Cattle Market Pulse

Volunteer Stockyards Market Report

Greeneville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 16, 2026

294 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $430.68/cwt -10.63 vs last sale · ≈ $2,259/hd at 524 lb · 12 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $486.90/cwt +18.81 vs last sale · ≈ $2,217/hd at 455 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 294 327 324
Feeder cattle 216 284 258
Slaughter cattle 40 38 41
Replacement cattle 38 5 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No market trends could be established for feeder or slaughter classes due to limited comparable receipts, however, a higher undertone was noted for slaughter cows and bulls.

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
310 310 1 545.00 $545.00 $1,690 —
360–385 373 2 485.00–525.00 $505.67 $1,886 —
395 395 1 460.00 $460.00 $1,817 —
495 495 1 450.00 $450.00 $2,228 —
595 595 1 380.00 $380.00 $2,261 —
625 625 1 350.00 $350.00 $2,188 -17.44

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 thin fleshed 360 1 530.00 $530.00 $1,908 +75.00
355–390 368 3 430.00–480.00 $458.89 $1,689 +41.77
420–445 429 4 415.00–455.00 $428.47 $1,838 +9.72
455 thin fleshed 455 2 440.00 $440.00 $2,002 —
480–490 485 2 385.00–390.00 $387.53 $1,880 -24.86
515 515 1 370.00 $370.00 $1,906 -27.23
500–540 523 6 380.00–395.00 $386.61 $2,022 -10.62
575–588 584 3 367.50–380.00 $371.60 $2,170 -16.67
605–635 621 4 330.00–360.00 $338.56 $2,102 +1.84
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 400.00 $400.00 $1,460 —
480 480 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,800 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,444 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 2 590.00–610.00 $600.00 $1,410 -40.00
250–275 263 2 570.00–600.00 $584.29 $1,537 +48.25
320 thin fleshed 320 1 555.00 $555.00 $1,776 —
335–343 341 5 495.00–535.00 $527.15 $1,798 -25.35
375 375 1 465.00 $465.00 $1,744 -42.44
380–395 389 4 485.00–515.00 $496.29 $1,931 +41.29
400–445 415 9 470.00–505.00 $482.20 $2,001 +37.20
450 450 1 450.00 $450.00 $2,025 -18.09
450–470 456 9 470.00–512.50 $491.00 $2,239 +22.91
505–548 523 11 420.00–450.00 $433.92 $2,269 -7.39
540 540 1 395.00 $395.00 $2,133 -46.31
565–585 572 3 395.00–412.50 $402.47 $2,302 +4.95
570–595 583 2 375.00–380.00 $377.55 $2,201 -19.97
605–635 619 8 355.00–390.00 $375.25 $2,323 +11.94
650–675 661 4 345.00–365.00 $356.13 $2,354 +14.54
705–710 707 5 340.00–362.50 $353.46 $2,499 +31.70
790 790 2 312.50–325.00 $318.75 $2,518 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–530 520 2 370.00–385.00 $377.36 $1,962 —
700 700 1 335.00 $335.00 $2,345 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 410.00 $410.00 $1,599 —
600 600 1 322.50 $322.50 $1,935 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1515 1372 75-80% 6 170.00–181.00 $175.17 $2,403 —
1380 1380 75-80% 1 198.00 $198.00 $2,732 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1325 1222 80-85% 5 166.00–175.00 $170.84 $2,088 —
1315 1315 80-85% 1 178.00 $178.00 $2,341 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1345 1130 85-90% 2 161.00–171.00 $165.05 $1,865 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1785 1535 2 188.00–189.00 $188.42 $2,892 —
1370–2020 1584 5 195.00–209.00 $202.96 $3,215 —
1620–2130 1857 3 216.00–236.00 $223.70 $4,154 —
2385 2385 1 183.00 $183.00 $4,365 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 2,150.00–2,200.00 $2,175.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,300.00 $2,300.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,000.00–2,300.00 $2,150.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,700.00 $2,700.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 2,250.00–3,100.00 $2,683.33
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,800.00–4,350.00 $3,462.50
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 3,550.00 $3,550.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 2,500.00–2,850.00 $2,650.00
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 3,500.00–3,700.00 $3,600.00
— — Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 4,300.00 $4,300.00

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568 568 4 335.00 $335.00 $1,903 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 2 335.00 $335.00 $1,759 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 405.00 $405.00 $2,106 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 475.00 $475.00 $1,948 —
Medium and Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 455.00 $455.00 $1,752 —

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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 3,000.00 $3,000.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 3,350.00 $3,350.00 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 3,200.00 $3,200.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,900.00 $2,900.00 —

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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.