Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 21, 2024

337 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 $277.50/cwt +11.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,309/hd at 472 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 337 324 191
Feeder cattle 173 224 123
Slaughter cattle 135 71 59
Replacement cattle 29 29 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to reporter absence last week. Today's head sale included a fancy set of mostly black young to mid-aged bred cows and heifers and cow/calf pairs from a herd sell-out.

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
275 275 2 320.00 $320.00 $880 —
305 305 1 302.00 $302.00 $921 —
355–378 370 3 300.00–310.00 $303.20 $1,122 +23.20
488 value added 488 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,513 —
489 489 4 290.00 $290.00 $1,418 —
545 545 1 287.50 $287.50 $1,567 -2.50
595 595 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,577 —
658 658 2 255.00 $255.00 $1,678 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 275.00 $275.00 $839 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 326 5 247.50–270.00 $259.02 $844 +11.67
362–375 365 8 248.00–250.00 $248.51 $907 +24.81
365 fancy 365 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,022 +20.00
400 400 1 247.50 $247.50 $990 +12.50
412 412 3 263.00 $263.00 $1,084 +28.00
465–475 470 5 242.50–267.00 $260.74 $1,225 +33.04
505 505 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,111 +3.76
505–540 519 5 227.50–233.00 $230.64 $1,197 +14.40
565 565 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,158 -11.00
585 value added 585 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,404 —
605–620 610 3 232.50–235.00 $234.17 $1,428 +25.69
655–665 662 3 222.00–235.00 $226.29 $1,498 +29.29
740 value added 740 2 205.00 $205.00 $1,517 —
745 745 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,341 -4.26
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 200.00 $200.00 $540 —
305 305 1 235.00 $235.00 $717 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 220.00 $220.00 $968 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 323 4 260.00–305.00 $275.76 $891 +0.76
350–390 362 4 310.00–322.50 $318.25 $1,152 +16.04
400–420 406 6 275.00–320.00 $295.10 $1,198 +26.76
470 fancy 470 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,434 —
452–493 472 9 265.00–285.00 $274.45 $1,295 +8.72
500–505 503 2 260.00–267.50 $263.73 $1,327 +38.64
540–545 543 2 240.00–249.00 $244.52 $1,328 +19.43
565–580 573 2 247.00–250.00 $248.48 $1,424 +16.57
613–645 622 7 250.00–256.00 $254.22 $1,581 +21.54
665 fancy 665 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,646 —
685 685 4 204.00–209.00 $207.75 $1,423 +7.75
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 200.00 $200.00 $600 -57.50
495 495 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,238 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 232.00 $232.00 $1,206 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355 1355 75-80% 2 89.00–94.00 $91.50 $1,240 —
1160–2125 1504 75-80% 29 104.00–120.00 $110.51 $1,662 —
1440–1800 1559 75-80% 4 123.00–133.00 $127.71 $1,991 +23.10
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1430 1162 80-85% 24 100.00–121.00 $110.45 $1,283 —
1220–1420 1321 80-85% 5 122.00–134.00 $127.98 $1,691 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1285 1051 85-90% 8 88.00–99.00 $92.19 $969 -1.91
1120 1120 85-90% 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,232 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125 1125 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,294 —
1460 1460 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,562 -3.00
1425–2015 1772 6 121.00–134.00 $128.72 $2,281 —
1940 1940 1 140.00 $140.00 $2,716 +6.00

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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)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 1,550.00–1,800.00 $1,700.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,550.00–1,600.00 $1,587.50
— — Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00
— — Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,400.00–1,740.00 $1,570.00
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,325.00 $1,325.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00

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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
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,725.00–2,050.00 $1,887.50 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —

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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.