Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, December 2, 2023

605 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $216.34/cwt -2.38 vs last sale · ≈ $924/hd at 427 lb · 15 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $199.81/cwt -1.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,038/hd at 520 lb · 15 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $186.65/cwt +11.75 vs last sale · ≈ $972/hd at 521 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 605 595 497
Feeder cattle 451 448 363
Slaughter cattle 139 134 113
Replacement cattle 15 13 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to no sale last week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Low-quality feeder offerings overall, therefore, receipts included in this report were limited.

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
320 320 1 237.50 $237.50 $760 —
415 415 1 211.00 $211.00 $876 -16.50
445 445 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,012 ±0.00
485–487 487 6 208.00–219.00 $217.17 $1,058 —
503–540 515 3 209.00–210.00 $209.35 $1,078 -23.82
550–570 556 4 207.50–226.00 $218.31 $1,214 —
615–640 628 2 208.00–209.00 $208.49 $1,309 +4.49
655–695 672 3 195.00–206.00 $201.55 $1,354 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 200.00 $200.00 $610 —
445 445 1 215.00 $215.00 $957 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,177 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–345 329 4 212.50–215.00 $214.37 $705 +39.55
385–395 390 4 197.50–211.00 $202.71 $791 +24.76
403 value added 403 3 222.00 $222.00 $895 —
415–420 418 5 192.50–200.00 $194.68 $814 +13.76
420 420 1 187.50 $187.50 $788 +6.58
450–490 471 12 190.00–202.50 $197.69 $931 +44.58
500–540 521 15 174.00–195.00 $186.65 $972 +9.65
555–570 563 3 165.00–168.00 $165.99 $935 -9.69
550–595 573 9 172.50–180.00 $177.88 $1,019 +2.20
600–630 613 12 175.00–190.00 $185.75 $1,139 +19.23
655–680 668 2 173.00–182.00 $177.42 $1,185 +19.66
689 value added 689 10 195.00 $195.00 $1,344 —
700 700 1 187.00 $187.00 $1,309 —
715 715 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,173 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 2 187.50–200.00 $194.03 $640 +44.03
380–395 388 3 170.00–187.50 $179.10 $695 +27.82
405–445 425 2 170.00–180.00 $175.24 $745 —
475 475 1 173.00 $173.00 $822 —
535 535 1 170.00 $170.00 $910 —
585 585 1 163.00 $163.00 $954 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 278 2 212.50 $212.50 $591 —
475 475 1 181.00 $181.00 $860 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 225.00 $225.00 $529 —
310–335 327 5 200.00–212.50 $207.80 $680 -6.58
350–385 370 5 205.00–222.50 $218.86 $810 +30.96
385 fancy 385 1 230.00 $230.00 $886 —
400–445 427 15 209.00–220.00 $216.34 $924 +1.17
470 470 1 197.50 $197.50 $928 -22.50
450–495 475 10 212.00–227.50 $220.18 $1,046 +0.18
518 518 3 173.00 $173.00 $896 -30.13
500–540 520 12 192.50–215.50 $206.51 $1,074 +3.38
570 570 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,026 -7.69
550–585 573 11 202.50–211.00 $208.85 $1,197 +21.16
615–620 619 7 182.00–205.00 $189.41 $1,172 +19.37
605–635 620 2 177.50 $177.50 $1,100 +7.46
680 680 1 172.50 $172.50 $1,173 —
705–725 715 2 162.00–169.00 $165.55 $1,184 +33.05
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 192.50 $192.50 $654 —
455–465 460 2 176.00–187.50 $181.69 $836 —
540 540 1 177.50 $177.50 $958 —
785 785 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,178 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 358 2 200.00 $200.00 $716 —
455–475 465 2 197.50–200.00 $198.78 $924 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1390 1120 80-85% 42 82.00–96.00 $88.09 $987 -0.17
1120 1120 80-85% 1 78.00 $78.00 $874 -10.26
1080–1455 1268 80-85% 5 98.00–99.00 $98.44 $1,248 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1395 1312 75-80% 3 80.00–85.00 $83.04 $1,089 —
1235–1790 1443 75-80% 23 87.00–98.00 $92.15 $1,330 —
1525 1525 75-80% 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,571 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1220 1080 85-90% 8 74.00–85.00 $79.65 $860 +6.81

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1985 1740 3 127.00–128.00 $127.38 $2,216 —
1785 1785 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,928 -20.71
1465–2195 1908 10 114.00–124.00 $119.17 $2,274 —
2295 2295 1 107.00 $107.00 $2,456 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00
1350 1350 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
900 900 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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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
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,250.00–1,300.00 $1,275.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,700.00 $1,700.00 —

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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.