Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 20, 2021

273 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 $119.75/cwt +0.93 vs last sale · ≈ $621/hd at 518 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 273 321 0
Feeder cattle 202 204 0
Slaughter cattle 59 75 0
Replacement cattle 12 42 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers measuring 2.00 to 3.00 higher with no comparisons available for feeder steers and bulls due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows gauging 2.00 to 3.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls 1.00 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 1 150.00 $150.00 $502 —
457 457 3 144.00 $144.00 $658 -10.00
518 518 3 142.00 $142.00 $736 +3.50
565–598 584 8 129.00–139.00 $137.41 $802 -13.59
620–625 623 3 125.00–139.00 $131.01 $816 -9.59
638 value added 638 2 140.00 $140.00 $893 —
670 670 1 120.00 $120.00 $804 -11.91
680–685 683 2 124.00–127.00 $125.51 $857 -6.40
713 value added 713 2 133.00 $133.00 $948 —
720 720 1 124.00 $124.00 $893 —
758–798 788 8 126.00–129.00 $126.72 $999 +2.72
815 value added 815 1 122.00 $122.00 $994 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 145.00 $145.00 $515 —
460 460 1 120.00 $120.00 $552 —
535 535 1 121.00 $121.00 $647 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–315 313 2 120.00–122.00 $121.01 $379 +3.42
365–395 375 3 125.00–136.00 $130.84 $491 +3.29
420–445 431 4 122.00–129.00 $125.98 $543 +2.68
460 460 1 117.00 $117.00 $538 -7.61
455–478 469 6 124.00–129.00 $127.70 $599 +3.09
500–528 518 10 120.00–126.00 $122.07 $632 +2.15
500–535 520 3 110.00–116.00 $112.02 $583 -7.90
575–598 592 4 110.00–116.00 $114.29 $677 +2.31
640 640 1 111.00 $111.00 $710 —
690 690 1 113.00 $113.00 $780 +13.00
700 700 1 110.00 $110.00 $770 +6.23
760–775 768 4 105.50–109.00 $106.74 $820 —
800 800 1 97.00 $97.00 $776 —
940 940 1 92.00 $92.00 $865 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–390 383 2 140.00–145.00 $142.45 $546 —
430–440 435 2 137.00–142.00 $139.53 $607 +2.77
460 460 3 135.00 $135.00 $621 ±0.00
515–530 523 2 123.00–125.00 $123.99 $648 -0.88
550–590 579 8 118.00–127.00 $123.49 $715 —
580 580 1 114.00 $114.00 $661 —
600–640 622 3 113.00–118.00 $115.64 $719 -4.89
680 680 1 119.00 $119.00 $809 -6.00
730 730 1 106.00 $106.00 $774 —
760 760 1 99.00 $99.00 $752 —
765 765 1 115.00 $115.00 $880 —
810 810 1 101.00 $101.00 $818 —
965 965 1 95.00 $95.00 $917 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 140.00 $140.00 $413 —
440 440 1 119.00 $119.00 $524 -1.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1790 1465 75-80% 20 52.00–60.50 $55.66 $815 +2.49
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1370 1167 80-85% 7 55.50–62.50 $59.24 $691 —
1145–1410 1278 80-85% 2 65.50–70.00 $67.98 $869 +1.98
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980 980 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $559 —
925–1135 1038 85-90% 7 49.00–55.00 $52.65 $547 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1835 1652 6 81.00–90.50 $87.50 $1,446 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 860.00 $860.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 575.00 $575.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 980.00 $980.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.