Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, September 30, 2023

782 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $204.93/cwt -6.06 vs last sale · ≈ $953/hd at 465 lb · 39 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $206.27/cwt -9.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,084/hd at 526 lb · 39 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $209.20/cwt -3.33 vs last sale · ≈ $780/hd at 373 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 782 739 478
Feeder cattle 623 504 329
Slaughter cattle 149 187 143
Replacement cattle 10 48 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers and bulls sharply lower overall with exception of bulls weighing 400-550 lbs. unevenly steady. Feeder heifers weighing up to 650 lbs. 7.00 lower overall with those weighing over 650 lbs. sharply lower. Lower-quality of feeder offerings was noted. Slaughter cows gauging 8.00 to 10.00 lower overall with slaughter bulls 1.00 to 4.00 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
235 235 1 222.50 $222.50 $523 —
315 315 1 222.50 $222.50 $701 -44.06
355–390 381 4 212.50–235.00 $224.77 $856 -27.73
430–445 442 8 230.00–237.50 $231.70 $1,024 -12.26
515–545 530 5 214.00–230.00 $220.25 $1,167 -10.29
555–595 567 10 209.00–225.00 $216.80 $1,229 -11.83
610–620 value added 615 2 221.00–223.00 $221.99 $1,365 —
605–645 620 3 207.00–212.00 $209.38 $1,298 -11.19
650 650 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,300 -12.64
715 715 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,373 -15.46
770 770 1 199.00 $199.00 $1,532 —
845 845 1 193.00 $193.00 $1,631 —
1145 1145 1 144.00 $144.00 $1,649 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–348 326 11 200.00–226.00 $211.11 $688 —
355–397 373 27 197.50–220.00 $209.20 $780 -3.33
400–445 430 25 193.00–211.00 $204.72 $880 -8.58
430 fancy 430 1 217.50 $217.50 $935 —
450–495 465 39 192.50–212.00 $204.93 $953 -6.06
503–536 value added 525 16 213.00–217.00 $215.62 $1,132 -11.38
500–545 526 23 190.00–210.00 $199.76 $1,051 -11.97
550–595 566 23 195.00–206.00 $200.30 $1,134 -13.02
570 value added 570 1 212.00 $212.00 $1,208 -17.00
605–640 612 12 184.00–207.00 $192.51 $1,178 -7.69
650–695 671 4 174.00–195.00 $181.25 $1,216 -20.80
735–740 738 3 162.00–172.00 $165.51 $1,221 -27.00
780–795 788 2 164.00–174.00 $168.95 $1,331 -25.05
805–815 809 4 160.00–169.00 $165.99 $1,343 —
880 880 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,355 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 190.00 $190.00 $694 —
435 435 1 172.50 $172.50 $750 —
535–540 538 2 180.00–181.00 $180.50 $971 —
560 560 1 170.00 $170.00 $952 —
605–630 619 4 160.00–170.00 $166.24 $1,029 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 192.50 $192.50 $606 —
455 455 1 172.50 $172.50 $785 —
545 545 1 165.00 $165.00 $899 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 328 6 215.00–235.00 $225.29 $739 -40.52
375–390 381 7 220.00–242.50 $231.79 $883 -18.34
400–445 423 11 209.00–237.50 $223.31 $945 -4.98
450 450 1 197.50 $197.50 $889 -25.24
460 fancy 460 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,095 —
450–490 468 7 217.50–229.00 $224.84 $1,052 +2.10
500–540 513 9 192.50–217.50 $206.57 $1,060 +5.62
558–575 565 12 177.00–200.00 $190.33 $1,075 -25.94
610–635 621 7 165.00–176.00 $170.07 $1,056 -10.59
650–690 670 13 148.00–180.00 $162.39 $1,088 -21.04
730 730 2 150.00–160.00 $155.00 $1,132 -24.76
775–795 783 3 138.00–160.00 $147.33 $1,154 -12.14
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 180.00 $180.00 $468 -47.50
330–335 333 2 205.00–207.50 $206.26 $687 —
425–440 430 3 190.00–200.00 $196.59 $845 -5.91
450–475 460 3 190.00–192.50 $190.86 $878 -9.14
535–540 538 2 160.00–170.00 $165.02 $888 —
560–565 563 2 165.00–167.50 $166.24 $936 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 210.00 $210.00 $819 —
415 415 1 200.00 $200.00 $830 —
540 540 1 180.00 $180.00 $972 —
565–595 580 2 163.00–172.50 $167.87 $974 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1370 1096 80-85% 32 79.00–90.00 $83.50 $915 —
1210–1440 1314 80-85% 6 92.00–112.00 $96.50 $1,268 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1435 1265 75-80% 2 81.00–82.00 $81.43 $1,030 —
1225–1770 1417 75-80% 27 85.00–98.00 $91.11 $1,291 -8.85
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1180 1026 85-90% 20 70.00–84.00 $76.68 $787 -10.62

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1190 1127 3 90.00–108.00 $95.67 $1,078 —
1350–2130 1804 11 114.00–126.00 $121.20 $2,186 —
2145 2145 1 133.00 $133.00 $2,853 -10.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,370.00 $1,370.00
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00

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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)Open 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —

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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.