Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, October 2, 2021

661 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $123.11/cwt -6.72 vs last sale · ≈ $693/hd at 563 lb · 18 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $119.44/cwt -6.21 vs last sale · ≈ $565/hd at 473 lb · 17 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $138.55/cwt -1.10 vs last sale · ≈ $654/hd at 472 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 661 987 1,243
Feeder cattle 493 730 955
Slaughter cattle 138 160 172
Replacement cattle 30 97 116

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder classes measuring 4.00 to 5.00 lower overall with lighter demand noted. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 lower overall with slaughter bulls 4.00 lower.

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
330 330 1 160.00 $160.00 $528 -8.80
415 415 1 151.00 $151.00 $627 -0.17
475 475 1 161.00 $161.00 $765 +16.56
500–545 515 7 130.00–145.00 $136.51 $703 -2.96
565 565 1 124.00 $124.00 $701 -12.72
555–585 571 5 126.00–138.00 $129.93 $742 -6.79
600–630 616 5 125.00–133.00 $129.38 $797 -6.78
650–685 659 5 119.00–123.00 $121.59 $801 -9.47
668 value added 668 2 132.00 $132.00 $882 —
725–740 733 3 122.00 $122.00 $894 -3.87
755–765 760 2 112.00–119.00 $115.52 $878 +1.16
800–830 815 4 110.00–113.00 $111.50 $909 -6.51
880 880 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,012 +4.48
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1980 1980 1 74.00 $74.00 $1,465 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560 560 1 118.00 $118.00 $661 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–325 323 2 123.00–130.00 $126.47 $408 -6.77
360–395 374 4 120.00–133.00 $124.51 $466 -6.51
405–445 418 4 121.00–127.00 $123.51 $516 -6.73
450–495 473 17 114.00–122.00 $119.44 $565 -5.30
515–535 528 9 111.00–119.00 $114.76 $606 -3.18
565 565 1 107.00 $107.00 $605 -10.75
550–595 573 13 110.00–116.00 $112.47 $644 -5.28
610–645 626 12 104.00–114.00 $109.32 $684 -4.87
650–695 668 4 106.00–114.00 $109.56 $732 -6.45
710–725 715 3 102.00–105.00 $103.01 $737 -5.29
770–780 775 2 96.00–99.00 $97.49 $756 -9.52
850 value added 850 2 93.00 $93.00 $790 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 113.00 $113.00 $373 —
445 445 1 116.00 $116.00 $516 —
530 530 1 108.00 $108.00 $572 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–265 263 2 150.00–162.50 $156.31 $411 —
310 fancy 310 1 170.00 $170.00 $527 —
315–345 336 4 158.00–167.50 $163.56 $550 +2.43
350–370 360 4 157.00–165.00 $160.46 $578 -0.12
405–445 416 9 145.00–156.00 $150.36 $625 -2.20
435 fancy 435 1 165.00 $165.00 $718 —
460–470 fancy 465 2 151.00–165.00 $157.92 $734 —
450–485 473 12 130.00–147.50 $135.32 $640 -4.33
503–535 519 6 120.00–127.00 $124.62 $647 -2.92
550–580 563 18 119.00–128.00 $123.11 $693 -6.24
600–645 621 13 115.00–124.00 $118.15 $734 -4.14
650–670 663 6 109.00–116.00 $112.65 $747 -7.34
700–740 721 6 95.00–109.00 $100.78 $727 -16.89
750–780 763 7 94.00–106.00 $100.67 $768 -6.90
820–822 822 4 85.00–98.00 $88.24 $725 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 130.00 $130.00 $474 -15.00
510–540 525 2 109.00–112.00 $110.54 $580 —
565 565 2 114.00 $114.00 $644 -4.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1505 1211 80-85% 28 58.00–67.00 $62.87 $761 —
1240–1365 1303 80-85% 2 69.00 $69.00 $899 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1355 1245 75-80% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.54 $679 —
1125–1775 1403 75-80% 25 57.00–67.00 $61.67 $865 -7.33
1540 1540 75-80% 1 72.00 $72.00 $1,109 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1425 1066 85-90% 14 54.00–61.00 $57.13 $609 -0.69

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350 1350 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,215 —
1535–1795 1658 8 74.00–85.00 $79.55 $1,319 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1300 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 850.00–950.00 $900.00
1150 1150 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00
1200 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
1250 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–460 458 2 82.00–85.00 $83.51 $382 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725 725 1 85.00 $85.00 $616 —

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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.