Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 11, 2023

321 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $215.38/cwt +7.88 vs last sale · ≈ $926/hd at 430 lb · 13 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $179.04/cwt -20.00 vs last sale · ≈ $828/hd at 463 lb · 11 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $189.23/cwt ≈ $714/hd at 377 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 321 269 290
Feeder cattle 228 199 196
Slaughter cattle 71 60 79
Replacement cattle 22 10 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to this market last week, all feeder classes sharply lower however, value added cattle were in high demand. Slaughter classes steady to 3.00 higher.

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
225 225 1 225.00 $225.00 $506 —
400 400 1 220.00 $220.00 $880 -17.50
465–480 473 2 183.00–212.50 $197.98 $936 -62.02
490 value added 490 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,176 —
500–525 513 2 205.00–220.00 $212.32 $1,089 -15.73
580–595 587 3 210.00–215.00 $211.99 $1,244 -15.53
610 value added 610 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,427 —
610–620 617 3 185.00–200.00 $191.70 $1,183 -8.30
650 value added 650 3 212.00–234.00 $226.67 $1,473 —
650–685 663 3 167.50–182.00 $173.31 $1,149 -45.22
849 value added 849 4 212.50 $212.50 $1,804 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 155.00 $155.00 $566 —
405 405 1 200.00 $200.00 $810 —
475–490 483 2 142.50–159.00 $150.88 $729 —
535 535 1 140.00 $140.00 $749 —
550 550 1 165.00 $165.00 $908 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–220 218 2 205.00–230.00 $217.36 $474 —
310–345 326 4 152.50–179.00 $162.00 $528 —
370 value added 370 2 195.00 $195.00 $722 —
365–390 379 8 180.00–190.00 $187.79 $712 —
410–435 value added 423 2 180.00–205.00 $192.13 $813 —
410–440 425 3 160.00–180.00 $168.10 $714 -43.05
450–455 value added 454 6 190.00–197.50 $191.25 $868 —
460–490 473 5 150.00–182.50 $164.39 $778 -29.00
520–535 528 2 147.50–155.00 $151.20 $798 -46.78
575–595 585 5 173.00–183.00 $177.40 $1,038 +5.24
640 640 1 122.50 $122.50 $784 -54.13
665 665 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,091 —
655–680 668 2 122.50–132.50 $127.59 $852 —
753–780 762 3 132.50–154.00 $146.66 $1,118 —
795 value added 795 1 159.00 $159.00 $1,264 —
880 880 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,144 —
1160 1160 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,346 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 180.00 $180.00 $513 —
355–370 363 2 170.00 $170.00 $617 —
400–430 415 2 150.00–156.00 $153.11 $635 —
450 450 1 150.00 $150.00 $675 —
465 value added 465 1 157.50 $157.50 $732 —
500 500 1 130.00 $130.00 $650 —
580–595 587 3 140.00–142.50 $140.85 $827 —
580–595 value added 588 2 154.00–160.00 $157.04 $923 —
680 680 1 115.00 $115.00 $782 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 169.00 $169.00 $760 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 200.00 $200.00 $530 -23.18
355 value added 355 2 235.00 $235.00 $834 —
380–390 385 2 180.00–202.00 $190.86 $735 -40.03
415–440 430 13 209.00–218.00 $215.38 $926 +7.88
490–495 493 2 190.00–204.00 $196.96 $971 +4.46
500–513 fancy 509 3 190.00–198.00 $195.38 $994 —
510–525 518 2 185.00–190.00 $187.46 $971 —
575 575 1 174.00 $174.00 $1,000 -2.70
600–637 632 7 166.00–169.00 $166.41 $1,052 -0.48
665–675 670 4 156.00–161.00 $158.74 $1,064 -18.76
710–740 725 2 141.00–155.00 $147.86 $1,072 —
755–790 763 8 137.00–140.00 $137.38 $1,048 -7.62
848 848 2 125.00 $125.00 $1,060 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–335 318 2 145.00–152.50 $148.54 $472 —
350–390 370 2 180.00–207.50 $193.01 $714 —
435 435 1 191.00 $191.00 $831 -4.00
455–490 473 2 140.00–195.00 $166.48 $787 —
525–535 530 2 160.00–170.00 $165.05 $875 —
740 740 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,043 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1120 1038 85-90% 2 68.00–69.50 $68.69 $713 —
870–1630 1059 85-90% 14 73.00–84.50 $79.00 $837 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1145 1080 80-85% 2 78.00–79.00 $78.47 $847 -4.06
945–1330 1094 80-85% 8 80.50–89.50 $84.85 $928 +2.32
1020–1285 1135 80-85% 3 94.50–98.00 $95.87 $1,088 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1595 1355 75-80% 3 104.50–109.50 $106.60 $1,444 +18.37
1240–1975 1625 75-80% 9 85.50–95.50 $89.92 $1,461 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–2125 1708 6 118.00–129.00 $122.90 $2,099 —
1550–1955 1715 3 100.00–113.00 $107.05 $1,836 —
1760 1760 1 132.00 $132.00 $2,323 +20.15

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 6 810.00–870.00 $840.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 960.00 $960.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00

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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.