Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, March 18, 2023

382 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $186.05/cwt +2.93 vs last sale · ≈ $880/hd at 473 lb · 14 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $208.14/cwt -0.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,084/hd at 521 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 382 490 617
Feeder cattle 261 354 453
Slaughter cattle 99 117 141
Replacement cattle 22 19 23

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers weighing up to 400 lbs. sharply higher, with those weighing over 400 lbs. 3.00 higher. Feeder bulls measuring 6.00 higher overall with no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone noted. Slaughter cows gauging 4.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls 1.00 to 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
300–340 320 3 222.50–227.50 $224.23 $718 —
395 395 1 220.00 $220.00 $869 +1.00
410–435 423 2 212.50–216.00 $214.30 $906 +6.62
460–485 468 3 210.00–218.00 $214.00 $1,002 -2.07
510–530 521 10 202.00–219.00 $208.14 $1,084 +0.05
610–630 620 5 202.00–206.00 $204.40 $1,267 +19.96
655 655 2 186.00–196.00 $191.00 $1,251 +13.60
870 870 1 158.00 $158.00 $1,375 —
900 900 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,242 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515–540 528 2 179.00–180.00 $179.49 $948 —
595 595 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,130 +11.00
640 640 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,152 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 192.00 $192.00 $701 —
405 405 1 175.00 $175.00 $709 -15.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 222.50 $222.50 $534 +37.50
255 255 1 217.50 $217.50 $555 +28.26
310–345 329 5 199.00–212.50 $206.89 $681 +24.24
360 fancy 360 1 211.00 $211.00 $760 +6.47
360–395 375 4 184.00–207.50 $199.73 $749 +13.24
410–430 417 3 190.00–194.00 $192.00 $801 +2.87
460–495 473 14 179.00–195.00 $186.05 $880 +2.93
505–545 520 5 170.00–183.00 $178.41 $928 +5.58
560–590 571 9 160.00–174.00 $168.94 $965 +1.50
620–640 630 2 158.00–160.00 $159.02 $1,002 +3.64
710 710 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,065 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–345 340 2 179.00–180.00 $179.49 $610 —
420–440 430 2 170.00–175.00 $172.44 $741 —
480–485 483 2 170.00–174.00 $171.99 $831 —
625–640 633 2 139.00–142.00 $140.52 $889 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–230 228 2 212.50–225.00 $218.82 $499 —
325 fancy 325 1 235.00 $235.00 $764 —
325–345 335 4 215.00–220.00 $217.50 $729 +1.50
350–395 375 3 214.00–228.00 $220.60 $827 +14.01
400–440 418 6 206.00–220.00 $212.09 $887 +6.74
450–495 475 7 200.00–211.00 $205.78 $977 +9.26
490 fancy 490 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,073 +0.22
500–535 510 7 197.50–206.00 $202.63 $1,033 +3.57
550–575 563 7 180.00–204.00 $189.64 $1,068 +4.89
615–640 624 4 180.00–201.00 $187.22 $1,168 +6.66
685 685 2 181.00–183.00 $182.00 $1,247 +23.00
705–720 710 3 180.00–182.00 $181.32 $1,287 +31.32
860–880 870 2 149.00–155.00 $151.97 $1,322 +26.97
920–945 933 2 144.00–150.00 $146.96 $1,371 +15.96
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–390 385 2 180.00–200.00 $190.13 $732 +0.13
495 495 1 172.50 $172.50 $854 -10.76
520 520 1 180.00 $180.00 $936 —
650 650 1 149.00 $149.00 $968 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 180.00 $180.00 $639 +5.00
710 710 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,221 —
820 820 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,263 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895–1275 1104 80-85% 4 81.00–85.00 $83.16 $918 —
960–1295 1112 80-85% 14 88.00–100.00 $94.07 $1,046 —
1230–1320 1281 80-85% 4 103.00–111.00 $107.33 $1,375 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 75-80% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,017 —
1170–1520 1345 75-80% 3 107.00–109.00 $107.75 $1,449 —
1170–1620 1418 75-80% 13 95.00–104.00 $98.02 $1,390 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 85-90% 1 90.00 $90.00 $994 —
905–1345 1118 85-90% 3 78.00–84.00 $81.21 $908 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1005 993 2 93.00–107.00 $99.91 $992 —
1230–2310 1631 13 115.00–132.00 $123.83 $2,020 —
1915–2055 1986 4 136.00–140.00 $137.76 $2,736 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 760.00–770.00 $765.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,050.00–1,125.00 $1,087.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 850.00 $850.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00

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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)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,475.00–1,750.00 $1,581.25 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 127.00 $127.00 $489 —
500 500 1 118.00 $118.00 $590 —

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Heifer 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.