Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 8, 2021

648 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $130.05/cwt +3.94 vs last sale · ≈ $614/hd at 472 lb · 23 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.05/cwt -0.54 vs last sale · ≈ $655/hd at 532 lb · 20 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $125.20/cwt -1.78 vs last sale · ≈ $780/hd at 623 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 648 854 606
Feeder cattle 478 639 491
Slaughter cattle 127 149 86
Replacement cattle 43 66 29

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers remaining mostly steady overall, with feeder bulls weighing up to 450 lbs. 4.00 higher and those weighing over 450 lbs. 2.00 lower overall. No comparisons available, however, for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 5.00 higher overall, with slaughter bulls 9.00 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
295 295 1 170.00 $170.00 $502 —
400–445 423 6 152.00–160.00 $155.57 $658 +6.57
480 480 1 155.00 $155.00 $744 -3.74
505–520 515 3 137.00–147.00 $142.33 $733 +1.64
570–585 580 4 136.00–138.00 $137.50 $798 +2.51
605 605 1 125.00 $125.00 $756 -5.81
660–698 682 9 121.00–124.00 $123.22 $840 -7.29
700–745 716 4 113.00–120.00 $115.97 $830 —
755 755 1 115.00 $115.00 $868 -9.00
995 995 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,045 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 fancy 220 1 170.00 $170.00 $374 —
220–240 230 2 142.50–157.50 $149.67 $344 +4.48
255–290 272 3 135.00–145.00 $140.61 $382 +1.61
300–348 335 4 127.00–138.00 $133.38 $447 -0.99
355–380 368 6 126.00–135.00 $130.74 $481 -0.80
425 425 1 110.00 $110.00 $468 -19.52
425–445 434 8 126.00–135.00 $130.14 $565 +0.62
452–495 472 23 124.00–136.00 $130.05 $614 +4.45
510–545 532 20 119.00–129.00 $123.05 $655 -0.54
550–585 572 12 115.00–125.00 $119.69 $685 -2.24
600–645 620 16 107.00–117.00 $110.73 $687 -4.70
650–690 669 6 106.00–110.00 $108.16 $724 -5.80
700–740 715 11 101.00–110.00 $106.05 $758 +5.71
770–790 777 3 95.00–105.00 $99.63 $774 —
800–830 815 2 96.00–100.00 $98.04 $799 -3.96
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 120.00 $120.00 $528 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 120.00 $120.00 $438 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–230 228 2 172.50–185.00 $178.82 $408 +17.54
250 fancy 250 1 175.00 $175.00 $438 —
255–285 266 4 155.00–167.50 $161.35 $429 -2.46
315–345 328 4 155.00–167.50 $162.61 $533 -0.86
350–385 370 5 160.00–170.00 $166.53 $616 +11.13
410–425 417 8 145.00–156.00 $150.15 $626 +2.57
460–498 478 12 136.00–148.00 $140.89 $673 -2.33
475–485 fancy 480 3 153.00–157.00 $154.32 $741 +0.32
495 thin fleshed 495 1 130.00 $130.00 $644 —
500–545 523 11 128.00–138.00 $132.58 $693 -4.15
550–595 571 7 125.00–136.00 $130.10 $743 -3.21
600–645 623 17 121.00–132.00 $125.20 $780 -0.20
650–688 667 9 114.00–125.00 $120.07 $801 -1.89
725–740 734 4 111.00 $111.00 $815 -4.66
750–755 753 4 108.00–112.00 $110.25 $830 -4.52
800–803 802 3 100.00 $100.00 $802 —
855 855 1 98.00 $98.00 $838 —
1170 1170 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,100 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 147.50 $147.50 $538 +10.42
405 405 1 136.00 $136.00 $551 +12.00
495 495 1 129.00 $129.00 $639 —
735–737 737 4 100.00–105.00 $101.25 $746 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 2 125.00 $125.00 $644 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1405 1153 80-85% 35 64.00–75.00 $70.02 $807 +3.55
1125–1715 1379 80-85% 7 76.00–82.00 $78.31 $1,080 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1805 1506 75-80% 25 64.00–75.00 $69.71 $1,050 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–890 853 85-90% 3 72.00–81.00 $77.55 $662 —
870–1130 969 85-90% 11 57.00–67.00 $62.10 $602 +4.50

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470 1470 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,558 —
1350–2095 1764 7 88.00–98.00 $93.32 $1,646 —
1825–1995 1910 2 105.00–111.00 $108.13 $2,065 —

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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)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,060.00 $1,060.00
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 695.00 $695.00
1050–1100 1075 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 775.00–860.00 $817.50
1000–1450 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 825.00–860.00 $845.00
1350 1350 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00
1500 1500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700 700 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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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 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 2 115.00 $115.00 $673 —

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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.