Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 15, 2023

232 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 232 191 248
Feeder cattle 170 124 104
Slaughter cattle 56 57 139
Replacement cattle 6 10 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 7.00 lower overall, with no comparisons available for slaughter bulls and feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts, but a lower undertone noted.

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
455 value added 455 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,046 —
465–480 473 2 210.00–220.00 $215.08 $1,017 —
560–565 563 2 211.00–226.00 $218.47 $1,230 —
675–680 678 2 185.00–205.00 $194.96 $1,322 —
685 685 1 179.00 $179.00 $1,226 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 190.00 $190.00 $390 —
355 355 1 205.00 $205.00 $728 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–395 375 3 210.00–220.00 $216.15 $811 +6.15
400–445 429 7 197.50–216.00 $211.79 $909 +0.80
458–485 467 3 180.00–185.00 $183.27 $856 -10.73
470 fancy 470 1 205.00 $205.00 $964 —
470–475 473 2 170.00 $170.00 $804 -24.00
500 fancy 500 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,025 —
505–540 530 7 177.00–190.00 $183.43 $972 -9.08
578–585 580 3 182.00–188.00 $185.98 $1,079 -8.53
610 610 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,068 -4.76
615 615 1 161.00 $161.00 $990 -18.76
658 value added 658 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,119 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 175.00 $175.00 $481 -20.00
350–395 373 2 175.00–180.00 $177.35 $662 —
560 560 1 167.00 $167.00 $935 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 185.00 $185.00 $398 —
350 350 1 160.00 $160.00 $560 —
450 450 1 157.50 $157.50 $709 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 276 6 190.00–215.00 $197.51 $545 —
330 330 1 210.00 $210.00 $693 -30.00
385 385 1 255.00 $255.00 $982 +1.64
400–435 421 4 210.00–230.00 $222.12 $935 -14.75
450 fancy 450 2 235.00 $235.00 $1,058 —
460 460 1 195.00 $195.00 $897 -3.00
520 520 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,040 +12.50
550–585 571 5 194.00–210.00 $200.30 $1,144 -5.00
615 615 1 174.00 $174.00 $1,070 -2.25
635–640 638 2 190.00–205.00 $197.47 $1,260 +21.22
650 650 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,170 +10.00
710 710 1 159.00 $159.00 $1,129 —
840 840 1 149.00 $149.00 $1,252 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 185.00 $185.00 $518 —
305 305 1 185.00 $185.00 $564 +21.52
395 395 1 172.50 $172.50 $681 —
400–405 403 2 177.50–207.50 $192.41 $775 -12.59
465–475 470 3 145.00–180.00 $163.28 $767 —
610 610 2 137.50–175.00 $156.25 $953 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 185.00 $185.00 $657 -52.50
545 545 1 175.00 $175.00 $954 —
660 660 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,056 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1555 1350 75-80% 2 85.00–85.50 $85.29 $1,151 —
1105–1675 1423 75-80% 10 92.50–102.00 $96.36 $1,371 -3.56
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1190 1111 80-85% 6 87.00–96.00 $90.73 $1,008 —
1160 1160 80-85% 1 104.50 $104.50 $1,212 -8.79
1250 1250 80-85% 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,062 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870 870 85-90% 1 69.00 $69.00 $600 —
950–1095 1020 85-90% 4 75.00–80.50 $77.58 $791 —
1185 1185 85-90% 1 88.50 $88.50 $1,049 +0.45

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1420 1325 2 113.00–116.00 $114.39 $1,516 —
1445 1445 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,878 —
1320–1730 1525 2 105.50–110.00 $108.05 $1,648 —

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Bred Cows

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 124.00 $124.00 $403 —

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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.