Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, November 18, 2023

595 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $174.90/cwt +0.88 vs last sale · ≈ $904/hd at 517 lb · 21 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $175.68/cwt +3.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,012/hd at 576 lb · 16 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $201.03/cwt -20.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,042/hd at 518 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 595 498 642
Feeder cattle 448 369 466
Slaughter cattle 134 117 151
Replacement cattle 13 12 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers mostly steady, with feeder bulls sharply lower overall, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Feeder cattle offerings were predominately poor, therefore, receipts included in this report were limited. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 3.00 lower, with slaughter bulls 2.00 to 3.00 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
360–390 375 2 212.50–237.50 $224.50 $842 —
420 420 1 227.50 $227.50 $956 -13.71
510–520 516 4 221.00–240.00 $233.17 $1,203 +18.49
535 535 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,124 -4.68
615 615 1 201.00 $201.00 $1,236 -8.02
630 630 1 204.00 $204.00 $1,285 -5.02
710 710 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,108 -45.08
745 745 1 162.50 $162.50 $1,211 -38.58
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 202.50 $202.50 $962 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 187.50 $187.50 $891 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 fancy 307 5 210.00 $210.00 $645 —
315–345 327 3 170.00–185.00 $174.82 $572 -3.95
390–395 393 2 170.00–186.00 $177.95 $699 +0.55
400 400 1 160.00 $160.00 $640 -20.77
405–445 419 9 170.00–187.00 $180.92 $758 +0.15
445 fancy 445 2 194.00 $194.00 $863 —
465–490 479 4 150.00–155.00 $153.11 $733 -11.89
455–495 480 7 170.00–187.00 $177.72 $853 +12.72
515 515 1 160.00 $160.00 $824 -16.42
500–545 516 19 170.00–180.00 $177.00 $913 +0.58
535 535 1 150.00 $150.00 $802 -2.50
555–595 576 16 170.00–179.00 $175.68 $1,012 +16.27
600–645 626 4 164.00–169.00 $166.52 $1,042 —
655–690 668 3 150.00–164.00 $157.76 $1,054 -3.24
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 150.00 $150.00 $450 —
350–370 360 2 150.00–152.50 $151.28 $545 —
560 560 1 163.00 $163.00 $913 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313–345 322 7 200.00–222.50 $214.38 $690 +4.38
355–390 373 6 180.00–200.00 $187.90 $701 -13.34
400–445 425 6 207.00–230.00 $215.17 $914 -23.83
425 fancy 425 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,020 —
460–495 471 9 210.00–230.00 $220.00 $1,036 -15.56
480 480 1 200.00 $200.00 $960 -35.56
500 fancy 500 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,090 —
500–545 519 11 194.00–207.50 $203.13 $1,054 -18.11
530 530 1 161.00 $161.00 $853 -60.24
550 fancy 550 1 212.50 $212.50 $1,169 +2.50
550–595 581 12 180.00–198.00 $187.69 $1,090 -3.41
600 fancy 600 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,110 —
600–630 609 4 160.00–180.00 $170.04 $1,036 -4.13
705 705 1 132.50 $132.50 $934 -9.49
750–775 763 3 120.00–130.00 $123.38 $941 —
805–820 813 2 118.00–119.00 $118.50 $963 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 200.00 $200.00 $860 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1320 1110 80-85% 34 83.00–97.00 $88.26 $980 —
1120–1235 1173 80-85% 3 79.00–80.00 $79.68 $935 -11.43
1200–1470 1356 80-85% 4 103.00–104.00 $103.22 $1,400 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1470 1257 75-80% 5 76.00–86.00 $82.34 $1,035 —
1185–1705 1404 75-80% 20 88.00–101.00 $93.87 $1,318 -3.84
1725–1920 1838 75-80% 4 110.00–113.00 $111.24 $2,045 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1160 1029 85-90% 10 78.00–86.00 $81.76 $841 -2.32
905–1195 1066 85-90% 4 71.00–74.00 $72.84 $776 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025 1025 1 96.00 $96.00 $984 —
1285–2300 1650 11 113.00–126.00 $118.49 $1,955 -11.89
1540–2080 1797 3 128.00–129.00 $128.71 $2,313 —
2230 2230 1 104.00 $104.00 $2,319 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,150.00–1,340.00 $1,221.67
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,025.00–1,100.00 $1,062.50

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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 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535 535 1 122.50 $122.50 $655 —

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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.