Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 3, 2024

206 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 206 109 166
Feeder cattle 99 58 71
Slaughter cattle 94 40 93
Replacement cattle 13 11 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to no sale last week in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 2 232.00 $232.00 $986 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
710 710 1 204.00 $204.00 $1,448 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 3 207.50–212.50 $209.17 $638 —
375 375 2 224.00 $224.00 $840 +24.96
405–430 424 6 212.50–226.00 $219.09 $929 +15.19
460–498 480 4 218.00–230.00 $222.57 $1,068 +19.21
540 540 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,080 +28.45
588 588 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,117 +10.00
640 640 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,216 +10.96
704 value added 704 6 182.00 $182.00 $1,281 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 187.50 $187.50 $619 +35.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 251.00 $251.00 $904 +18.16
365 fancy 365 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,068 —
400 400 2 230.00–245.00 $237.50 $950 +2.50
430 fancy 430 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,140 —
527 527 3 228.00 $228.00 $1,202 +18.00
578–581 580 8 216.00–225.00 $219.36 $1,272 +37.36
590 590 1 177.50 $177.50 $1,047 -4.50
660–698 690 5 182.00–185.00 $182.57 $1,260 —
860 860 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,204 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
444 444 4 210.00 $210.00 $932 +45.52
640 640 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,056 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1225 1225 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 1,420.00 $1,420.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1205 1135 80-85% 3 97.00–101.00 $99.07 $1,124 +20.79
1005–1475 1212 80-85% 19 82.00–95.00 $88.69 $1,075 -8.38
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380 1380 75-80% 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,435 +16.56
1125–1940 1573 75-80% 16 90.00–101.00 $95.57 $1,503 —
1340–1885 1613 75-80% 2 81.00–84.00 $82.75 $1,335 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1210 1095 85-90% 3 71.00–75.00 $73.21 $802 -0.79
1015–1370 1187 85-90% 6 80.00–85.50 $82.26 $976 —
1225 1225 85-90% 1 93.50 $93.50 $1,145 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290 1290 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,329 —
1395–1950 1666 8 119.00–130.00 $124.06 $2,067 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–1000 975 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 990.00 $990.00
1200 1200 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 825.00 $825.00
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750–800 775 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 725.00–850.00 $787.50

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825 825 1 107.50 $107.50 $887 —

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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.