Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, December 11, 2021

527 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $122.52/cwt -0.34 vs last sale · ≈ $707/hd at 577 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.49/cwt -0.24 vs last sale · ≈ $658/hd at 520 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $125.64/cwt -12.53 vs last sale · ≈ $657/hd at 523 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 527 1,066 1,257
Feeder cattle 409 807 997
Slaughter cattle 106 209 206
Replacement cattle 12 50 54

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, on a lighter test, feeder steers and heifers 4.00 to 5.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls 8.00 lower, and lower-quality offerings and decreased demand noted. All classes of slaughter cows and bulls gauging 4.00 to 5.00 higher overall, with exception of boning cows 8.00 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
390 390 2 167.00–167.50 $167.25 $652 -0.76
430 430 1 161.00 $161.00 $692 +16.36
520–530 523 3 141.00–147.00 $143.03 $748 +8.03
555–575 565 3 137.00–138.00 $137.33 $776 -8.13
608–610 609 3 141.00–144.00 $143.00 $871 +0.85
655–695 677 8 128.00–136.00 $131.59 $891 -7.03
700–743 716 6 125.00–132.00 $128.60 $921 -6.96
790 790 1 125.00 $125.00 $988 -9.34
820–835 828 2 115.00–117.00 $116.01 $961 -3.99
1020 1020 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,030 -16.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 328 2 135.00–139.00 $137.02 $449 +6.11
360–395 370 4 123.00–130.00 $125.26 $463 -7.88
400–445 417 17 123.00–136.00 $129.75 $541 -4.55
455 fancy 455 1 133.00 $133.00 $605 —
450–495 474 13 120.00–129.00 $124.84 $592 -6.36
500–545 518 16 119.00–129.00 $125.39 $650 -0.81
525–530 fancy 528 2 131.00–132.00 $131.50 $694 —
535 value added 535 1 134.00 $134.00 $717 -2.00
550–595 577 20 119.00–129.00 $122.52 $707 -0.73
600–645 624 9 108.00–117.00 $113.05 $705 -3.72
663 value added 663 2 119.00 $119.00 $789 —
650–675 664 4 107.00–116.00 $111.76 $742 -4.80
750–795 765 3 102.00–110.00 $106.69 $816 +0.74
765 value added 765 1 112.00 $112.00 $857 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–390 380 6 151.00–168.00 $161.59 $614 -15.25
405–425 fancy 412 3 158.00–162.50 $160.85 $663 —
410–440 428 6 140.00–152.00 $146.77 $628 +1.43
450–490 463 8 130.00–145.00 $135.29 $626 -4.21
505–545 522 16 120.00–130.00 $125.12 $653 -12.12
535 value added 535 1 134.00 $134.00 $717 —
550–595 569 13 120.00–131.00 $123.61 $703 -8.66
600–635 616 7 114.00–128.00 $122.63 $755 -1.92
655–695 673 4 105.00–116.00 $108.93 $733 -11.08
685 fancy 685 1 121.00 $121.00 $829 —
730–735 733 2 105.00–110.00 $107.49 $788 -8.49
750–795 765 3 97.00–106.00 $101.58 $777 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 144.00 $144.00 $526 -3.50
445 445 1 133.00 $133.00 $592 +0.58
450 450 1 127.50 $127.50 $574 —
583 583 2 113.00 $113.00 $659 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420–1560 1497 75-80% 5 70.00–79.00 $74.29 $1,112 —
1215–2100 1501 75-80% 27 57.00–68.00 $62.46 $938 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1535 1284 80-85% 11 58.00–70.00 $64.86 $833 —
1225–1555 1403 80-85% 6 72.00–80.00 $77.04 $1,081 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1340 1065 85-90% 16 53.00–61.00 $57.96 $617 +4.38

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1755 1461 4 82.00–85.00 $82.84 $1,210 —
1665–1830 1748 2 98.00–104.00 $100.86 $1,763 +22.57

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1500 1183 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 825.00–890.00 $855.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 820.00 $820.00

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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)Open 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —

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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.