Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 24, 2021

318 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $155.10/cwt +23.10 vs last sale · ≈ $667/hd at 430 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 318 232 237
Feeder cattle 176 115 95
Slaughter cattle 116 97 140
Replacement cattle 26 20 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 2.00 to 5.00 higher overall. with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts, however a higher undertone was noted. Also no comparisons available for feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone was noted for steers and heifers.

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
410–440 425 3 155.00–177.00 $162.33 $690 +11.33
475 475 2 162.00–175.00 $168.50 $800 +18.50
530 530 2 158.00 $158.00 $837 —
585 585 1 144.00 $144.00 $842 —
600 600 1 130.00 $130.00 $780 -4.00
620–640 627 3 135.00–139.00 $136.36 $855 +2.36
670–685 678 3 128.00–129.00 $128.33 $870 -10.67
715–735 725 2 119.00–127.00 $123.06 $892 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 1 118.00 $118.00 $796 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 162.50 $162.50 $422 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 151.00 $151.00 $385 +16.00
310–335 325 5 135.00–143.00 $140.44 $456 +6.44
350–385 365 7 125.00–133.00 $128.17 $468 +3.19
425–428 427 3 134.00–139.00 $137.34 $586 +3.53
450–490 460 5 133.00–137.00 $135.39 $623 —
510 value added 510 1 135.00 $135.00 $688 —
515–545 528 3 116.00–124.00 $121.01 $639 +1.51
563–575 569 5 113.00–123.50 $118.16 $672 -3.84
615 fancy 615 1 123.00 $123.00 $756 —
615 615 1 108.00 $108.00 $664 -14.00
650–685 668 2 104.00–116.00 $110.16 $736 —
705 705 1 106.00 $106.00 $747 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 137.50 $137.50 $337 —
290 290 1 125.00 $125.00 $362 —
410 410 1 116.00 $116.00 $476 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 205.00 $205.00 $533 —
330–340 335 3 167.50–180.00 $174.95 $586 +23.66
355–365 fancy 360 2 185.00 $185.00 $666 —
355–365 360 2 162.50–170.00 $166.30 $599 +16.30
410–445 430 18 145.00–165.00 $155.10 $667 +16.10
450–495 469 8 145.00–161.00 $151.94 $713 —
500–530 515 2 130.00–138.00 $133.88 $689 -10.86
530 fancy 530 1 150.00 $150.00 $795 —
570–575 573 2 130.00–132.00 $131.00 $751 -5.17
603–625 611 7 117.00–126.00 $121.52 $742 +4.56
680 680 1 113.00 $113.00 $768 —
720–725 723 2 107.00–109.00 $108.00 $781 -2.00
865 865 2 90.00–97.00 $93.50 $809 —
950 950 1 95.00 $95.00 $902 —
1030 1030 1 89.00 $89.00 $917 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 160.00 $160.00 $368 +21.00
310 310 1 160.00 $160.00 $496 —
350 350 1 147.00 $147.00 $514 +8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 152.00 $152.00 $494 —
480 480 1 135.00 $135.00 $648 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110 1110 80-85% 1 73.50 $73.50 $816 —
1140 1140 80-85% 1 80.00 $80.00 $912 —
920–1445 1148 80-85% 19 58.00–68.00 $64.25 $738 —
940–1490 1211 80-85% 8 69.00–76.50 $71.81 $870 —
1720 1720 80-85% 1 82.50 $82.50 $1,419 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–925 920 85-90% 2 64.00–68.00 $65.99 $607 —
920 920 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $598 —
860–1150 986 85-90% 15 54.50–63.00 $58.82 $580 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1445 1343 75-80% 2 74.00–75.00 $74.54 $1,001 +19.18
1355 1355 75-80% 1 74.00 $74.00 $1,003 +5.21
1535 1535 75-80% 1 74.00 $74.00 $1,136 —
1355–1965 1696 75-80% 4 63.00–68.00 $65.44 $1,110 +3.19
1715 1715 75-80% 1 65.50 $65.50 $1,123 -3.50

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1685 1685 1 100.50 $100.50 $1,693 —
1235–2160 1780 3 90.50–92.50 $92.04 $1,638 +6.11
1830 1830 1 93.50 $93.50 $1,711 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
1000–1150 1075 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 900.00–1,100.00 $1,000.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–750 725 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 600.00–750.00 $675.00
750 750 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00 $800.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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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.