Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, September 23, 2023

739 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $216.16/cwt +14.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,141/hd at 528 lb · 31 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $214.57/cwt +9.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,243/hd at 579 lb · 25 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $238.11/cwt +20.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,386/hd at 582 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 739 756 704
Feeder cattle 504 542 573
Slaughter cattle 187 194 126
Replacement cattle 48 20 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers measuring 5.00 higher, with feeder heifers 6.00 to 7.00 higher, and feeder bulls weighing up to 500 lbs. sharply higher with those weighing over 500 lbs. 4.00 higher. Higher-quality feeder offerings were noted. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and boning cows sharply lower, with lean cows 6.00 lower, and bulls 3.00 to 8.00 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
285 285 1 260.00 $260.00 $741 -7.16
300–340 320 3 260.00–275.00 $266.56 $853 +3.21
393 393 2 252.50 $252.50 $992 —
405–425 420 4 243.00–247.00 $243.96 $1,025 +3.33
450–495 481 11 227.50–245.00 $235.64 $1,133 +8.52
500–548 525 8 220.00–238.00 $230.54 $1,210 +5.34
550–580 567 9 218.00–239.00 $228.63 $1,296 +11.12
550–594 value added 591 15 242.00–244.00 $243.80 $1,441 —
600–620 610 2 216.00–225.00 $220.57 $1,345 +4.95
650–685 662 3 207.00–220.00 $212.64 $1,408 —
715–740 728 2 205.00–210.00 $207.46 $1,510 -7.54

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–390 370 14 205.00–216.00 $212.53 $786 +5.11
405–445 430 14 205.00–220.00 $213.30 $917 +3.98
450–495 473 18 202.00–220.00 $210.99 $998 +5.69
522 value added 522 9 227.00 $227.00 $1,185 —
510–545 530 22 202.00–215.00 $211.73 $1,122 +10.82
560–595 579 23 200.00–219.00 $213.32 $1,235 +9.03
583 value added 583 2 229.00 $229.00 $1,335 —
607 value added 607 3 217.00 $217.00 $1,317 —
600–635 614 12 192.00–210.00 $200.20 $1,229 +7.28
650–690 662 5 199.00–207.00 $202.05 $1,338 +11.14
700 value added 700 6 212.00 $212.00 $1,484 —
700–715 709 4 190.00–198.00 $192.51 $1,365 +3.80
760 760 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,474 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 331 4 260.00–270.00 $265.81 $880 +24.59
350–395 372 7 240.00–257.50 $250.13 $930 +22.71
375 fancy 375 1 265.00 $265.00 $994 —
400 fancy 400 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,010 —
400–445 428 12 219.00–243.00 $228.29 $977 +10.41
450–495 478 20 211.00–235.00 $222.74 $1,065 +11.06
525 fancy 525 2 228.00 $228.00 $1,197 —
505–535 526 4 196.00–210.00 $200.95 $1,057 -4.43
550–570 556 7 210.00–223.00 $216.27 $1,202 +11.89
618 fancy 618 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,236 —
605–645 620 11 172.50–192.00 $180.66 $1,120 -15.47
650–655 fancy 653 2 195.00–198.00 $196.49 $1,283 —
650–695 670 11 172.00–191.00 $183.43 $1,229 +9.62
705–740 723 2 170.00–190.00 $179.76 $1,300 +8.84
760 fancy 760 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,429 —
750–785 773 6 150.00–169.00 $159.47 $1,233 +7.95
800 800 1 166.00 $166.00 $1,328 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 227.50 $227.50 $648 —
380 380 1 227.50 $227.50 $864 —
420 420 1 202.50 $202.50 $850 —
450 450 1 200.00 $200.00 $900 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1390 1350 75-80% 2 84.00–85.00 $84.49 $1,141 -36.51
1105–1770 1431 75-80% 41 88.00–111.00 $99.96 $1,430 -11.52
1375–1710 1549 75-80% 6 113.00–124.00 $117.94 $1,827 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1460 1161 80-85% 45 84.00–104.00 $93.32 $1,083 -1.68
1105–1260 1190 80-85% 3 105.00–126.00 $112.71 $1,341 +17.71
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930 930 85-90% 1 99.00 $99.00 $921 —
875–1260 1011 85-90% 23 83.00–94.00 $87.30 $883 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430–2010 1667 12 115.00–130.00 $121.59 $2,027 —
2120 2120 1 143.00 $143.00 $3,032 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 880.00 $880.00

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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) 1 975.00 $975.00
1000–1050 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,050.00–1,175.00 $1,112.50
1000–1200 1090 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,100.00–1,600.00 $1,382.00
1050–1150 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 850.00–1,050.00 $950.00
1050–1150 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,175.00–1,425.00 $1,295.00
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00
1000–1200 1113 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,025.00–1,295.00 $1,186.25
1050–1250 1138 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 975.00–1,225.00 $1,075.00
1400 1400 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1000 933 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 900.00–1,280.00 $1,026.67

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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 5 1,225.00–2,025.00 $1,530.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,650.00–2,100.00 $1,950.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,725.00 $1,725.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,550.00 $1,550.00 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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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.