Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 4, 2022

228 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 228 228 196
Feeder cattle 135 114 106
Slaughter cattle 80 96 62
Replacement cattle 13 18 28

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 1.00 lower overall with exception of lean cows 3.00 to 4.00 higher, and slaughter bulls 5.00 lower. No comparisons available for 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
415 415 1 170.00 $170.00 $706 -7.50
480–490 485 2 183.00–194.00 $188.44 $914 —
505 fancy 505 1 189.00 $189.00 $954 —
500–520 510 2 160.00–170.00 $164.90 $841 +13.90
515 value added 515 1 184.00 $184.00 $948 —
595 595 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,012 +3.00
625–645 635 3 150.00–161.00 $155.28 $986 +1.28
650–655 652 3 151.00–158.00 $155.01 $1,011 —
780 780 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,037 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 144.00 $144.00 $670 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 157.50 $157.50 $378 -2.35
270 270 1 145.00 $145.00 $392 -5.00
325 325 1 149.00 $149.00 $484 +9.00
355–390 377 3 146.00–150.00 $148.28 $559 +2.87
420–435 427 3 141.00–146.00 $143.64 $613 +1.93
470 470 1 152.00 $152.00 $714 +20.01
485 fancy 485 1 158.00 $158.00 $766 —
525–548 543 5 142.00–146.00 $143.19 $778 +7.36
560–570 565 2 140.00–143.00 $141.51 $800 +25.51
600–615 610 3 139.00–145.00 $140.97 $860 —
610 610 1 120.00 $120.00 $732 —
655–665 660 2 129.00–133.00 $130.98 $864 +4.48
730–740 737 3 118.00–126.00 $120.68 $889 —
880 880 1 104.00 $104.00 $915 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 133.00 $133.00 $585 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 200.00 $200.00 $580 —
360–383 375 4 175.00–195.00 $180.00 $675 +5.43
425–445 435 2 170.00–172.00 $170.98 $744 -3.97
455 455 2 153.00 $153.00 $696 -7.34
455–495 480 4 158.00–164.00 $161.74 $776 +1.40
500–535 520 4 149.00–158.00 $152.33 $792 -9.67
550–595 569 6 147.00–161.00 $152.89 $870 +5.82
625 625 1 139.00 $139.00 $869 —
670–675 673 2 136.00–139.00 $137.49 $925 +8.47
730 730 2 127.50 $127.50 $931 —
785 785 1 125.00 $125.00 $981 +7.34
840 840 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,008 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 165.00 $165.00 $412 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1585 1410 75-80% 3 86.50–87.50 $86.87 $1,225 —
1220–2215 1519 75-80% 24 73.50–84.00 $79.96 $1,215 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1325 1182 80-85% 14 73.00–84.00 $79.68 $942 +1.30
1295 1295 80-85% 1 91.50 $91.50 $1,185 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1245 1039 85-90% 7 68.00–77.50 $71.75 $745 —
1020–1085 1053 85-90% 2 79.50 $79.50 $837 +10.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1770 1578 6 100.50–111.00 $106.13 $1,675 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 885.00 $885.00
1350 1350 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 620.00–775.00 $697.50

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 925.00 $925.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 105.00 $105.00 $504 —

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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.