Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, September 2, 2023

452 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 452 460 234
Feeder cattle 257 324 190
Slaughter cattle 143 130 37
Replacement cattle 52 6 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder classes sharply higher overall with lighter receipts noted due to Labor Day holiday weekend. Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 to 6.00 higher overall. Today's replacement offerings included a fancy set of cow/calf pairs and bred cows.

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
270 270 1 242.50 $242.50 $655 —
415–440 434 5 227.50–245.00 $232.15 $1,008 -11.69
455–480 468 3 237.50–252.50 $244.30 $1,143 +20.98
510–525 520 6 231.00–248.00 $244.24 $1,270 +23.84
557–595 569 5 222.50–243.00 $236.73 $1,347 +15.86
710–725 718 2 225.00–226.00 $225.49 $1,619 +1.49
770–780 775 2 204.00–206.00 $204.99 $1,589 —
830 value added 830 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,784 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 217.50 $217.50 $935 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–340 338 4 200.00–210.00 $205.48 $695 +1.17
363–390 371 5 208.00–229.00 $219.01 $813 +33.01
410–445 429 6 209.00–230.00 $219.00 $940 +7.45
460–495 476 8 208.00–227.50 $217.81 $1,037 +14.42
510–540 528 4 210.00–219.00 $214.59 $1,133 +13.11
563–570 567 7 209.00–227.00 $222.74 $1,263 +21.76
630 630 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,166 -4.66
638 638 3 225.50 $225.50 $1,439 +35.84
650 650 1 184.00 $184.00 $1,196 +14.00
735 value added 735 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,415 —
806 806 4 198.00 $198.00 $1,596 +42.00
875 875 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,496 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437 437 6 178.00 $178.00 $778 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 191.00 $191.00 $1,089 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 1 169.00 $169.00 $1,082 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 252.50 $252.50 $581 —
315 315 2 255.00 $255.00 $803 +36.33
365–385 375 3 242.50–250.00 $247.50 $928 +27.57
410–430 418 7 235.00–247.50 $242.65 $1,014 +22.78
453–495 467 9 217.50–232.50 $221.37 $1,034 +15.02
500–530 513 3 206.00–220.00 $211.04 $1,083 +2.18
550–560 553 3 200.00–215.00 $208.28 $1,152 +7.79
605–630 615 6 185.00–200.00 $194.51 $1,196 -7.29
655 fancy 655 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,376 —
655–685 670 3 186.00–197.00 $191.03 $1,280 +8.51
725–733 730 4 183.00–189.00 $187.01 $1,365 +17.01
755–760 758 2 178.00–180.00 $179.00 $1,357 +12.38
790 790 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,304 -1.62
860 860 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,324 —
940 940 1 144.00 $144.00 $1,354 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–398 389 3 229.00–237.50 $231.70 $901 —
500 500 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,010 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1460 1283 75-80% 6 102.00–105.00 $103.46 $1,327 —
1220–1675 1425 75-80% 25 108.00–119.00 $114.15 $1,627 —
1325–1605 1490 75-80% 5 120.00–126.00 $123.08 $1,834 +27.08
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1165 1097 80-85% 3 98.00–104.00 $101.34 $1,112 —
1080–1285 1153 80-85% 6 116.00–121.00 $118.14 $1,362 +0.81
965–1325 1173 80-85% 15 107.00–115.00 $110.76 $1,299 -6.57
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1210 967 85-90% 21 93.00–103.00 $97.38 $942 —
1100 1100 85-90% 1 88.00 $88.00 $968 —
1135 1135 85-90% 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,248 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1215 1145 3 115.00–120.00 $116.63 $1,335 -2.37
1230–2210 1673 10 123.00–134.00 $130.98 $2,191 —
2165 2165 1 142.00 $142.00 $3,074 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080–1380 1284 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,175.00–1,725.00 $1,510.85
1100–1645 1324 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,300.00–1,725.00 $1,521.53
1345 1345 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1395 1395 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00
1560 1560 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00
1580 1580 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00

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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)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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,950.00–2,375.00 $2,162.50 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 1,325.00–1,750.00 $1,522.50 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 1,625.00–2,200.00 $1,818.75 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 11 1,375.00–2,200.00 $1,811.36 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 170.00 $170.00 $518 —
465 465 1 165.00 $165.00 $767 —

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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.