Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 3, 2023

285 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest East Tennessee Livestock Center report →

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $215.76/cwt +7.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,018/hd at 472 lb · 10 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $211.06/cwt +10.92 vs last sale · ≈ $823/hd at 390 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 285 276 228
Feeder cattle 194 199 135
Slaughter cattle 70 69 80
Replacement cattle 21 8 13

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaker and boning cows mostly steady overall, with lean cows 7.00 to 8.00 higher, and slaughter bulls 1.00 to 2.00 higher. No comparisons available for feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts, but a higher undertone was 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
310 310 1 250.00 $250.00 $775 —
375–385 380 3 252.50–262.50 $257.96 $980 —
405–445 420 3 215.00–228.00 $220.81 $927 —
455–485 464 4 219.00–230.00 $222.81 $1,034 —
510–530 517 5 205.00–228.00 $216.29 $1,118 —
580–590 585 2 190.00–194.00 $192.02 $1,123 —
655–685 670 2 191.00–201.00 $195.89 $1,312 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385–390 388 2 227.50–230.00 $228.76 $888 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–399 390 10 204.00–219.00 $211.06 $823 +18.41
410 fancy 410 1 222.00 $222.00 $910 +11.00
413 413 2 180.00 $180.00 $743 -8.03
410–440 420 3 185.00–190.00 $187.56 $788 -0.47
470 fancy 470 1 211.00 $211.00 $992 —
470–490 484 4 179.00–203.00 $189.13 $915 -7.91
500–540 518 6 183.00–205.00 $192.77 $999 +15.40
550 fancy 550 1 208.00 $208.00 $1,144 —
565 565 1 171.00 $171.00 $966 -4.82
565–585 577 3 178.00–195.00 $186.07 $1,074 +10.25
600 600 2 179.00 $179.00 $1,074 —
650–695 673 2 140.00–154.00 $146.77 $988 —
720 720 1 125.00 $125.00 $900 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 185.00 $185.00 $722 —
470 470 1 166.00 $166.00 $780 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 182.00 $182.00 $701 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–320 313 3 225.00–232.50 $229.15 $717 +18.00
370–390 380 4 228.00–242.00 $236.94 $900 +19.21
400–440 412 5 218.00–225.00 $220.85 $910 +5.85
450–490 472 10 209.00–222.50 $215.76 $1,018 +7.62
500–535 517 5 197.50–219.00 $204.63 $1,058 +13.62
568 568 2 199.00 $199.00 $1,130 +19.00
635 635 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,035 -3.94
640 640 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,184 +18.06
660–690 678 4 176.00–185.00 $179.48 $1,217 -15.52
750–795 773 2 165.00–170.00 $167.57 $1,295 —
850 850 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,130 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 202.50 $202.50 $526 +45.00
385 385 1 210.00 $210.00 $808 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 219.00 $219.00 $777 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–1440 1059 80-85% 9 87.50–94.00 $90.36 $957 -1.44
990–1310 1150 80-85% 2 81.50–86.50 $83.65 $962 —
995–1400 1176 80-85% 6 99.00–108.50 $103.40 $1,216 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865–1105 943 85-90% 4 70.00–73.00 $72.05 $679 —
915–1185 1046 85-90% 13 78.00–88.00 $84.82 $887 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 75-80% 1 86.00 $86.00 $972 —
1175–1450 1329 75-80% 5 88.50–95.50 $92.31 $1,227 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,348 —
1385–1665 1513 4 118.50–126.00 $123.29 $1,865 —
1970 1970 1 132.00 $132.00 $2,600 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,040.00 $1,040.00
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 910.00 $910.00
1000–1050 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,030.00–1,040.00 $1,035.00
1050–1150 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,030.00–1,250.00 $1,132.50
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850–900 875 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,070.00–1,125.00 $1,097.50

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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
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,040.00 $1,040.00 —

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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.