Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 21, 2022

576 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.84/cwt +0.46 vs last sale · ≈ $802/hd at 578 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.00/cwt -2.00 vs last sale · ≈ $705/hd at 526 lb · 18 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $153.37/cwt +6.25 vs last sale · ≈ $656/hd at 427 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 576 576 834
Feeder cattle 433 448 632
Slaughter cattle 130 112 161
Replacement cattle 13 16 41

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers and feeder bulls weighing over 450 lbs. 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder bulls weighing up to 450 lbs. sharply lower with no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and boning cows 8.00 to 10.00 higher, with lean cows 4.00 to 7.00 higher, and bulls 6.00 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
350 350 1 180.00 $180.00 $630 —
400 400 1 155.00 $155.00 $620 -20.18
403–428 417 5 169.00–189.00 $179.57 $749 +4.39
450 450 1 162.00 $162.00 $729 —
450–490 471 8 165.00–181.00 $173.12 $815 —
528 fancy 528 2 179.00 $179.00 $945 —
510–545 530 7 158.00–171.00 $162.77 $863 -10.05
550–575 560 4 154.00–166.00 $162.29 $909 -5.71
600 600 1 140.00 $140.00 $840 -15.00
600–645 616 7 146.00–165.00 $153.25 $944 -1.75
650–684 676 8 139.00–155.00 $142.55 $964 -3.89
705–730 718 4 135.00–139.00 $136.26 $978 -5.22
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630 630 1 140.00 $140.00 $882 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–390 373 6 144.00–166.00 $155.93 $582 +0.08
410 fancy 410 1 161.00 $161.00 $660 +1.98
405–445 429 11 140.00–158.00 $152.68 $655 +7.43
455–495 479 12 134.00–149.00 $142.06 $680 -2.13
500–545 526 18 127.00–144.00 $134.00 $705 -1.39
555–595 578 14 129.00–141.00 $135.99 $786 -2.39
560–595 fancy 578 5 145.00–149.00 $146.82 $849 —
605–645 623 8 125.00–135.00 $129.51 $807 +4.18
650–665 658 2 131.00 $131.00 $862 ±0.00
715–740 728 2 112.00–120.00 $116.07 $845 -7.26
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 122.50 $122.50 $514 —
555 555 1 116.00 $116.00 $644 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 175.00 $175.00 $359 -17.50
255 255 1 177.50 $177.50 $453 -12.50
330–345 340 3 162.50 $162.50 $552 -19.34
385 385 1 160.00 $160.00 $616 -20.55
405 fancy 405 1 188.00 $188.00 $761 —
400–420 410 4 152.00–167.00 $160.94 $660 -19.37
450–495 476 7 155.00–173.00 $165.31 $787 -2.05
505–520 fancy 513 2 164.00–168.00 $165.97 $851 -4.03
500–545 524 9 146.00–160.00 $152.63 $800 -1.20
550–590 571 9 138.00–149.00 $142.88 $816 -0.70
580 fancy 580 1 158.00 $158.00 $916 -2.00
605–640 620 3 131.00–143.00 $139.10 $862 -3.08
655–680 665 6 130.00–145.00 $139.15 $925 -3.04
705–740 721 5 125.00–138.00 $130.77 $943 +2.77
750–795 768 3 120.00–132.00 $124.93 $959 -5.00
815–830 823 2 116.00–123.00 $119.53 $984 —
850 850 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,012 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1410 1138 80-85% 22 85.00–98.00 $91.23 $1,038 —
1075–1400 1196 80-85% 7 105.00–113.00 $107.81 $1,289 +24.83
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1750 1398 75-80% 21 85.00–96.00 $91.46 $1,279 -2.54
1295–1815 1567 75-80% 7 99.00–110.00 $104.39 $1,636 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1190 1005 85-90% 12 71.00–84.00 $76.25 $766 +3.22

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155 1155 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,247 —
1680 1680 1 129.00 $129.00 $2,167 —
1400–1985 1743 9 109.00–121.00 $115.93 $2,021 +5.83

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,370.00 $1,370.00
1300 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 810.00 $810.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,510.00 $1,510.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,220.00 $1,220.00 —

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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.