Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 18, 2022

200 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 200 226 246
Feeder cattle 118 138 158
Slaughter cattle 72 70 62
Replacement cattle 10 18 26

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 5.00 higher overall with slaughter bulls remaining mostly steady. 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
410–445 432 3 165.00–180.00 $174.53 $754 —
475 475 1 167.00 $167.00 $793 —
535 535 2 170.00–172.00 $171.00 $915 -13.00
535 fancy 535 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,006 —
555–595 578 5 155.00–169.00 $164.96 $953 —
635 635 1 154.00 $154.00 $978 -6.00
658–690 681 7 154.00–170.00 $158.42 $1,079 —
715 715 2 139.00 $139.00 $994 —
765 765 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,079 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 153.00 $153.00 $597 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–385 380 2 138.00–140.00 $138.99 $528 -3.42
400–415 408 2 139.00–142.00 $140.47 $573 +1.15
455–490 466 6 140.00–150.00 $146.99 $685 +3.95
510–530 520 2 134.00–139.00 $136.45 $710 +0.68
560–585 569 5 132.00–142.00 $136.95 $779 +1.41
610–618 616 9 139.00 $139.00 $856 +6.38
650 650 1 127.00 $127.00 $826 —
745 745 1 111.00 $111.00 $827 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 132.00 $132.00 $462 —
520–530 525 2 117.00–122.00 $119.48 $627 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–385 372 3 160.00–180.00 $169.87 $632 -5.49
425–435 430 2 158.00–159.00 $158.51 $682 -7.49
460 460 1 155.00 $155.00 $713 +5.00
673 673 2 139.00 $139.00 $935 +5.00
810 810 1 104.00 $104.00 $842 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 130.00 $130.00 $552 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1370 1195 80-85% 14 80.50–91.00 $85.72 $1,024 +5.16
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1885 1362 75-80% 11 81.00–91.50 $87.54 $1,192 —
1350–1590 1465 75-80% 3 93.50–95.00 $94.00 $1,377 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065 1065 85-90% 1 80.00 $80.00 $852 —
950–1260 1105 85-90% 5 75.00–78.00 $76.55 $846 +3.55
1255 1255 85-90% 1 89.50 $89.50 $1,123 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1745 1633 5 108.00–115.00 $111.30 $1,818 —
1825 1825 1 122.00 $122.00 $2,226 +10.97

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)Open 2 700.00 $700.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
1200–1300 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 910.00–980.00 $945.00
1450 1450 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 112.00 $112.00 $571 —

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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.