Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 13, 2021

545 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $120.89/cwt ≈ $689/hd at 570 lb · 17 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.51/cwt +15.77 vs last sale · ≈ $586/hd at 471 lb · 16 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $128.23/cwt +18.04 vs last sale · ≈ $538/hd at 419 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 545 399 248
Feeder cattle 354 138 156
Slaughter cattle 154 220 92
Replacement cattle 37 41 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

**Compared to sale two weeks ago, slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 4.00 lower overall, with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts, but a lower undertone was noted. Also, no comparisons available for feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts from last week, however, a higher undertone was noted for all classes.

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
350–390 370 2 156.00–170.00 $162.62 $602 +22.62
405–435 414 5 155.00–170.00 $160.71 $665 +18.19
455 fancy 455 1 160.00 $160.00 $728 —
450–490 468 11 146.00–158.00 $149.19 $698 +19.19
500 fancy 500 1 148.00 $148.00 $740 —
510–540 520 12 128.00–140.00 $133.52 $694 —
550–590 573 4 124.00–133.00 $127.24 $729 +9.22
620–645 635 3 123.00–129.00 $126.65 $804 +3.65
655–680 668 2 122.00–124.00 $122.98 $822 —
715–725 720 2 113.00–119.00 $116.02 $835 —
755 755 1 114.00 $114.00 $861 —
845 845 1 107.00 $107.00 $904 —
1010 1010 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,040 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–455 453 2 130.00–136.00 $132.98 $602 —
785 785 1 112.00 $112.00 $879 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–405 403 2 126.00–139.00 $132.46 $534 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 142.50 $142.50 $328 —
270–290 280 3 125.00–140.00 $131.49 $368 —
320–345 335 6 126.00–139.00 $133.27 $446 +23.27
350–390 371 4 122.00–132.00 $127.80 $474 +17.80
385 fancy 385 1 138.00 $138.00 $531 —
400–430 fancy 415 2 139.00–141.00 $140.04 $581 —
405–435 420 12 120.00–133.00 $126.26 $530 +16.07
450–481 470 15 118.00–130.00 $123.94 $583 +15.20
480 fancy 480 1 133.00 $133.00 $638 —
500–515 fancy 508 2 119.00 $119.00 $605 —
510–545 529 8 104.00–115.00 $109.68 $580 +2.72
555–585 575 6 102.00–109.00 $104.52 $601 +9.52
610 fancy 610 1 109.00 $109.00 $665 —
600–640 613 5 96.00–104.00 $99.80 $612 +0.80
620 620 1 94.00 $94.00 $583 -5.00
660–695 682 3 95.00–96.00 $95.66 $652 -11.34
705–730 715 3 93.00–101.00 $96.38 $689 —
855 855 1 95.00 $95.00 $812 —
942 value added 942 3 97.00 $97.00 $914 —
1133–1145 1137 3 73.50–80.00 $75.68 $860 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 107.50 $107.50 $452 +7.50
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 104.00 $104.00 $421 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–320 313 3 158.00–163.00 $159.99 $501 +19.99
365–390 379 5 146.00–164.00 $158.89 $602 +7.68
380 fancy 380 1 168.00 $168.00 $638 —
400–415 fancy 408 2 159.00–160.00 $159.51 $651 —
400–440 417 10 139.00–150.00 $143.28 $597 +1.89
450–490 472 10 135.00–144.00 $138.90 $656 +2.59
485 fancy 485 1 148.00 $148.00 $718 —
500 fancy 500 1 135.00 $135.00 $675 —
520–545 534 8 121.00–127.00 $124.11 $663 +5.28
550–590 570 17 117.00–125.00 $120.89 $689 —
605–645 620 4 109.00–113.00 $110.53 $685 +0.53
650–690 667 6 108.00–115.00 $110.46 $737 +6.20
700–725 713 2 96.00–104.00 $100.07 $713 —
765 765 1 96.00 $96.00 $734 —
805–840 819 5 90.00–96.00 $93.77 $768 -4.23
883 883 4 92.00 $92.00 $812 +12.00
925 925 1 86.00 $86.00 $796 +9.65
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–270 268 2 140.00–142.50 $141.24 $379 —
380 380 1 141.00 $141.00 $536 —
430 430 1 133.00 $133.00 $572 —
470–495 482 3 126.00–130.00 $128.36 $619 —
585 585 1 114.00 $114.00 $667 —
645 645 1 96.00 $96.00 $619 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 147.50 $147.50 $413 —
310 310 1 139.00 $139.00 $431 —
489–490 490 2 120.00–129.00 $124.50 $610 —
530 530 1 115.00 $115.00 $610 —
695 695 1 103.00 $103.00 $716 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985 985 80-85% 1 80.00 $80.00 $788 —
885–1490 1213 80-85% 32 51.50–60.50 $55.60 $674 -6.00
1110–1435 1222 80-85% 3 66.00–71.00 $67.53 $825 +5.93
1115–1425 1270 80-85% 2 64.00–66.00 $65.12 $827 —
1255–1485 1354 80-85% 5 56.50–62.50 $58.48 $792 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1740 1417 75-80% 15 53.50–63.50 $58.79 $833 -0.10
1435–1730 1565 75-80% 3 51.00–51.50 $51.34 $803 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865–1250 1085 85-90% 15 47.50–54.50 $50.69 $550 —
955–1265 1110 85-90% 2 51.50–55.50 $53.78 $597 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1180 1125 2 62.50–65.00 $63.81 $718 —
1315 1315 1 68.00 $68.00 $894 —
1305–1615 1475 3 70.50–80.50 $76.87 $1,134 —
1390–2050 1718 6 75.00–84.50 $80.39 $1,381 +0.27
1725 1725 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,535 +8.88

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
1000–1200 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 630.00–700.00 $665.00
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1250 1250 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00
1150–1400 1288 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 790.00–930.00 $872.50
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 525.00 $525.00
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 775.00 $775.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 780.00 $780.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 800.00 $800.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700 700 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 640.00 $640.00

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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
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —

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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.