Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 9, 2020

349 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 $120.88/cwt -7.94 vs last sale · ≈ $644/hd at 533 lb · 11 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $120.19/cwt +1.42 vs last sale · ≈ $517/hd at 430 lb · 10 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $113.11/cwt -1.47 vs last sale · ≈ $533/hd at 471 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 349 296 0
Feeder cattle 231 199 0
Slaughter cattle 111 66 0
Replacement cattle 7 31 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to reporter absence two weeks ago in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

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
435 435 1 141.00 $141.00 $613 -12.00
455 455 1 150.00 $150.00 $682 —
510–535 522 3 120.00–123.00 $121.66 $635 -16.57
555–585 568 4 117.00–124.00 $121.23 $689 -3.72
600–645 619 7 115.00–129.00 $120.23 $744 -2.31
665–690 678 3 113.00–124.00 $117.06 $794 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 136.00 $136.00 $428 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 109.00 $109.00 $649 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 119.00 $119.00 $345 -3.62
325–333 329 2 116.00–118.00 $117.01 $385 -7.01
365–380 370 3 115.00–122.00 $118.71 $439 -7.62
425 425 1 100.00 $100.00 $425 -18.77
420–440 431 9 116.00–129.00 $122.43 $528 +3.66
450–483 471 10 109.00–115.00 $113.11 $533 -1.47
505–540 515 10 96.00–108.00 $100.91 $520 -7.29
550 fancy 550 3 114.00 $114.00 $627 —
560–575 568 6 100.00–107.00 $104.49 $594 -3.09
600–645 624 9 92.00–105.00 $96.74 $604 -11.59
655–685 669 5 89.00–105.00 $96.10 $643 -10.90
715 715 1 89.00 $89.00 $636 —
775–780 777 3 84.00–97.00 $90.02 $699 —
865 865 1 88.00 $88.00 $761 —
920 920 2 76.00–79.00 $77.50 $713 —
1070 1070 1 71.00 $71.00 $760 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 110.00 $110.00 $424 ±0.00
505 505 1 94.00 $94.00 $475 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 160.00 $160.00 $552 —
360–395 377 5 144.00–154.00 $149.75 $565 -1.53
400–430 410 6 137.00–153.00 $147.43 $604 +4.66
435 fancy 435 1 158.00 $158.00 $687 —
450–485 468 2 118.00–119.00 $118.48 $554 -16.05
465–485 473 4 128.00–138.00 $131.25 $621 -3.28
510 fancy 510 1 132.00 $132.00 $673 -5.96
505–545 535 10 116.00–123.00 $119.77 $641 -6.77
560–595 575 3 112.00–121.00 $116.90 $672 -5.09
605 fancy 605 1 117.00 $117.00 $708 —
620 thin fleshed 620 1 101.00 $101.00 $626 —
625 value added 625 1 118.00 $118.00 $738 —
615–645 635 4 103.00–112.00 $107.23 $681 +9.23
650–685 661 7 100.00–111.00 $106.39 $703 —
775 thin fleshed 775 1 85.00 $85.00 $659 —
885 885 1 80.00 $80.00 $708 -1.01
905 905 1 87.00 $87.00 $787 +6.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 132.00 $132.00 $475 —
490 490 1 122.00 $122.00 $598 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 127.00 $127.00 $432 —
420 420 1 124.00 $124.00 $521 +24.00

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220 1220 75-80% 1 66.50 $66.50 $811 —
1160–1445 1246 75-80% 4 51.50–53.50 $52.79 $658 —
1110–1455 1308 75-80% 4 49.50–52.50 $51.58 $675 —
985–1810 1381 75-80% 20 54.00–64.50 $59.68 $824 —
1190–1800 1400 75-80% 3 62.50–65.00 $64.00 $896 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1175 1090 80-85% 2 56.50–64.50 $60.81 $663 +8.31
800–1305 1144 80-85% 14 48.00–59.50 $55.36 $633 -3.05
1290 1290 80-85% 1 60.50 $60.50 $780 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730 730 85-90% 1 61.00 $61.00 $445 —
840–1170 1016 85-90% 7 45.50–53.50 $49.11 $499 —
1015–1115 1065 85-90% 2 47.50–54.50 $50.84 $541 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1320 1180 6 70.50–79.50 $75.35 $889 —
1180 1180 1 68.50 $68.50 $808 —
1245 1245 1 73.00 $73.00 $909 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 570.00 $570.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00

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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.