Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 27, 2023

481 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $218.21/cwt +8.17 vs last sale · ≈ $940/hd at 431 lb · 16 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $204.35/cwt -0.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,082/hd at 529 lb · 16 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $216.14/cwt +5.48 vs last sale · ≈ $814/hd at 377 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 481 651 217
Feeder cattle 354 482 111
Slaughter cattle 104 129 81
Replacement cattle 23 40 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, on a lighter test this week, feeder heifers measuring 4.00 higher, with feeder bulls mostly steady overall, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and boning cows sharply higher overall with lean cows 7.00 higher, and bulls 8.00 to 10.00 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
395 395 1 249.00 $249.00 $984 —
433–441 439 9 244.00–253.00 $245.97 $1,080 +7.74
450–480 461 4 222.00–242.50 $228.77 $1,055 +7.94
510 510 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,071 -14.45
530–540 535 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,204 +0.55
550–573 value added 560 8 225.00–241.00 $233.71 $1,309 —
570–595 584 4 210.00–220.00 $216.50 $1,264 +0.24
600 value added 600 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,308 —
620–635 628 3 212.00–216.00 $213.32 $1,340 +0.39
650 650 2 205.00–207.00 $206.00 $1,339 +6.19
705 705 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,354 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 233.00 $233.00 $711 —
390 390 1 222.50 $222.50 $868 +12.50
405 405 2 210.00 $210.00 $850 —
480 480 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,008 —
545 545 1 202.50 $202.50 $1,104 -4.47
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390–395 393 2 230.00–235.00 $232.52 $914 —
565 565 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,186 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
208 208 2 210.00 $210.00 $437 —
265–275 268 3 216.00–220.00 $218.63 $586 —
308–335 326 8 213.00–225.00 $220.09 $717 +30.09
355–395 374 10 208.00–218.00 $212.70 $795 +2.04
370–390 value added 383 4 223.00–227.00 $224.75 $861 —
420–433 fancy 424 6 225.00–227.00 $226.32 $960 —
420–448 435 10 205.00–221.00 $213.34 $928 +8.65
470–498 489 11 204.00–214.00 $209.68 $1,025 +2.02
500–540 518 6 190.00–200.00 $194.58 $1,008 -7.15
500–541 value added 536 10 209.00–211.00 $210.21 $1,127 -3.79
550–580 563 3 184.00–199.00 $189.91 $1,069 +1.96
600–645 621 6 183.00–190.00 $185.67 $1,153 +4.73
665 665 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,170 -8.54
680 value added 680 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,326 —
735 735 1 178.00 $178.00 $1,308 +13.04
770–790 782 3 167.00–173.00 $170.01 $1,329 +2.74
825 825 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,320 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
190 190 1 255.00 $255.00 $484 —
230–235 232 3 227.50–237.50 $230.88 $536 —
255–290 271 8 240.00–255.00 $247.92 $672 +1.84
310–325 fancy 318 2 270.00–272.50 $271.28 $863 —
310–345 323 6 230.00–248.00 $239.27 $773 -2.84
350–395 374 11 220.00–250.00 $237.10 $887 +5.49
400–445 422 12 215.00–233.00 $223.79 $944 +1.62
450–495 473 13 210.00–231.00 $220.86 $1,045 +1.25
520 fancy 520 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,201 -7.00
515–540 525 5 201.00–218.00 $211.94 $1,113 -4.07
557–560 558 4 202.00–215.00 $211.74 $1,182 +1.48
595 fancy 595 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,315 —
600–635 622 3 185.00–196.00 $189.07 $1,176 -1.81
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–345 320 4 200.00–220.00 $211.92 $678 -2.04
405 405 1 200.00 $200.00 $810 —
480 480 1 190.00 $190.00 $912 -14.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 225.00 $225.00 $652 —
515–535 525 2 190.00–192.00 $191.02 $1,003 -6.98

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055 1055 80-85% 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,118 +13.61
980–1460 1176 80-85% 23 109.00–128.00 $119.89 $1,410 —
1125–1405 1249 80-85% 6 130.00–137.00 $133.16 $1,663 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 85-90% 1 85.00 $85.00 $722 —
835–1145 983 85-90% 14 91.00–107.00 $99.07 $974 +5.36
830–1140 1013 85-90% 3 113.00–123.00 $117.23 $1,188 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1700 1424 75-80% 9 111.00–130.00 $116.16 $1,654 -13.84
1360–1765 1514 75-80% 5 134.00–142.00 $138.11 $2,091 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,331 —
1310–1380 1345 2 116.00–118.00 $116.97 $1,573 —
1135–2025 1585 11 125.00–139.00 $129.64 $2,055 —
1975 1975 1 144.00 $144.00 $2,844 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 745.00 $745.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 955.00 $955.00
900 900 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
850 850 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00

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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 1,750.00 $1,750.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 3 1,125.00–1,350.00 $1,211.67 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,175.00–1,575.00 $1,416.67 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,585.00 $1,585.00 —

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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.