Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, August 17, 2024

498 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $245.16/cwt -3.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,056/hd at 431 lb · 14 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $256.34/cwt -2.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,113/hd at 434 lb · 11 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $239.27/cwt -3.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,254/hd at 524 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 498 651 726
Feeder cattle 351 481 521
Slaughter cattle 139 142 172
Replacement cattle 8 28 33

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 3.00 lower overall, with feeder bulls unevenly steady, and no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 4.00 lower with slaughter bulls 1.00 higher.

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
363 value added 363 2 318.00 $318.00 $1,154 —
450–475 458 6 260.00–282.50 $274.00 $1,255 +1.01
505–545 523 6 253.00–267.50 $260.18 $1,361 -3.81
620 value added 620 1 242.00 $242.00 $1,500 —
625–635 632 3 227.00–228.00 $227.33 $1,437 -12.90
695 695 3 232.00 $232.00 $1,612 —
770 770 1 217.50 $217.50 $1,675 +2.50
890 890 1 206.00 $206.00 $1,833 +10.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,225 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 270.00 $270.00 $662 —
265–270 268 2 242.50–250.00 $246.21 $660 -23.79
310–340 326 6 265.00–282.50 $272.96 $890 +11.98
375–385 379 5 247.50–272.50 $260.01 $985 -5.52
408–445 429 11 240.00–262.50 $249.57 $1,071 +1.03
438 438 3 229.00 $229.00 $1,003 -19.54
450–495 473 11 228.00–242.50 $235.75 $1,115 -14.31
500–515 508 2 220.00–221.00 $220.51 $1,120 -17.32
510–540 526 6 228.00–240.00 $231.54 $1,218 -6.29
555–580 565 9 220.00–229.00 $225.57 $1,274 -1.49
605–635 616 4 212.50–222.00 $216.73 $1,335 -6.44
660–670 665 2 209.00–212.50 $210.74 $1,401 +8.91
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–435 428 2 230.00 $230.00 $984 +10.00
455–465 458 3 220.00–225.00 $222.48 $1,019 -11.26

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 2 310.00 $310.00 $852 +14.88
315–325 322 3 275.00–312.50 $289.31 $932 -17.68
350–393 378 9 280.00–292.50 $288.13 $1,089 +3.65
410–445 434 11 252.50–268.00 $256.34 $1,113 -2.82
465 465 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,128 -5.29
460–485 469 9 250.00–272.50 $257.14 $1,206 +9.35
500–540 524 11 230.00–246.00 $239.27 $1,254 -12.27
550–565 559 6 222.50–249.00 $238.04 $1,331 +1.47
600 600 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,290 -10.30
605–645 614 9 220.00–229.00 $223.23 $1,371 -2.07
660–670 665 2 222.00–222.50 $222.25 $1,478 +6.25
705–745 723 7 191.00–211.00 $202.16 $1,462 +12.16
755–795 771 5 186.00–210.00 $196.11 $1,512 +8.87
815 815 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,581 —
860 860 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,600 —
940 940 1 179.00 $179.00 $1,683 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,116 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 260.00 $260.00 $988 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1385 1091 80-85% 4 152.00–163.00 $155.82 $1,700 —
975–1405 1155 80-85% 4 127.00–133.00 $130.24 $1,504 —
905–1695 1181 80-85% 24 135.00–149.00 $142.05 $1,678 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1425 1363 75-80% 2 129.00–132.00 $130.43 $1,778 -5.57
1160–1720 1412 75-80% 28 134.00–156.00 $145.21 $2,050 —
1625–1665 1645 75-80% 2 158.00–161.00 $159.52 $2,624 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1015 917 85-90% 3 112.50–120.00 $116.46 $1,068 —
860–1215 1013 85-90% 11 124.00–138.00 $132.10 $1,338 -3.90
1150 1150 85-90% 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,622 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1205 1054 4 153.00–159.00 $156.53 $1,650 —
1390–1585 1488 2 160.00–165.00 $162.34 $2,416 —
1225–2470 1830 18 168.00–188.00 $179.04 $3,276 —
1930 1930 1 198.00 $198.00 $3,821 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1150–1250 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,550.00–1,650.00 $1,600.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,850.00 $1,850.00

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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 1 2,000.00 $2,000.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1190 1090 85-90% 2 124.00–133.00 $128.91 $1,405 —
1110 1110 85-90% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,332 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,711 —

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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 2,275.00 $2,275.00 —

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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.