Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, August 21, 2021

837 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $128.30/cwt -1.26 vs last sale · ≈ $608/hd at 474 lb · 21 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.52/cwt -0.75 vs last sale · ≈ $687/hd at 570 lb · 18 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $137.76/cwt +5.65 vs last sale · ≈ $787/hd at 572 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 837 851 952
Feeder cattle 588 608 786
Slaughter cattle 210 228 142
Replacement cattle 39 15 24

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers and heifers measuring 1.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls 8.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 to 3.00 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
345 345 1 162.50 $162.50 $561 -10.98
385–395 390 2 173.00–175.00 $174.01 $679 +5.21
415–445 436 6 157.50–167.00 $161.55 $704 -1.84
455–465 460 2 157.00–158.00 $157.51 $725 -3.60
505 value added 505 1 153.00 $153.00 $773 —
515–540 529 6 139.00–147.00 $143.03 $757 -5.04
555–580 569 4 138.00–146.00 $141.50 $805 +6.50
630 fancy 630 1 147.00 $147.00 $926 —
600–645 632 8 130.00–144.00 $138.52 $875 +0.62
665–695 677 7 136.00–145.00 $140.31 $950 +3.61
700–741 731 6 133.00–136.00 $133.97 $979 +3.24
795 795 2 132.00–134.00 $133.00 $1,057 +8.21
825 825 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,072 +11.00
850 850 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,020 —
859 value added 859 6 127.50 $127.50 $1,095 —
1060 1060 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,134 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–310 fancy 305 2 140.00–144.00 $142.03 $433 —
300–345 325 8 125.00–138.00 $130.33 $424 -0.07
360–395 377 13 128.00–137.00 $131.98 $498 +0.72
410–445 428 16 128.00–134.00 $130.44 $558 -0.72
450–495 474 21 125.00–132.00 $128.30 $608 -1.26
510–548 524 15 119.00–127.00 $124.63 $653 +1.20
550 fancy 550 1 127.00 $127.00 $698 —
558–595 571 17 115.00–124.50 $120.14 $686 -1.13
600–640 617 16 111.00–120.00 $115.17 $711 -1.55
650–695 677 10 110.50–117.00 $114.28 $774 +3.80
683 value added 683 3 137.00 $137.00 $936 —
700–715 706 4 111.00–118.00 $113.99 $805 +8.66
755 755 1 107.00 $107.00 $808 +2.75

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308–345 319 8 165.00–175.00 $168.68 $538 +9.41
360–395 378 9 161.00–179.00 $169.68 $641 +13.98
410–435 421 4 149.00–164.00 $157.07 $661 +9.22
425–435 fancy 430 3 170.00–172.00 $170.67 $734 —
460 fancy 460 1 158.00 $158.00 $727 +1.50
450–490 473 8 140.00–154.00 $147.46 $697 +7.99
500–540 519 15 133.00–147.00 $138.53 $719 +3.73
565 fancy 565 1 146.00 $146.00 $825 +5.00
550–595 572 16 130.00–144.00 $137.25 $785 +7.68
600–640 614 12 132.00–142.00 $136.55 $838 +10.75
660–695 673 6 120.00–134.00 $125.79 $847 +6.77
700–745 730 6 115.00–120.00 $118.15 $862 +3.19
755–790 774 8 114.00–124.00 $115.61 $895 -3.07
800–845 829 4 108.00–112.00 $110.49 $916 -0.85
865 865 1 111.00 $111.00 $960 +2.99
905–945 919 5 107.00–113.00 $108.97 $1,001 +6.41
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,310.00 $1,310.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1735 1370 75-80% 44 63.00–73.00 $66.47 $911 +1.08
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1495 1144 80-85% 27 63.00–73.00 $67.22 $769 —
1335–1515 1425 80-85% 2 74.00–76.00 $75.06 $1,070 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1190 1003 85-90% 16 61.00–70.00 $64.28 $645 +0.32

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–2230 1729 16 87.00–99.00 $92.97 $1,607 +2.32

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100–1400 1290 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 810.00–1,250.00 $927.00
1400 1400 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00
1500 1500 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 675.00 $675.00
800 800 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 690.00 $690.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,130.00 $1,130.00 —

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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.