Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 3, 2021

382 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 heifers $118.19/cwt +3.92 vs last sale · ≈ $676/hd at 572 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 382 794 0
Feeder cattle 208 508 0
Slaughter cattle 143 223 0
Replacement cattle 31 63 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers and bulls measuring 4.00 higher overall, with no comparisons available for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts, however, a higher undertone was noted. Slaughter cows remaining mostly steady overall with slaughter bulls 1.00 to 2.00 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
335 335 1 177.50 $177.50 $595 —
430 430 2 165.00–166.00 $165.50 $712 +15.45
470–485 478 2 154.00–158.00 $155.97 $746 +3.99
543 543 2 163.00 $163.00 $885 +25.67
550 fancy 550 3 159.00 $159.00 $874 —
550–575 563 5 141.50–156.00 $145.76 $821 +6.25
629 629 8 138.00 $138.00 $868 +13.05
803 803 2 112.00 $112.00 $899 —
920 920 1 107.00 $107.00 $984 -2.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–280 278 2 147.00–152.50 $149.77 $416 +21.55
305–340 314 7 131.00–139.00 $137.02 $430 +3.71
345 fancy 345 1 147.50 $147.50 $509 -0.50
385–395 390 2 137.00–149.00 $143.08 $558 +14.41
395 fancy 395 1 153.00 $153.00 $604 —
400 fancy 400 1 151.00 $151.00 $604 —
410–445 428 3 133.00–138.00 $135.05 $578 +3.03
460–495 478 5 123.00–134.00 $130.34 $623 +0.96
485 fancy 485 2 139.00 $139.00 $674 +0.99
530–535 532 3 121.00–127.00 $123.66 $658 +8.18
550–598 572 13 114.50–123.00 $118.19 $676 +3.28
620–640 631 5 106.00–110.00 $108.01 $682 +2.54
650–685 668 2 106.00–112.00 $109.08 $729 +4.01
710–740 728 3 90.00–101.00 $93.91 $684 -5.79
740 fancy 740 1 111.00 $111.00 $821 +1.00
755–765 760 2 104.00–105.00 $104.50 $794 +6.54
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 114.00 $114.00 $450 -2.00
425–440 433 2 114.00–120.00 $116.95 $506 —
470–477 475 8 119.00–124.00 $119.62 $568 —
545 545 1 111.00 $111.00 $605 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 fancy 265 1 196.00 $196.00 $519 —
285–290 288 2 175.00–182.50 $178.78 $515 +21.13
345 345 1 172.50 $172.50 $595 +23.00
370–385 379 5 150.00–166.00 $155.85 $591 +1.97
400–430 414 4 147.00–157.00 $150.80 $624 +4.71
450–495 480 4 136.00–150.00 $143.07 $687 +1.51
500–545 525 7 129.00–140.00 $133.58 $701 +1.80
553–575 560 6 129.00–140.00 $134.33 $752 +14.33
650 650 1 121.00 $121.00 $786 +1.41
715–740 728 2 104.00–106.00 $104.98 $764 -0.93
1010 1010 1 89.00 $89.00 $899 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 2 165.00 $165.00 $429 —
315–340 328 2 142.50–157.50 $150.29 $493 —
390 390 1 138.00 $138.00 $538 —
405 405 1 134.00 $134.00 $543 -2.00
615–630 623 2 112.00–115.00 $113.48 $707 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1145 891 85-90% 6 64.00–91.00 $75.53 $673 —
805–1300 1080 85-90% 30 52.50–62.50 $56.85 $614 +1.60
1060–1235 1167 85-90% 3 67.50–70.50 $68.76 $802 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 80-85% 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,029 —
1110–1490 1274 80-85% 21 58.00–71.50 $64.76 $825 —
1240–1465 1352 80-85% 5 75.00–90.00 $82.26 $1,112 +8.87
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1175 1135 75-80% 2 85.00–100.00 $92.24 $1,047 —
1325–2205 1578 75-80% 16 60.50–72.00 $67.31 $1,062 —
1665–1820 1733 75-80% 3 75.50–82.00 $79.26 $1,374 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 1 88.50 $88.50 $1,204 —
1470–1950 1743 5 92.50–102.00 $97.61 $1,701 —
2105 2105 1 104.50 $104.50 $2,200 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 780.00 $780.00
1000–1100 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 850.00–1,180.00 $1,015.00
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 830.00 $830.00
1000–1150 1075 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 860.00–1,030.00 $945.00
1300 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
850 850 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,010.00 $1,010.00
800 800 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00

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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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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 397 3 59.00 $59.00 $234 —
435–438 437 7 56.00–57.00 $56.43 $247 —
580 580 1 55.00 $55.00 $319 —

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Dairy Steers

Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 2 76.00 $76.00 $471 —
720 720 1 77.00 $77.00 $554 —
1045 1045 1 62.00 $62.00 $648 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 1 85.00 $85.00 $706 —

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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.