Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 18, 2020

296 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest East Tennessee Livestock Center report →

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $128.82/cwt +13.29 vs last sale · ≈ $672/hd at 521 lb · 10 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.77/cwt +7.77 vs last sale · ≈ $511/hd at 430 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 296 235 0
Feeder cattle 199 164 0
Slaughter cattle 66 66 0
Replacement cattle 31 5 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to sale two weeks ago, slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 5.00 higher overall, with slaughter bulls 1.00 higher. No comparisons available for feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts.

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
405 405 1 153.00 $153.00 $620 —
500–535 521 4 129.00–143.00 $138.23 $720 +2.72
550–560 555 2 120.00–130.00 $124.95 $693 +0.51
600–610 605 2 118.00–127.00 $122.54 $741 -1.47
635 value added 635 3 129.00 $129.00 $819 -2.56
735 735 2 109.00–118.00 $113.50 $834 —
830 830 1 114.00 $114.00 $946 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 122.00 $122.00 $580 —
530 530 1 124.00 $124.00 $657 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–225 215 2 122.00–123.00 $122.52 $263 —
250–275 263 2 120.00–125.00 $122.62 $322 —
315–320 318 2 121.00–127.00 $124.02 $394 —
375 375 3 124.00–130.00 $126.33 $474 +1.33
410–445 430 10 115.00–129.00 $118.77 $511 +7.77
460–475 466 7 110.00–116.00 $114.58 $534 -1.42
500–540 518 6 104.00–112.00 $108.20 $560 -4.63
550–595 572 5 106.00–110.00 $107.58 $615 -3.91
630–635 633 3 107.00–110.00 $108.33 $686 +8.07
635 635 1 90.00 $90.00 $572 -10.26
665 665 1 94.00 $94.00 $625 +0.97
670 670 1 107.00 $107.00 $717 +13.97
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 397 3 110.00 $110.00 $437 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 168.00 $168.00 $504 —
375–395 388 5 140.00–159.00 $151.28 $587 —
400–445 419 7 130.00–150.00 $142.77 $598 +13.27
465–480 474 4 127.00–138.00 $134.53 $638 +4.53
505–525 fancy 515 2 136.00–140.00 $137.96 $710 +8.96
505–545 523 8 119.00–132.00 $126.54 $662 +9.98
560–570 565 3 118.00–128.00 $121.99 $689 +1.57
615–630 622 3 109.00–113.00 $110.32 $686 -7.67
645 645 1 98.00 $98.00 $632 -19.99
710–735 723 3 93.00–96.00 $94.65 $684 —
785 785 1 90.00 $90.00 $706 —
810–825 818 2 89.00 $89.00 $728 —
870–890 880 2 80.00–82.00 $81.01 $713 +3.50
900 900 1 81.00 $81.00 $729 —
1015 1015 1 90.00 $90.00 $914 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290–295 293 2 133.00–146.00 $139.44 $409 —
385 385 1 125.00 $125.00 $481 +6.00
415 415 1 100.00 $100.00 $415 -19.00
550 550 1 110.00 $110.00 $605 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–540 525 2 117.00 $117.00 $614 —
600 600 1 103.00 $103.00 $618 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 75-80% 1 50.00 $50.00 $625 —
930–1620 1297 75-80% 16 53.50–63.50 $58.97 $765 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930 930 80-85% 1 69.00 $69.00 $642 —
1060 1060 80-85% 1 52.50 $52.50 $556 -10.00
945–1390 1135 80-85% 11 55.00–62.50 $58.41 $663 -11.09
1320 1320 80-85% 1 67.50 $67.50 $891 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–1100 963 85-90% 3 49.00–53.50 $51.58 $497 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1220 1132 3 66.50–68.50 $67.49 $764 —
1310–2365 1745 4 71.00–79.50 $75.31 $1,314 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 640.00 $640.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 975.00 $975.00 —

↑ 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.