Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 27, 2021

587 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 heifers $115.41/cwt +3.87 vs last sale · ≈ $607/hd at 526 lb · 18 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.19/cwt -8.65 vs last sale · ≈ $457/hd at 377 lb · 17 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $119.65/cwt -8.58 vs last sale · ≈ $509/hd at 425 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 587 545 403
Feeder cattle 413 354 313
Slaughter cattle 135 154 90
Replacement cattle 39 37 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to sale two weeks ago, feeder steers measuring 1.00 higher overall, with feeder heifers weighing up to 500 lbs. 8.00 lower and those weighing over 500 lbs. 4.00 higher, and feeder bulls weighing up to 500 lbs. 5.00 lower and those weighing over 500 lbs. 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows gauging 4.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls sharply higher.

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
370 fancy 370 1 170.00 $170.00 $629 —
385–395 390 2 150.00–162.00 $156.08 $609 -6.54
415–420 418 2 164.00 $164.00 $686 +3.29
455–495 477 5 141.00–159.00 $147.53 $704 -1.66
500 value added 500 5 150.50 $150.50 $752 —
500–535 511 9 138.00–145.50 $142.63 $729 +9.11
520 fancy 520 1 155.00 $155.00 $806 +7.00
535 535 1 130.00 $130.00 $696 -3.52
570–590 value added 580 2 142.00–145.00 $143.53 $832 —
580–590 585 6 130.00–139.00 $135.50 $793 +8.26
600–640 620 4 119.00–129.00 $123.85 $768 -2.80
660–685 675 5 115.00–125.00 $118.78 $802 -4.20
693 value added 693 4 126.00 $126.00 $873 —
710 710 1 116.00 $116.00 $824 -0.02
760 760 1 109.00 $109.00 $828 -5.00
805–840 817 3 103.00–110.00 $106.29 $868 -0.71
885–890 888 2 107.00–108.00 $107.50 $955 —
1060 1060 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,102 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 133.00 $133.00 $539 +0.54
460–480 470 2 111.00–133.00 $121.77 $572 —
790 790 1 100.00 $100.00 $790 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 140.00 $140.00 $602 —
570 570 1 124.00 $124.00 $707 —
750 750 1 100.00 $100.00 $750 -12.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 125.00 $125.00 $275 -17.50
275 275 1 130.00 $130.00 $358 -1.49
305–345 328 6 114.00–125.00 $119.95 $393 -13.32
360–395 377 17 115.00–128.00 $121.19 $457 -6.61
420 fancy 420 1 127.00 $127.00 $533 -13.04
400–445 424 15 113.00–125.00 $118.67 $503 -7.59
445 value added 445 1 127.00 $127.00 $565 —
458 value added 458 2 130.00 $130.00 $595 —
455–495 472 12 113.00–124.00 $117.86 $556 -6.08
500–545 526 18 108.00–122.00 $115.41 $607 +5.73
550–560 fancy 555 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $663 —
550–595 571 10 104.00–115.50 $111.15 $635 +6.63
600 value added 600 1 114.00 $114.00 $684 —
615 fancy 615 1 116.00 $116.00 $713 +7.00
600–645 624 7 99.00–109.00 $103.94 $649 +9.94
660 fancy 660 1 110.00 $110.00 $726 —
655–680 671 5 94.00–105.00 $99.57 $668 +3.91
725 725 1 98.00 $98.00 $710 +1.62
750–755 753 2 94.00–97.00 $95.50 $719 —
763 value added 763 2 100.00 $100.00 $763 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–380 377 3 110.00–113.00 $111.66 $421 —
580 580 1 94.00 $94.00 $545 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1210 1145 2 77.00–84.00 $80.30 $919 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 110.00 $110.00 $429 —
500 500 1 105.00 $105.00 $525 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–230 228 2 150.00–163.00 $156.57 $357 —
300–345 328 10 140.00–155.00 $145.93 $479 -14.06
340 fancy 340 1 174.00 $174.00 $592 —
350–395 373 14 139.00–155.00 $146.19 $545 -12.70
395 fancy 395 1 159.00 $159.00 $628 -9.00
415 415 1 129.00 $129.00 $535 -14.28
420 fancy 420 1 152.00 $152.00 $638 -7.51
400–445 423 6 135.00–145.00 $139.97 $592 -3.31
450–495 478 6 132.00–143.00 $136.01 $650 -2.89
485 485 1 128.00 $128.00 $621 -10.90
495 value added 495 1 149.00 $149.00 $738 —
500–545 526 12 126.00–140.00 $134.26 $706 +10.15
550–590 572 9 114.00–122.50 $116.96 $669 -3.93
600 thin fleshed 600 1 106.00 $106.00 $636 —
600–645 627 10 108.00–116.00 $111.39 $698 +0.86
650–680 663 4 112.00–118.00 $114.74 $761 +4.28
700–720 710 4 101.00–107.00 $104.25 $740 +4.18
755–765 760 2 102.00–106.00 $104.01 $790 +8.01
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 136.00 $136.00 $422 —
355–375 365 2 130.00–136.00 $132.92 $485 -8.08
420 420 1 129.00 $129.00 $542 -4.00
480–495 488 2 121.00–122.00 $121.51 $593 -6.85
520 520 1 118.00 $118.00 $614 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 135.00 $135.00 $446 -4.00
395 395 1 115.00 $115.00 $454 —
450 450 1 126.00 $126.00 $567 —
520 520 1 110.00 $110.00 $572 -5.00
565 565 1 108.00 $108.00 $610 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1400 1137 80-85% 25 55.50–66.50 $62.14 $707 —
1225 1225 80-85% 1 80.00 $80.00 $980 +12.47
1055–1505 1246 80-85% 15 68.00–75.50 $70.66 $880 +3.13
945–1525 1310 80-85% 3 58.00–68.00 $63.85 $836 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1900 1530 75-80% 15 57.00–66.50 $61.29 $938 —
1135–1985 1568 75-80% 21 54.00–66.50 $60.38 $947 +9.04
1625 1625 75-80% 1 69.50 $69.50 $1,129 —
1605–1890 1717 75-80% 3 68.50–70.00 $69.33 $1,190 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–835 818 85-90% 2 62.00–70.00 $66.09 $541 —
935–1450 1128 85-90% 10 51.50–59.50 $55.90 $631 +2.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1315 1313 2 81.00–84.00 $82.50 $1,083 +14.50
1555 1555 1 100.50 $100.50 $1,563 —
1575 1575 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,575 —
1460–1935 1684 4 94.00–97.00 $95.67 $1,611 —
1685–1700 1693 2 96.50–99.50 $98.01 $1,659 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1450 1183 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 875.00–930.00 $901.67
1250–1300 1283 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 890.00–950.00 $921.67
1300–1350 1325 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 730.00–810.00 $770.00
1400 1400 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1500 1500 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00

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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 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,125.00–1,275.00 $1,176.67 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
615 615 1 85.00 $85.00 $523 —
725 725 1 80.00 $80.00 $580 —

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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.