Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, September 4, 2021

557 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.33/cwt -0.97 vs last sale · ≈ $600/hd at 471 lb · 26 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.04/cwt +4.41 vs last sale · ≈ $672/hd at 521 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $142.73/cwt -5.90 vs last sale · ≈ $664/hd at 465 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 557 837 704
Feeder cattle 405 588 610
Slaughter cattle 135 210 66
Replacement cattle 17 39 28

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to reporter absence last week. Lower-quality offerings and lighter demand, due in part to the Labor Day holiday, were noted.

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
328–340 330 5 162.50–173.00 $170.84 $564 +8.34
438 438 2 146.00 $146.00 $639 -15.55
510–545 526 9 138.00–155.00 $143.73 $756 +0.70
570–580 572 5 142.00–147.00 $145.99 $835 +4.49
640 640 1 138.00 $138.00 $883 -0.52
645 645 1 121.00 $121.00 $780 -17.52
650 650 1 140.00 $140.00 $910 -0.31
735 735 1 135.00 $135.00 $992 +1.03
755–770 763 2 113.00–125.00 $118.94 $908 -14.06
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
453 453 2 135.00 $135.00 $612 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 135.00 $135.00 $641 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 142.50 $142.50 $420 —
320–325 323 2 136.00–138.00 $137.01 $443 +6.68
360 fancy 360 2 145.00 $145.00 $522 —
360–395 376 7 130.00–140.00 $136.00 $511 +4.02
400–445 418 11 130.00–142.00 $134.68 $563 +4.24
450 fancy 450 1 137.00 $137.00 $616 —
450–491 472 25 122.00–135.00 $126.94 $599 -1.36
500–535 520 15 121.00–133.00 $127.18 $661 +2.55
523 fancy 523 4 136.00 $136.00 $711 —
550–595 568 12 120.00–130.00 $123.96 $704 +3.82
600–645 629 4 114.00–122.00 $117.67 $740 +2.50
690 690 1 121.00 $121.00 $835 +6.72
700–745 715 4 108.00–114.00 $111.77 $799 -2.22
775–795 785 2 110.00–112.00 $110.99 $871 +3.99
845 845 1 109.00 $109.00 $921 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 2 128.00 $128.00 $506 —
410–435 424 4 120.00–129.00 $125.96 $534 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
372 fancy 372 5 169.00 $169.00 $629 —
365–398 387 4 147.50–155.00 $151.98 $588 -17.70
410–430 fancy 420 2 152.00–155.00 $153.46 $645 -17.21
400–445 427 9 133.00–147.00 $140.46 $600 -16.61
461 fancy 461 7 150.00 $150.00 $692 -8.00
450–485 468 9 134.00–145.00 $137.08 $642 -10.38
500–535 526 4 130.00–142.00 $134.12 $705 -4.41
530 530 2 129.00 $129.00 $684 -9.53
550–595 577 11 127.00–137.00 $129.97 $750 -7.28
600–645 622 8 119.00–130.00 $123.51 $768 -13.04
655–695 675 10 117.00–132.00 $123.40 $833 -2.39
725–735 730 3 113.00–120.00 $115.65 $844 -2.50
810–830 817 3 104.00–110.00 $106.64 $871 -3.85
915 915 1 104.00 $104.00 $952 -4.97
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 124.00 $124.00 $663 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1290 1137 80-85% 7 76.00–78.00 $76.62 $871 +9.40
1030–1335 1151 80-85% 24 65.00–75.00 $70.04 $806 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1550 1329 75-80% 18 64.00–73.00 $68.91 $916 —
1670 1670 75-80% 1 76.00 $76.00 $1,269 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 82.00 $82.00 $738 —
845–1165 996 85-90% 17 63.00–70.00 $66.53 $663 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190 1190 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,166 —
1555–1730 1643 2 103.00–107.00 $104.89 $1,723 —
1115–2160 1675 11 85.00–96.00 $90.52 $1,516 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,030.00 $1,030.00
1150–1200 1175 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–1,060.00 $930.00
1200–1300 1233 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 890.00–920.00 $910.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 810.00 $810.00
900 900 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 840.00 $840.00
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 970.00 $970.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 91.00 $91.00 $537 —

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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.