Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, April 29, 2023

706 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $187.27/cwt -14.56 vs last sale · ≈ $978/hd at 522 lb · 25 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $218.88/cwt -8.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,043/hd at 476 lb · 21 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $194.64/cwt -15.99 vs last sale · ≈ $931/hd at 478 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 706 721 781
Feeder cattle 497 505 620
Slaughter cattle 174 173 141
Replacement cattle 35 43 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers and bulls sharply lower overall with no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 to 3.00 lower 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
380 380 1 238.00 $238.00 $904 +25.50
433–438 437 10 226.00–233.00 $230.92 $1,009 -12.86
465–480 475 4 214.00–235.00 $224.67 $1,067 -2.76
545 545 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,090 -20.45
565–580 573 3 205.00–210.00 $207.67 $1,190 -13.31
595 595 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,154 -26.98
610–645 619 4 189.00–206.00 $194.17 $1,202 -25.34
680 680 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,367 -11.19
700 700 1 193.00 $193.00 $1,351 +7.95

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–295 288 3 187.50–210.00 $194.78 $561 -14.58
330–345 333 5 185.00–207.50 $197.09 $656 -15.80
365–395 381 14 180.00–213.00 $199.37 $760 -11.39
400–440 422 15 180.00–210.00 $191.75 $809 -17.52
455–495 475 2 165.00 $165.00 $784 -45.63
450–498 478 17 182.00–202.50 $197.40 $944 -13.23
490 fancy 490 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,014 —
500–545 522 25 178.00–200.00 $187.27 $978 -10.82
550–580 568 14 174.00–196.00 $186.34 $1,058 -16.52
600–640 619 7 177.00–191.00 $182.22 $1,128 -8.48
650–695 667 12 170.00–186.00 $180.99 $1,207 +4.29
708–735 717 4 159.00–173.00 $162.99 $1,169 —
790 790 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,217 -8.30
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–330 325 2 180.00 $180.00 $585 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–280 273 2 232.50–237.50 $235.07 $642 -19.93
325–340 334 4 215.00–220.00 $217.48 $726 -24.55
355–395 375 8 210.00–229.00 $219.05 $821 -6.40
385 385 1 200.00 $200.00 $770 -25.45
400–440 423 16 210.00–227.50 $217.58 $920 -13.23
460 fancy 460 3 239.00 $239.00 $1,099 -11.00
455–498 479 18 210.00–229.00 $215.53 $1,032 -9.15
520 fancy 520 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,170 —
500–548 522 13 200.00–219.00 $207.48 $1,083 -11.34
555 555 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,068 -21.04
554–580 566 12 200.00–220.00 $216.24 $1,224 +2.70
620 fancy 620 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,283 —
605–640 621 4 180.00–198.00 $188.90 $1,173 -14.01
650–675 661 4 176.00–194.00 $184.49 $1,219 -13.86
730 730 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,350 -2.87
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 202.50 $202.50 $506 —
325–335 330 2 197.50–200.00 $198.73 $656 —
350–395 370 3 200.00–201.00 $200.33 $741 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1460 1158 80-85% 30 86.00–98.00 $91.03 $1,054 -3.89
1250 1250 80-85% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,012 —
1175–1445 1308 80-85% 6 101.00–114.00 $105.27 $1,377 -3.04
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1640 1373 75-80% 24 88.00–99.00 $92.88 $1,275 —
1550–1715 1633 75-80% 2 101.00–103.00 $101.95 $1,665 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1035 954 85-90% 5 72.00–75.00 $73.41 $700 -19.59
875–1475 1061 85-90% 14 79.00–89.00 $84.60 $898 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1195 1073 2 96.00–105.00 $99.99 $1,073 —
1540 1540 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,679 —
1325–2255 1718 24 115.00–130.00 $123.06 $2,114 -11.60
1480–2115 1803 4 133.00–140.00 $135.31 $2,440 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1150 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 900.00–1,075.00 $987.50
1000–1100 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,250.00–1,295.00 $1,272.50
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
1050–1200 1125 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,025.00–1,200.00 $1,112.50
1050–1500 1314 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 900.00–1,275.00 $1,089.29

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00
950 950 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

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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)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,300.00–1,425.00 $1,362.50 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 149.00 $149.00 $440 —
450 450 1 135.00 $135.00 $608 —
660 660 1 145.00 $145.00 $957 —
720 720 2 139.00 $139.00 $1,001 —
820 820 2 127.00 $127.00 $1,041 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505 1505 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,866 —

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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.