 -0.73
720–730 725 3 100.00–101.00 $100.34 $727 -11.12
805 805 1 102.00 $102.00 $821 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235–245 240 2 160.00–162.50 $161.28 $387 —
250–275 260 4 157.50–170.00 $163.81 $426 +0.81
305–335 316 8 155.00–170.00 $163.47 $517 +6.41
315–345 fancy 335 4 174.00–176.00 $175.00 $586 —
350–390 372 15 150.00–165.00 $155.40 $578 -4.59
400–445 413 18 142.00–157.50 $147.58 $610 -2.99
420–445 fancy 430 7 159.00–170.00 $164.69 $708 +6.69
450 fancy 450 1 154.00 $154.00 $693 —
450–495 474 20 137.00–150.00 $143.22 $679 -4.84
505–545 520 26 130.00–144.00 $136.73 $711 +0.45
550 fancy 550 1 144.00 $144.00 $792 —
555–565 value added 560 2 144.00–146.00 $144.99 $812 —
550–595 567 24 127.00–140.00 $133.31 $756 -1.47
605–612 fancy 610 4 135.00–136.00 $135.25 $825 —
605–645 623 21 120.00–133.00 $125.40 $781 +3.09
655–695 672 12 117.00–130.00 $121.96 $820 +4.71
700 value added 700 1 122.00 $122.00 $854 —
700–745 724 7 109.00–120.00 $115.66 $837 +3.17
750–775 754 14 107.00–116.50 $114.77 $865 +8.77
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–375 365 2 134.00–140.00 $137.08 $500 -8.98
425 425 1 124.00 $124.00 $527 —
450–465 457 3 125.00–132.00 $129.00 $590 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 139.00 $139.00 $619 +1.51
490 490 1 127.50 $127.50 $625 -2.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1325 1173 80-85% 23 61.00–72.00 $66.47 $780 +1.24
1050–1695 1299 80-85% 9 73.00–79.00 $75.93 $986 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1605 1359 75-80% 4 63.00–72.00 $65.96 $896 —
1075–1735 1398 75-80% 18 59.00–70.00 $61.97 $866 —
1260–1715 1418 75-80% 3 55.00–57.00 $55.89 $793 —
1360–1535 1430 75-80% 3 72.00–73.00 $72.36 $1,035 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1065 968 85-90% 8 54.00–63.00 $57.60 $558 —
1020 1020 85-90% 1 67.00 $67.00 $683 +8.33
1080 1080 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $691 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1350 1228 2 90.00–92.00 $90.90 $1,116 —
1395–1900 1558 4 79.00–89.00 $83.95 $1,308 —
1310–1840 1599 6 84.00–93.00 $87.06 $1,392 —
1575–2050 1731 7 92.00–102.00 $95.79 $1,658 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1000 933 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,035.00–1,150.00 $1,073.33
850–1150 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 800.00–1,100.00 $938.75
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
900–1200 1042 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 800.00–1,165.00 $931.67
900–1300 1086 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 875.00–1,200.00 $1,024.29
1050–1150 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 695.00–875.00 $785.00
1000–1400 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 700.00–820.00 $760.00
1450 1450 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 800.00 $800.00
800 800 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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 3 1,225.00–1,325.00 $1,283.33 —

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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.