Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 16, 2022

248 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 248 170 232
Feeder cattle 104 85 115
Slaughter cattle 139 85 97
Replacement cattle 5 — 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 2.00 to 4.00 higher overall with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls and feeder classes 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
325–345 value added 335 2 210.00 $210.00 $704 —
395 395 1 180.00 $180.00 $711 —
410 fancy 410 1 211.00 $211.00 $865 —
445 445 1 190.00 $190.00 $846 —
455–470 value added 463 2 180.00–190.00 $184.92 $856 —
485 485 1 162.50 $162.50 $788 -28.50
555–590 578 6 170.00–183.00 $177.17 $1,024 +18.17
650–675 663 2 150.00–153.00 $151.53 $1,005 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 159.00 $159.00 $525 —
345 value added 345 1 170.00 $170.00 $586 —
415–430 423 2 140.00–160.00 $149.82 $634 +9.82
450 value added 450 1 156.00 $156.00 $702 —
455 fancy 455 1 153.00 $153.00 $696 —
450–480 460 3 135.00–148.00 $141.33 $650 +0.34
520–525 523 2 131.00–135.00 $132.99 $696 -3.01
570–598 594 7 130.00–140.00 $138.63 $823 +18.63
600–635 618 2 130.00–131.00 $130.49 $806 +5.49
670 670 1 125.00 $125.00 $838 —
710–735 723 2 117.00–120.00 $118.53 $857 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 130.00 $130.00 $318 —
555 555 1 120.00 $120.00 $666 ±0.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 value added 400 1 195.00 $195.00 $780 —
410 fancy 410 1 190.00 $190.00 $779 -6.64
405–445 427 4 162.50–178.00 $172.06 $735 +4.56
450–475 467 3 150.00–170.00 $163.57 $764 -1.43
500–530 513 3 149.00–159.00 $154.91 $795 —
560–565 563 2 143.00–145.00 $144.00 $811 +9.04
585 fancy 585 1 163.00 $163.00 $954 —
640 640 1 139.00 $139.00 $890 —
670–685 678 2 134.00–139.00 $136.47 $925 —
735–740 737 3 120.00–121.00 $120.33 $887 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 145.00 $145.00 $580 —
525 525 1 139.00 $139.00 $730 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1925 1556 75-80% 39 78.00–89.50 $83.53 $1,300 —
1380–1900 1614 75-80% 4 91.50–99.00 $94.59 $1,527 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1655 1377 80-85% 33 78.00–92.00 $85.84 $1,182 —
1010–1635 1399 80-85% 9 93.00–109.50 $99.48 $1,392 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1435 1165 85-90% 12 66.00–76.50 $72.14 $840 +3.22
1350–1365 1358 85-90% 2 78.00–79.00 $78.50 $1,066 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625–1915 1768 3 110.00–116.50 $112.49 $1,989 -0.11

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 670.00 $670.00

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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.