Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, August 3, 2024

430 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $249.74/cwt -1.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,277/hd at 511 lb · 36 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $259.29/cwt -8.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,250/hd at 482 lb · 17 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $234.72/cwt -12.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,349/hd at 575 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 430 715 610
Feeder cattle 315 543 413
Slaughter cattle 107 140 189
Replacement cattle 8 32 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 2.00 to 3.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls 4.00 lower, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Lower prices for feeder classes due, in part, to recent downturn in futures market. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 6.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls mostly steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 307.50 $307.50 $1,199 -23.55
400 400 1 307.50 $307.50 $1,230 +18.94
460–483 475 3 272.50–284.00 $280.29 $1,331 -14.78
505–525 512 3 270.00–297.50 $280.69 $1,437 +1.83
555 555 3 258.00–270.00 $266.00 $1,476 +18.50
630–645 641 5 242.50–260.00 $255.72 $1,639 +9.33
660 660 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,650 -4.31
750 750 1 275.00 $275.00 $2,062 +59.00
795 795 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,789 +9.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,300 -5.01

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–348 338 8 290.00–307.50 $298.72 $1,010 +31.26
375–390 383 3 265.00–287.50 $275.79 $1,056 -2.59
405 value added 405 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,174 —
410–430 420 5 255.00–285.00 $269.77 $1,133 +6.68
453–498 482 17 250.00–280.00 $259.29 $1,250 -8.19
503 503 3 232.50 $232.50 $1,169 -18.60
510 510 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,173 -21.10
500–530 512 32 237.50–258.00 $251.97 $1,290 +0.87
550 550 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,210 -27.32
555–590 577 10 228.00–245.00 $236.19 $1,363 -11.13
605–645 625 6 218.00–233.00 $224.80 $1,405 -7.75
655 655 1 197.50 $197.50 $1,294 -22.22
680 680 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,557 +9.28
720–730 722 5 211.00–217.00 $214.89 $1,552 +2.26
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 250.00 $250.00 $838 +20.00
440 440 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,012 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 232.50 $232.50 $1,197 +2.50

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 297.50 $297.50 $788 —
305–345 325 3 317.50–330.00 $324.06 $1,053 +10.71
410–435 420 6 282.50–297.50 $288.77 $1,213 +28.77
455–490 478 6 267.50–280.00 $272.42 $1,302 +17.42
505–540 515 10 250.00–267.50 $259.30 $1,335 +14.30
550–592 579 8 240.00–252.50 $243.20 $1,408 -1.97
625 625 1 232.50 $232.50 $1,453 +2.81
685 685 2 222.00 $222.00 $1,521 +1.83
755 755 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,510 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–325 318 2 300.00–305.00 $302.56 $962 —
375 375 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,069 +5.00
500–540 523 3 237.50–240.00 $239.14 $1,251 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 262.50 $262.50 $814 —
370 370 1 260.00 $260.00 $962 —
520 520 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,170 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140 1140 80-85% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,459 -6.84
905–1345 1177 80-85% 21 132.00–145.00 $140.03 $1,648 —
1030–1370 1226 80-85% 7 147.00–155.00 $149.57 $1,834 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1780 1418 75-80% 27 135.00–149.00 $143.57 $2,036 +5.59
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1000 913 85-90% 2 118.00–119.00 $118.45 $1,081 —
935–1230 1057 85-90% 11 124.00–134.00 $127.93 $1,352 +0.28
1155 1155 85-90% 1 144.00 $144.00 $1,663 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 153.00 $153.00 $1,805 —
1530 1530 1 151.00 $151.00 $2,310 —
1365–2215 1795 11 155.00–174.00 $167.20 $3,001 -15.82
2005–2030 2018 2 176.00–180.00 $178.01 $3,592 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050–1200 1125 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,700.00–1,850.00 $1,775.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00

↑ Back to top

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 1,590.00 $1,590.00
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00

↑ Back to top

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 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445 1445 85-90% 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,893 —
1530 1530 75-80% 1 139.00 $139.00 $2,127 —

↑ Back to top

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.