Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, August 5, 2023

610 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $215.14/cwt +12.88 vs last sale · ≈ $910/hd at 423 lb · 30 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $206.28/cwt +10.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,169/hd at 566 lb · 28 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $219.68/cwt +20.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,239/hd at 564 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 610 567 376
Feeder cattle 413 371 297
Slaughter cattle 189 166 77
Replacement cattle 8 30 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers 8.00 higher, with feeder bulls sharply higher overall, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone noted. Higher quality offerings and increased buyer activity was noted for feeder classes. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and boning cows mostly steady with lean cows and bulls 4.00 to 7.00 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
355 355 1 260.00 $260.00 $923 +42.50
410–420 416 5 237.50–254.00 $242.85 $1,010 +24.68
450–485 470 3 220.00–237.00 $229.17 $1,077 +8.41
475 475 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,036 -2.76
510–545 531 6 232.00–244.00 $237.62 $1,262 +18.52
560–585 573 3 232.00–238.00 $234.69 $1,345 —
610–630 618 4 220.00–231.00 $225.96 $1,396 +10.03
700–725 715 3 206.00–221.00 $212.34 $1,518 +12.34
765 765 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,545 +6.45
800 800 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,536 —
995 995 1 179.00 $179.00 $1,781 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 2 204.00–210.00 $206.86 $683 +6.46
350–395 379 8 200.00–225.00 $211.29 $801 +7.03
408–445 423 30 200.00–225.00 $215.14 $910 +12.67
455–495 471 16 200.00–215.00 $210.01 $989 +37.51
475 fancy 475 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,069 —
505–545 522 21 200.00–212.50 $207.38 $1,083 +8.02
525 fancy 525 1 219.00 $219.00 $1,150 —
560 fancy 560 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,232 —
550–598 567 26 201.00–213.00 $205.22 $1,164 +9.52
605–645 625 5 192.00–207.00 $200.35 $1,252 +13.53
658 658 2 214.00 $214.00 $1,408 +18.85
750–780 768 4 164.00–170.00 $168.03 $1,290 —
800–845 823 2 168.00–186.00 $176.75 $1,455 —
870–885 878 2 158.00–169.00 $163.45 $1,435 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 323 2 222.50–232.50 $227.31 $734 +15.77
370–393 385 8 220.00–240.00 $229.23 $883 +13.69
400–440 419 6 217.50–237.50 $224.44 $940 +17.64
450–495 473 17 210.00–225.00 $215.74 $1,020 +3.32
465–495 fancy 473 4 230.00–235.00 $231.31 $1,094 —
490 490 1 200.00 $200.00 $980 -12.42
510–545 530 13 204.00–226.00 $212.71 $1,127 +3.94
550–595 564 24 205.00–229.00 $219.68 $1,239 +20.19
609–635 614 5 195.00–217.00 $212.45 $1,304 +42.45
665 665 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,197 +3.53
660–675 668 2 196.00–206.00 $200.94 $1,342 +24.47
700–735 715 3 177.00–181.00 $179.36 $1,282 +10.16
765–785 775 2 176.00–181.00 $178.53 $1,384 —
800–840 820 2 160.00–174.00 $166.83 $1,368 +18.82
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 207.50 $207.50 $882 +20.00
495 495 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,015 —
510–540 525 2 196.00–197.50 $196.73 $1,033 —
560 560 1 198.00 $198.00 $1,109 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–385 380 2 200.00–205.00 $202.47 $769 —
455 455 1 202.50 $202.50 $921 +1.83
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1400 1400 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,750.00 $1,750.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1135 1062 80-85% 5 98.00–100.00 $98.82 $1,049 —
925–1420 1164 80-85% 37 104.00–115.00 $110.01 $1,281 —
1170–1370 1259 80-85% 7 118.00–130.00 $121.19 $1,526 +1.02
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790–1205 1000 85-90% 7 83.00–91.00 $88.11 $881 —
975–1065 1026 85-90% 4 109.00–113.00 $110.22 $1,131 —
860–1420 1049 85-90% 31 93.00–107.00 $98.23 $1,030 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1310 1202 75-80% 3 97.00–102.00 $99.64 $1,198 —
1110–1780 1400 75-80% 36 104.00–118.00 $113.08 $1,583 —
1390–1650 1492 75-80% 3 120.00–123.00 $121.58 $1,814 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–2065 1781 11 126.00–136.00 $131.28 $2,338 —
1815–2065 1914 5 138.00–146.00 $141.98 $2,717 —
2315 2315 1 120.00 $120.00 $2,778 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1400 1183 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,125.00–1,250.00 $1,205.00
1400 1400 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00

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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 1,485.00 $1,485.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610 610 1 155.00 $155.00 $946 —

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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.