Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 30, 2020

399 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 399 349 0
Feeder cattle 138 231 0
Slaughter cattle 220 111 0
Replacement cattle 41 7 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to reporter absence two weeks ago.

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
335 335 1 149.00 $149.00 $499 —
380 380 1 140.00 $140.00 $532 —
405 fancy 405 1 160.00 $160.00 $648 —
405–445 425 2 131.00–153.00 $142.52 $606 +1.52
490 490 1 130.00 $130.00 $637 -20.00
585–590 588 2 114.00–122.00 $118.02 $694 -3.21
605 605 1 123.00 $123.00 $744 +2.77
875 875 1 111.00 $111.00 $971 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 126.00 $126.00 $410 -10.00
490 490 1 114.00 $114.00 $559 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 110.00 $110.00 $330 -7.01
395 395 1 110.00 $110.00 $434 -8.71
405–445 425 2 106.00–114.00 $110.19 $468 +10.19
450–475 464 4 108.00–109.00 $108.74 $505 -4.37
500–540 520 2 106.00–108.00 $106.96 $556 +6.05
590 590 1 95.00 $95.00 $560 -9.49
620 620 1 99.00 $99.00 $614 +2.26
665 665 1 107.00 $107.00 $712 +10.90
805 805 1 89.00 $89.00 $716 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
605 605 1 95.00 $95.00 $575 —
685 685 1 100.00 $100.00 $685 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 1 100.00 $100.00 $410 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–320 310 2 140.00 $140.00 $434 -20.00
370–395 384 4 141.00–160.00 $151.21 $581 +1.46
420–440 432 3 136.00–148.00 $141.39 $611 -6.04
465–490 473 3 135.00–139.00 $136.31 $645 +5.06
505–535 520 2 113.00–125.00 $118.83 $618 -0.94
620 620 1 110.00 $110.00 $682 +2.77
680–695 689 4 102.00–107.00 $104.26 $718 -2.13
805 805 1 98.00 $98.00 $789 —
885 885 1 80.00 $80.00 $708 ±0.00
910–945 925 3 72.00–79.00 $76.35 $706 -10.65

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1260 1158 75-80% 3 52.50–54.00 $53.29 $617 —
1160–1830 1420 75-80% 45 55.00–64.00 $58.89 $836 -5.11
1115–1890 1484 75-80% 19 58.50–69.50 $62.25 $924 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1200 1103 80-85% 7 51.00–53.50 $52.29 $577 —
990–1510 1195 80-85% 40 54.50–64.50 $59.18 $707 —
935–1380 1226 80-85% 4 59.00–65.50 $61.60 $755 —
1140–1585 1320 80-85% 8 65.00–68.00 $66.29 $875 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1030 960 85-90% 2 62.00–62.50 $62.23 $597 —
840–1245 1035 85-90% 16 49.50–55.50 $52.38 $542 +3.27
1070–1240 1155 85-90% 2 54.50–61.50 $58.26 $673 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265 1265 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,113 —
1605–1825 1722 3 79.50–81.50 $80.12 $1,380 —
1770 1770 1 99.50 $99.50 $1,761 —
1460–2135 1798 2 95.50–96.00 $95.70 $1,721 —
1810–1925 1868 2 86.00–90.00 $87.94 $1,643 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 660.00 $660.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 600.00–720.00 $696.00
1000–1250 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 630.00–850.00 $740.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 900.00–920.00 $910.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 870.00 $870.00

↑ 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 1,040.00 $1,040.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610 610 1 78.00 $78.00 $476 —
725 725 1 74.00 $74.00 $536 —
775 775 1 81.00 $81.00 $628 —
870 870 1 84.00 $84.00 $731 —
Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 69.00 $69.00 $290 —
485 485 1 73.00 $73.00 $354 —
620 620 1 65.00 $65.00 $403 —

↑ 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.