Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 4, 2024

431 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $241.19/cwt +9.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,245/hd at 516 lb · 17 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $250.46/cwt +2.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,181/hd at 471 lb · 16 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $236.19/cwt +23.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,332/hd at 564 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 431 665 922
Feeder cattle 315 465 702
Slaughter cattle 106 180 181
Replacement cattle 10 20 39

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 4.00 to 5.00 higher overall, with feeder bulls 4.00 to 5.00 lower, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 to 3.00 lower overall with exception of lean cows 2.00 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
410–435 423 2 290.00–307.00 $298.25 $1,262 -4.25
460 460 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,208 -25.68
470–490 482 3 270.00–292.50 $284.06 $1,369 -4.12
500–505 503 3 276.00–292.00 $285.99 $1,439 -12.24
550 550 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,430 —
565 value added 565 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,610 +9.00
555–585 568 6 264.00–282.50 $270.99 $1,539 —
608–630 611 7 260.00–277.50 $262.58 $1,604 —
655–690 668 8 240.00–257.00 $253.63 $1,694 +13.04
710–745 728 3 218.00–230.00 $225.65 $1,643 —
780 780 2 215.00–221.00 $218.00 $1,700 +0.64
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 277.50 $277.50 $1,221 —
695 695 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,460 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 273 3 267.50–280.00 $275.00 $751 +0.48
330–345 338 6 272.50–290.00 $282.55 $955 +33.55
360–390 380 7 257.50–270.00 $265.79 $1,010 +5.19
400–445 425 10 249.00–262.50 $255.69 $1,087 +0.76
440 440 1 222.50 $222.50 $979 -32.43
450–495 468 14 247.50–262.50 $252.13 $1,180 +7.38
495 495 2 235.00–242.50 $238.75 $1,182 +9.97
500–545 516 17 235.00–251.00 $241.19 $1,245 +8.22
554 value added 554 4 253.00 $253.00 $1,402 —
555–595 567 12 221.00–240.00 $230.59 $1,307 +11.10
605–615 value added 608 3 228.00–235.00 $232.64 $1,414 +4.64
600–633 620 5 211.00–223.00 $214.58 $1,330 -3.77
710 710 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,526 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 267.50 $267.50 $910 —
355 355 1 231.00 $231.00 $820 —
360–395 378 2 250.00 $250.00 $945 —
420–430 425 2 240.00–242.00 $240.99 $1,024 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285–295 290 3 350.00–390.00 $371.58 $1,078 —
300–340 318 3 300.00–325.00 $313.85 $998 -7.19
365–390 fancy 378 3 322.50–330.00 $326.75 $1,235 —
360–392 380 12 292.50–315.00 $308.41 $1,172 -7.31
400–445 422 10 265.00–295.00 $279.18 $1,178 -12.64
425–435 430 2 250.00–260.00 $255.06 $1,097 -36.76
450–490 472 11 260.00–282.50 $272.95 $1,288 -3.34
510–520 fancy 517 3 290.00–302.50 $295.02 $1,525 —
500–545 529 7 262.50–280.00 $273.51 $1,447 +11.74
550–595 fancy 570 3 282.50–290.00 $286.72 $1,634 —
550–590 571 5 242.50–270.00 $253.31 $1,446 +5.31
573 573 2 235.00 $235.00 $1,347 -13.00
595 595 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,368 -18.00
625 fancy 625 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,625 -5.00
610–645 628 4 224.00–250.00 $235.43 $1,479 -2.24
650–665 657 3 217.50–245.00 $227.76 $1,496 -6.30
705–720 713 2 205.00–217.50 $211.32 $1,507 -13.85
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1200–1300 1250 (<2 yrs)N/A 2 2,200.00–2,300.00 $2,250.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,004 —
495 495 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,188 -8.72

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1025 893 80-85% 3 124.00–128.00 $126.15 $1,127 —
960–1305 1159 80-85% 19 108.00–123.00 $115.91 $1,343 —
965–1380 1196 80-85% 6 126.00–148.00 $133.06 $1,591 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1770 1435 75-80% 16 114.00–127.00 $120.55 $1,730 —
1385–1600 1493 75-80% 2 109.00–111.00 $110.07 $1,643 —
1565–1590 1573 75-80% 3 130.00–135.00 $132.35 $2,082 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–870 820 85-90% 4 118.00–121.00 $119.22 $978 —
805–1375 973 85-90% 4 93.00–97.00 $95.28 $927 -9.10
845–1405 1062 85-90% 8 103.00–111.00 $106.45 $1,130 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1280 1109 4 113.00–134.00 $124.73 $1,383 —
1280–1580 1470 3 124.00–138.00 $132.53 $1,948 —
1425–2200 1804 14 142.00–157.00 $152.02 $2,742 —
1800–1810 1805 2 166.00–170.00 $168.01 $3,033 —

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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 1,425.00 $1,425.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,485.00 $1,485.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,725.00 $1,725.00 —

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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.