Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 4, 2021

268 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 bulls $139.60/cwt +0.87 vs last sale · ≈ $729/hd at 522 lb · 15 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.59/cwt +3.47 vs last sale · ≈ $604/hd at 436 lb · 13 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.61/cwt +4.14 vs last sale · ≈ $702/hd at 526 lb · 10 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 268 251 324
Feeder cattle 179 146 192
Slaughter cattle 82 95 124
Replacement cattle 7 10 8

Compared to last week, slaughter cows holding mostly steady overall, with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls and feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts, however, a higher undertone was noted for feeder steers and heifers.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 170.00 $170.00 $586
425 425 1 169.00 $169.00 $718 +16.00
488 488 2 155.00 $155.00 $756 +6.00
570 570 2 152.00 $152.00 $866 +8.73
645 645 1 150.00 $150.00 $968 +14.58
800 800 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,072
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 133.00 $133.00 $652
535 535 1 136.00 $136.00 $728
570–580 575 2 134.00–135.00 $134.50 $773
610 610 1 132.00 $132.00 $805

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–325 315 3 140.00–150.00 $144.53 $455 -3.44
365–395 382 5 138.00–145.00 $142.18 $543 +7.20
430 fancy 430 2 145.00 $145.00 $624
410–447 437 11 130.00–140.00 $137.43 $601 +2.31
460–490 472 6 135.00–138.00 $137.01 $647 +4.16
505–545 522 8 125.00–136.00 $132.51 $692 +3.04
540 fancy 540 2 138.00 $138.00 $745
565–580 573 3 124.00–129.00 $125.64 $720 +1.64
600–620 fancy 610 2 131.00–133.00 $131.98 $805
605–620 610 3 116.00–125.00 $121.69 $742
660–665 663 2 115.00–127.00 $121.02 $802 +8.02
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 121.00 $121.00 $502 -7.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 fancy 355 1 174.00 $174.00 $618 -3.50
370–398 387 5 157.50–167.00 $162.73 $630 -4.73
400–440 422 7 150.00–162.50 $154.10 $650 +1.87
455–485 463 6 140.00–154.00 $148.08 $686 +1.97
500–535 522 15 134.00–144.00 $139.60 $729 +0.87
555–580 563 8 129.00–139.00 $135.60 $763 +6.64
620–645 633 4 121.00–126.00 $123.23 $780 -1.77
700 700 1 113.00 $113.00 $791
755–780 768 2 109.00–111.00 $109.98 $845 +1.98
890 890 1 102.00 $102.00 $908
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 130.00 $130.00 $604
560 560 1 125.00 $125.00 $700
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 133.00 $133.00 $638

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Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1490 1383 75-80% 3 78.00–82.50 $79.61 $1,101 +0.61
1105–1985 1435 75-80% 27 66.50–77.50 $72.93 $1,047
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1310 1148 80-85% 9 67.00–75.50 $70.40 $808
1170–1330 1256 80-85% 6 78.00–83.50 $81.21 $1,020
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1240 1100 85-90% 5 60.50–69.50 $63.93 $703

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YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250 1250 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,125
1385–1795 1581 4 96.00–98.50 $97.11 $1,535 -7.89
1850–2015 1933 2 108.00–109.50 $108.72 $2,102

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1600 1600 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,010.00 $1,010.00

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Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805 805 1 66.00 $66.00 $531

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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.