Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, December 18, 2021

400 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $143.98/cwt +8.69 vs last sale · ≈ $685/hd at 476 lb · 13 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.97/cwt +2.45 vs last sale · ≈ $711/hd at 569 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 400 527 510
Feeder cattle 246 409 403
Slaughter cattle 145 106 94
Replacement cattle 9 12 13

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, on a lighter test this week, feeder heifers 3.00 higher with feeder bulls 6.00 higher, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 to 3.00 higher overall.

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
455 455 1 165.00 $165.00 $751 —
500 500 1 156.00 $156.00 $780 +12.97
555–565 560 2 147.00–152.00 $149.52 $837 +12.19
625–635 630 2 137.00–146.00 $141.54 $892 -1.46
670–685 678 2 119.00–129.00 $123.94 $840 -7.65
725 725 1 120.00 $120.00 $870 -8.60
755 755 1 116.00 $116.00 $876 -9.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–345 340 2 147.00–160.00 $153.40 $522 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760 760 1 110.00 $110.00 $836 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 135.00 $135.00 $452 -2.02
360–395 377 3 125.00–133.00 $129.25 $487 +3.99
390 fancy 390 1 140.00 $140.00 $546 —
418 fancy 418 2 142.00 $142.00 $594 —
410–440 431 7 127.00–136.00 $129.82 $560 +0.07
450–495 468 5 131.00–139.00 $135.50 $634 +10.66
490 fancy 490 2 144.00 $144.00 $706 +11.00
515–530 525 4 117.00–130.00 $121.20 $636 -4.19
530 fancy 530 2 140.00 $140.00 $742 +8.50
555–595 569 11 118.00–129.00 $124.97 $711 +2.45
600 value added 600 1 120.00 $120.00 $720 —
665–680 672 3 107.00–111.00 $109.68 $737 -2.08
705–725 715 2 105.00–114.00 $109.56 $783 —
770 770 1 106.00 $106.00 $816 -0.69
820–830 825 2 100.00–102.00 $100.99 $833 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 120.00 $120.00 $402 —
470 470 2 120.00 $120.00 $564 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–375 365 2 116.00–127.50 $121.59 $444 —
455 455 1 110.00 $110.00 $500 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 320 3 152.50–165.00 $160.32 $513 —
360–398 385 6 150.00–169.00 $162.72 $626 +1.13
405–445 416 5 150.00–168.00 $160.91 $669 +14.14
455–480 fancy 468 2 157.00–158.00 $157.49 $737 —
460–498 477 11 137.00–150.00 $141.52 $675 +6.23
500–548 532 9 130.00–138.00 $135.39 $720 +10.27
555–590 574 4 127.50–138.00 $133.04 $764 +9.43
600–625 610 7 119.00–128.00 $124.03 $757 +1.40
675 675 2 110.00–116.00 $113.00 $763 +4.07
765–768 767 3 105.00–109.00 $106.33 $816 +4.75
825 825 1 108.00 $108.00 $891 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 145.00 $145.00 $457 —
350 350 2 140.00–145.00 $142.50 $499 -1.50
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 127.50 $127.50 $516 —
485 485 1 125.00 $125.00 $606 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1385 1197 80-85% 11 73.00–82.00 $76.08 $911 —
905–1440 1202 80-85% 28 60.00–72.00 $65.94 $793 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1780 1394 75-80% 22 60.00–70.00 $65.42 $912 —
1235–1625 1453 75-80% 5 72.00–76.00 $73.97 $1,075 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1085 1053 85-90% 2 67.00 $67.00 $706 +9.04
810–1360 1067 85-90% 19 54.00–63.00 $57.74 $616 -0.22

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005 1005 1 76.00 $76.00 $764 —
1210–2190 1724 9 79.00–92.00 $84.25 $1,452 -16.61
1580–2140 1827 3 96.00–102.00 $99.37 $1,815 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 655.00 $655.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 835.00 $835.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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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
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,575.00 $1,575.00 —

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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.