Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 22, 2021

834 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.04/cwt +2.18 vs last sale · ≈ $627/hd at 475 lb · 38 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $125.83/cwt +0.99 vs last sale · ≈ $653/hd at 519 lb · 32 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $141.92/cwt -8.50 vs last sale · ≈ $665/hd at 469 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 834 812 748
Feeder cattle 632 593 476
Slaughter cattle 161 151 230
Replacement cattle 41 68 42

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers measuring 5.00 to 8.00 lower, with feeder heifers 1.00 higher and feeder bulls 1.00 lower overall. Slaughter cows 1.00 to 3.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls holding mostly steady.

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 2 165.00–167.00 $166.00 $631 —
415 thin fleshed 415 1 140.00 $140.00 $581 —
405–440 417 3 148.00–156.00 $152.21 $635 -4.96
445 445 1 142.50 $142.50 $634 -14.67
480 thin fleshed 480 2 137.00 $137.00 $658 —
465–497 484 9 142.00–154.00 $146.65 $710 -7.76
505–543 527 13 133.00–144.00 $136.98 $722 -12.68
565–590 573 10 139.00–145.50 $142.13 $814 +5.86
600 600 1 138.00 $138.00 $828 +5.77
600 thin fleshed 600 1 129.00 $129.00 $774 —
655–688 673 7 120.00–135.00 $128.15 $862 +4.15
715 715 1 127.00 $127.00 $908 —
765 765 2 127.00 $127.00 $972 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 140.00 $140.00 $623 —
510 510 1 125.00 $125.00 $638 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1360 1358 2 84.00–90.00 $87.01 $1,182 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 455 1 132.50 $132.50 $603 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–285 269 7 135.00–145.00 $141.27 $380 -5.34
304–325 value added 306 12 160.00–165.00 $160.44 $491 —
300–345 328 3 130.00–138.00 $133.11 $437 -1.90
340 fancy 340 1 150.00 $150.00 $510 —
370 370 1 121.00 $121.00 $448 -14.12
375 value added 375 2 151.00 $151.00 $566 —
350–395 379 15 130.00–143.00 $138.04 $523 +2.92
400–445 429 20 133.00–140.00 $135.90 $583 +0.70
450–497 475 36 128.00–138.00 $132.60 $630 +2.74
460–490 475 2 120.00–124.00 $121.94 $579 -7.92
500–548 519 32 123.00–128.00 $125.83 $653 +0.99
560 560 1 108.00 $108.00 $605 -13.54
560 fancy 560 1 128.00 $128.00 $717 —
565–595 579 11 116.00–125.00 $120.23 $696 -1.31
605–635 620 10 114.00–120.50 $118.14 $732 +0.55
630 630 1 110.00 $110.00 $693 -7.59
650–690 668 8 109.00–119.00 $114.63 $766 +1.63
700–740 722 3 110.00–114.00 $111.34 $804 +2.81
785 785 1 101.00 $101.00 $793 -7.98
800 800 1 101.00 $101.00 $808 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–420 412 3 115.00–124.00 $119.64 $493 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 122.50 $122.50 $435 —
450 450 1 113.00 $113.00 $508 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–235 233 2 160.00–167.50 $163.71 $381 —
255–270 262 5 160.00–175.00 $167.07 $438 +5.96
305–340 318 9 157.50–172.50 $165.72 $527 -0.05
325–338 fancy 334 3 175.00–177.50 $176.69 $590 —
350–375 fancy 358 4 168.00–170.00 $169.48 $607 —
360–385 375 8 150.00–166.00 $159.80 $599 -1.22
400–445 427 19 143.00–158.00 $149.52 $638 -6.23
460 fancy 460 1 152.00 $152.00 $699 -6.00
450–495 469 27 136.00–149.00 $141.55 $664 -8.54
500–540 517 23 132.00–143.00 $136.77 $707 -0.66
550–595 573 20 130.00–140.00 $135.80 $778 +0.61
600–645 622 15 126.00–135.00 $131.46 $818 +2.81
635 fancy 635 1 138.00 $138.00 $876 —
650–685 662 13 119.00–132.00 $124.21 $822 +2.65
710–735 717 8 114.00–119.00 $116.38 $834 +2.41
755–770 763 3 112.00–117.00 $115.35 $880 +11.35
805–820 811 4 105.00–111.00 $107.49 $872 +8.49
855–885 872 3 95.00–101.00 $97.66 $852 -0.47
910–915 913 2 92.00–104.00 $97.98 $895 +11.31
1015–1025 1020 2 90.00–99.00 $94.48 $964 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 150.00 $150.00 $458 —
350 350 1 145.00 $145.00 $508 —
435 435 1 135.00 $135.00 $587 +8.00
475–485 480 2 126.00–129.00 $127.52 $612 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 128.00 $128.00 $685 —
635 635 2 112.00–116.00 $114.00 $724 -6.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1400 1400 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,310.00 $1,310.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1490 1145 80-85% 29 68.00–78.00 $73.05 $836 +2.52
1055–1470 1249 80-85% 13 79.00–87.00 $81.49 $1,018 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1700 1334 75-80% 24 66.00–75.00 $70.34 $938 —
1390–1565 1467 75-80% 3 78.00–81.00 $79.38 $1,165 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1105 954 85-90% 15 61.00–70.00 $64.20 $612 —
920–1025 960 85-90% 3 71.00–73.00 $72.01 $691 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120 1120 1 82.00 $82.00 $918 —
1265–1955 1546 15 85.00–95.00 $89.77 $1,388 —
1725–1900 1844 4 96.00–101.00 $98.19 $1,811 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 630.00 $630.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1050 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 850.00–875.00 $862.50
1050–1100 1075 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 755.00–925.00 $840.00
1150–1200 1175 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 750.00–885.00 $817.50
1300 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–850.00 $825.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 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)Open 2 1,150.00–1,175.00 $1,162.50 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 900.00–1,000.00 $950.00 —

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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.