Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 13, 2023

249 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $218.84/cwt -6.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,129/hd at 516 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 249 313 318
Feeder cattle 182 244 216
Slaughter cattle 60 63 98
Replacement cattle 7 6 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows and bulls holding mostly steady overall, with exception of breaker cows 4.00 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
380 380 1 207.50 $207.50 $788 —
448 448 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,030 —
450 450 1 220.00 $220.00 $990 -45.00
545 545 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,308 -3.29
580 580 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,218 -37.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 value added 460 1 200.00 $200.00 $920 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 value added 320 1 220.00 $220.00 $704 —
380 380 1 210.00 $210.00 $798 -12.50
395 value added 395 1 220.00 $220.00 $869 —
420 value added 420 1 210.00 $210.00 $882 —
445 thin fleshed 445 2 204.00 $204.00 $908 —
460 460 1 204.00 $204.00 $938 -9.79
475–490 483 5 219.00–225.00 $220.82 $1,067 +7.03
500–548 535 6 193.00–217.00 $201.16 $1,076 -10.92
555–585 570 4 193.00–205.00 $200.55 $1,143 -10.93
610–625 618 9 205.00–206.00 $205.78 $1,272 +9.06
655 655 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,179 -24.00
650–699 675 8 189.00–206.00 $197.19 $1,331 -6.81
700–745 723 2 160.00–180.00 $170.31 $1,231 -18.69
850 850 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,496 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 297 5 210.00 $210.00 $624 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 267.50 $267.50 $896 -2.50
355 value added 355 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,065 —
370–380 377 4 240.00–245.00 $242.51 $914 -16.49
427–435 429 4 234.00–235.00 $234.75 $1,007 -8.56
452–490 470 7 210.00–222.00 $214.72 $1,009 -14.29
505–540 516 12 203.00–230.00 $218.84 $1,129 -6.12
550–595 577 7 200.00–217.00 $210.24 $1,213 +3.24
610–615 612 6 203.00–211.00 $208.32 $1,275 -2.68
680–695 688 2 180.00 $180.00 $1,238 —
710–740 721 4 175.00–182.00 $179.70 $1,296 -3.30
755 755 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,291 ±0.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
448 448 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,008 —
467 467 3 206.00 $206.00 $962 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 237.50 $237.50 $689 —
355 355 1 230.00 $230.00 $816 —
545 545 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,090 -0.49
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 192.50 $192.50 $914 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1615 1195 80-85% 11 95.50–110.00 $102.81 $1,229 —
1195 1195 80-85% 1 91.50 $91.50 $1,093 —
1165–1440 1303 80-85% 2 112.50–119.00 $116.09 $1,513 -1.41
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1700 1442 75-80% 11 100.00–114.00 $107.73 $1,553 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875 875 85-90% 1 80.00 $80.00 $700 —
935–1120 1018 85-90% 4 84.00–94.00 $90.77 $924 +2.85

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1670–2180 1942 5 127.50–134.50 $130.14 $2,527 -1.64

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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) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00

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Dairy Steers

Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 137.50 $137.50 $688 —

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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.