Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 17, 2021

232 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 232 607 0
Feeder cattle 115 405 0
Slaughter cattle 97 154 0
Replacement cattle 20 48 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available for feeder classes due to light receipts of quality cattle in this week's sale. Slaughter cows gauging 2.00 lower overall with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts.

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
370 370 2 160.00–165.00 $162.50 $601 -9.52
430 430 1 151.00 $151.00 $649 -16.88
460 460 1 150.00 $150.00 $690 -15.48
600 600 1 134.00 $134.00 $804 -6.03
655 655 1 139.00 $139.00 $910 +10.06
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 145.00 $145.00 $508 —
645 645 1 126.00 $126.00 $813 —
720–735 728 2 112.00–116.00 $113.98 $830 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 135.00 $135.00 $385 +6.12
315 315 2 134.00 $134.00 $422 +2.31
375–390 383 2 124.00–126.00 $124.98 $479 -6.97
400–430 405 7 130.00–135.00 $133.81 $542 +5.44
510 510 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $609 -3.38
580 580 1 122.00 $122.00 $708 +2.90
605 605 1 122.00 $122.00 $738 +10.61
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 132.50 $132.50 $344 —
490 490 1 120.00 $120.00 $588 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–330 320 2 150.00–152.50 $151.29 $484 -9.23
385 385 1 150.00 $150.00 $578 -5.59
415 thin fleshed 415 1 125.00 $125.00 $519 —
430 430 1 139.00 $139.00 $598 -9.90
500–535 thin fleshed 518 2 122.00–131.00 $126.35 $654 —
510–545 522 3 139.00–148.00 $144.74 $756 +5.15
555–595 570 3 129.00–141.00 $136.17 $776 +6.42
600–630 612 3 115.00–121.00 $116.96 $716 —
720–725 723 2 109.00–111.00 $110.00 $795 +7.06
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 139.00 $139.00 $334 -26.00
265 265 1 147.50 $147.50 $391 +5.00
365 365 1 139.00 $139.00 $507 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 128.00 $128.00 $666 +9.00
575 575 1 123.00 $123.00 $707 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1530 1174 80-85% 16 58.00–64.50 $60.97 $716 +0.59
1185 1185 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $889 +14.62
995–1820 1351 80-85% 6 67.50–72.00 $69.56 $940 -2.15
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1500 1313 75-80% 5 53.50–61.00 $55.36 $727 —
1305–1400 1353 75-80% 2 67.50–70.00 $68.79 $931 —
1280–1880 1679 75-80% 8 59.00–66.00 $62.25 $1,045 —
1715 1715 75-80% 1 69.00 $69.00 $1,183 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775–915 857 85-90% 3 60.00–68.00 $62.77 $538 —
960–1310 1102 85-90% 10 51.00–58.00 $55.04 $607 +2.39

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225–1425 1325 2 89.00–97.50 $92.93 $1,231 —
1590–1860 1760 3 83.50–90.00 $85.93 $1,512 —
2000 2000 1 100.50 $100.50 $2,010 —
2010 2010 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,849 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 870.00 $870.00
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
1300 1300 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,030.00 $1,030.00
1300 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 650.00–670.00 $660.00
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1000 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 770.00–850.00 $810.00

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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.