Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, October 23, 2021

1,111 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $118.29/cwt -6.32 vs last sale · ≈ $731/hd at 618 lb · 31 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $114.35/cwt -2.31 vs last sale · ≈ $655/hd at 573 lb · 25 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.72/cwt +8.84 vs last sale · ≈ $546/hd at 421 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,111 655 884
Feeder cattle 836 520 740
Slaughter cattle 214 118 124
Replacement cattle 61 17 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers holding mostly steady overall, with feeder bulls 3.00 lower, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts from last week. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 lower with slaughter bulls 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
275 275 1 155.00 $155.00 $426 —
325 325 1 165.00 $165.00 $536 +2.50
380–385 383 2 155.00–157.00 $155.99 $597 —
400–435 420 5 142.00–155.00 $148.90 $625 -2.43
488–495 490 18 138.00–144.00 $143.00 $701 —
505 fancy 505 1 151.00 $151.00 $763 —
500–545 524 10 137.00–148.00 $141.89 $744 -0.13
550–595 574 14 130.00–141.00 $135.35 $777 +1.35
590 590 1 120.00 $120.00 $708 -14.00
605 value added 605 1 138.00 $138.00 $835 —
600–645 617 5 130.00–137.00 $133.94 $826 -2.43
630 630 1 123.00 $123.00 $775 -13.37
660–685 676 6 124.00–136.00 $128.46 $868 +0.46
723–740 728 5 121.00–126.00 $124.58 $907 -0.42
760 value added 760 1 126.00 $126.00 $958 —
810 810 3 119.00 $119.00 $964 ±0.00
965 965 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,071 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 280 3 124.00–128.00 $125.71 $352 —
300–345 325 10 120.00–132.50 $124.80 $406 -5.47
368–395 376 8 120.00–129.00 $125.49 $472 +1.90
388 fancy 388 3 134.00 $134.00 $520 -9.00
400–445 421 24 120.00–135.00 $129.72 $546 +8.84
450–480 465 2 113.00–115.00 $114.03 $530 -5.48
455–495 471 20 117.00–129.00 $120.46 $567 +0.95
505–545 522 21 113.00–120.00 $116.24 $607 -1.10
570 570 1 104.00 $104.00 $593 -12.66
550–595 573 24 110.00–119.00 $114.78 $658 -1.88
625 625 1 106.00 $106.00 $662 -10.43
605–645 626 12 108.00–117.00 $112.84 $706 -3.59
650–695 670 17 109.00–119.00 $115.72 $775 +3.12
675 675 1 105.00 $105.00 $709 -7.60
700–740 717 5 103.00–111.00 $106.39 $763 -1.89

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 155.00 $155.00 $372 —
275–290 283 3 145.00–155.00 $150.78 $427 -9.22
310–345 331 9 147.00–162.50 $152.54 $505 -0.52
350–395 380 19 142.00–159.00 $148.50 $564 -0.02
405–440 421 9 137.50–143.00 $140.61 $592 -3.25
448 448 3 126.00 $126.00 $564 -17.86
450 fancy 450 1 144.00 $144.00 $648 -15.81
450–493 474 15 129.00–140.00 $134.45 $637 -8.32
500–545 529 20 120.00–132.00 $124.65 $659 -6.88
535 fancy 535 1 138.00 $138.00 $738 —
560 fancy 560 1 134.00 $134.00 $750 —
550–595 567 17 120.00–131.00 $124.15 $704 -5.35
605 fancy 605 1 128.00 $128.00 $774 —
600–645 618 30 114.00–126.00 $117.97 $729 -6.64
650–693 662 16 113.00–123.00 $118.67 $786 -1.10
700–745 729 9 110.00–118.00 $114.97 $838 -2.41
755 755 1 118.00 $118.00 $891 +7.52
805–845 831 8 94.00–102.00 $98.50 $819 -11.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 140.00 $140.00 $462 —
355–385 372 3 122.50–138.00 $128.58 $478 —
425–445 438 3 129.00–133.00 $131.71 $577 —
505–520 515 5 114.00–117.00 $115.61 $595 -4.39
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1200 1200 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00 —
1400 1400 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225 1225 75-80% 1 67.00 $67.00 $821 -11.00
1015–1790 1374 75-80% 48 56.00–65.00 $60.79 $835 -0.07
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830–1100 965 80-85% 2 68.00–70.00 $68.86 $664 —
900–1390 1192 80-85% 34 56.00–66.00 $60.97 $727 —
1360 1360 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $925 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775–1015 920 85-90% 3 62.00–70.00 $64.25 $591 —
875–1250 1032 85-90% 20 50.00–58.00 $53.13 $548 -2.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 1 71.00 $71.00 $785 —
1300–2045 1700 22 80.00–91.00 $84.61 $1,438 +0.02
1700 1700 1 76.00 $76.00 $1,292 -8.59
1555–1985 1817 3 95.00–97.00 $96.43 $1,752 +21.43

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
1050–1100 1075 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 600.00–690.00 $645.00
1000–1200 1133 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 775.00–850.00 $801.67
1000–1550 1143 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 760.00–930.00 $858.57
1200 1200 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
1350 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1400 1400 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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Bred Heifers

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) 1 785.00 $785.00

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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 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,150.00–1,275.00 $1,215.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,320.00 $1,320.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,250.00–1,400.00 $1,308.33 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
363 363 2 95.00 $95.00 $345 —
475 475 2 81.00 $81.00 $385 —

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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.