Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, July 31, 2021

694 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.63/cwt +6.73 vs last sale · ≈ $726/hd at 569 lb · 27 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.66/cwt +5.90 vs last sale · ≈ $673/hd at 519 lb · 23 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $134.38/cwt -0.15 vs last sale · ≈ $758/hd at 564 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 694 861 802
Feeder cattle 510 712 594
Slaughter cattle 146 130 191
Replacement cattle 38 19 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder classes measuring 2.00 to 3.00 higher overall, with slaughter cows and bulls holding mostly steady 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
370–390 380 2 171.00–176.00 $173.57 $660 +20.47
493–495 494 4 153.00–159.00 $155.99 $771 +9.24
500–535 519 8 144.00–160.00 $153.74 $798 +2.24
560 fancy 560 2 161.00 $161.00 $902 -1.00
555–580 570 5 140.00–153.00 $144.80 $825 -8.96
600–623 610 8 149.00–159.00 $153.21 $935 +11.81
665–693 675 6 138.00–145.00 $141.61 $956 +4.64

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 319 4 130.00–132.50 $130.59 $417 +1.18
355–395 383 8 132.00–136.00 $134.48 $515 +1.85
400–448 426 10 130.00–138.00 $135.04 $575 +3.59
450–495 471 13 130.00–139.00 $134.08 $632 +5.93
500–545 519 23 124.00–135.00 $129.66 $673 +5.90
550–556 fancy 555 9 134.00–137.00 $134.33 $746 —
550–595 576 18 118.00–131.00 $124.28 $716 +3.38
600–640 619 18 114.00–125.00 $120.32 $745 +2.66
650–685 666 10 113.00–123.00 $118.91 $792 +1.36

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 326 5 157.00–170.00 $163.58 $533 -4.40
350–395 368 12 164.00–175.00 $168.87 $621 +15.46
400–440 fancy 415 5 170.00–173.00 $171.20 $710 +2.52
400–445 421 8 150.00–165.00 $157.45 $663 +5.44
450–495 470 5 149.00–158.00 $153.99 $724 +16.28
515–525 fancy 520 4 146.00–153.00 $150.52 $783 —
500–540 527 11 131.00–144.00 $135.33 $713 +1.51
555–560 fancy 558 3 147.00–148.00 $147.67 $824 -0.33
550–585 565 18 129.00–140.00 $132.17 $747 -1.62
625–640 635 3 119.00–123.00 $121.33 $770 -3.10
650–685 663 11 118.00–126.00 $123.81 $821 +1.10
705–725 714 5 109.00–119.00 $114.18 $815 -0.94
750–795 780 3 109.00–116.00 $113.28 $884 +3.28
815–825 820 2 118.00–119.00 $118.50 $972 +4.05
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1100 1100 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,080.00 $1,080.00 —
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,430.00 $1,430.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 85-90% 1 73.00 $73.00 $606 —
920 920 85-90% 1 72.00 $72.00 $662 —
855–1275 1030 85-90% 27 62.00–70.00 $65.69 $677 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1335 1127 80-85% 18 66.00–76.00 $71.66 $808 —
1130–1465 1254 80-85% 11 76.00–80.00 $78.02 $978 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–2200 1503 75-80% 25 66.00–76.00 $71.59 $1,076 —
1420–1700 1570 75-80% 3 77.00–78.00 $77.64 $1,219 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1660–1935 1798 2 102.00–104.00 $103.08 $1,853 +12.02
1405–2165 1818 12 87.00–97.00 $91.32 $1,660 —
2285 2285 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,919 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 530.00 $530.00
1050–1350 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 790.00–880.00 $835.00
1350 1350 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 795.00 $795.00
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,160.00 $1,160.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,390.00 $1,390.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,590.00 $1,590.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403 403 4 100.00 $100.00 $403 —
505 505 1 95.00 $95.00 $480 —
770 770 3 83.50 $83.50 $643 -18.50

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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.