Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 24, 2023

128 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 128 194 261
Feeder cattle 61 116 137
Slaughter cattle 51 52 98
Replacement cattle 16 26 26

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter classes- breaker/boning gauging 4.00 to 6.00 higher with lean cows being steady, and slaughter bulls 2.00 to 3.00 higher. 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
220 value added 220 1 200.00 $200.00 $440 —
313–325 317 3 200.00–219.00 $206.49 $655 -28.51
530 530 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,214 +19.00
670 670 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,240 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 175.00 $175.00 $420 —
305 305 1 175.00 $175.00 $534 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
293 293 2 150.00 $150.00 $440 -50.00
300 value added 300 1 239.00 $239.00 $717 —
375–380 378 2 223.00–227.00 $225.01 $851 +33.79
435–445 440 2 212.50–215.00 $213.74 $940 +34.24
460–495 473 3 185.00–193.00 $188.43 $891 +0.41
455–495 475 2 140.00–155.00 $147.82 $702 -40.20
598 598 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,017 —
600 600 2 202.00–208.00 $205.00 $1,230 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 195.00 $195.00 $595 —
385–390 388 2 170.00–175.00 $172.48 $669 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 220.00 $220.00 $704 —
385–390 387 3 224.00–245.00 $234.62 $908 +19.62
410–440 423 6 227.50–240.00 $236.15 $999 +20.27
450–485 471 4 227.50–240.00 $232.37 $1,094 +27.56
510–540 525 2 229.00–239.00 $233.86 $1,228 +31.41
555–595 566 4 225.00–233.00 $229.24 $1,297 +27.24
620 620 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,370 +36.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 170.00 $170.00 $706 —
450 450 1 162.00 $162.00 $729 —
635 635 2 162.50–187.00 $174.75 $1,110 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1145 1017 85-90% 13 80.00–93.50 $87.32 $888 +12.33
1055–1385 1220 85-90% 2 94.50–96.00 $95.35 $1,163 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1410 1186 80-85% 14 96.50–111.00 $104.01 $1,234 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1520 1353 75-80% 6 101.00–115.00 $109.63 $1,483 —
1590 1590 75-80% 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,876 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–1425 1418 2 117.00–118.00 $117.50 $1,666 —
1345–2170 1754 4 126.00–135.50 $130.25 $2,285 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,100.00–1,400.00 $1,220.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 840.00 $840.00

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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 2 1,730.00 $1,730.00 —

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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.