Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 28, 2024

377 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 heifers $240.63/cwt +11.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,263/hd at 525 lb · 16 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $244.28/cwt -4.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,408/hd at 576 lb · 13 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $242.53/cwt -18.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,164/hd at 480 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 377 337 169
Feeder cattle 248 173 111
Slaughter cattle 121 135 48
Replacement cattle 8 29 10

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 7.00 higher overall. No comparisons available for slaughter bulls or feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts. Higher-quality feeder offerings for this week's sale was noted.

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
265 265 1 320.00 $320.00 $848 ±0.00
390 390 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,248 +16.80
400 400 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,300 —
485 485 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,455 +10.00
505 value added 505 1 281.00 $281.00 $1,419 —
540 540 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,404 -27.50
585 585 1 261.00 $261.00 $1,527 -4.00
600–640 620 2 258.00–265.00 $261.39 $1,621 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625 625 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,500 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,096 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 328 2 270.00 $270.00 $886 +10.98
355–390 377 11 267.50–285.00 $270.02 $1,018 +21.51
401–405 402 5 244.00–250.00 $245.21 $986 -2.29
405–415 value added 410 2 260.00–261.00 $260.49 $1,068 —
418–445 fancy 427 3 267.50–275.00 $272.39 $1,163 —
458–485 463 5 217.50–220.00 $219.48 $1,016 -41.26
473–499 492 7 259.00 $259.00 $1,274 -1.74
510 value added 510 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,339 —
500–540 524 8 212.00–232.50 $223.61 $1,172 -7.03
514–547 fancy 528 7 250.00–262.50 $256.95 $1,357 —
560 fancy 560 2 236.00 $236.00 $1,322 —
560–595 568 8 210.00–222.50 $215.60 $1,225 +10.60
605–635 619 5 215.00–235.00 $224.64 $1,391 -9.53
660 660 1 213.00 $213.00 $1,406 -13.29
660 660 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,221 -41.29
711 fancy 711 6 213.00 $213.00 $1,514 —
710–735 723 4 180.00–205.00 $188.64 $1,364 +8.64
755–770 764 6 180.00–199.00 $186.26 $1,423 —
860 value added 860 2 171.00 $171.00 $1,471 —

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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 2 310.00 $310.00 $992 +34.24
325 fancy 325 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,138 —
355–385 375 8 300.00–335.00 $324.52 $1,217 +6.27
420 420 1 297.50 $297.50 $1,250 +2.40
453–487 472 10 270.00–305.00 $291.92 $1,378 +17.47
530–546 541 6 269.00–275.00 $273.35 $1,479 +28.83
555 fancy 555 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,471 —
553–595 575 10 232.50–257.00 $246.26 $1,416 -2.22
593 593 2 224.00 $224.00 $1,328 -24.48
615 fancy 615 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,538 —
623–645 633 5 216.00–242.50 $227.84 $1,442 -26.38
685 685 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,480 +8.25
720 720 1 196.00 $196.00 $1,411 —
805 805 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,449 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,152 —
505 505 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,250 +15.50

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795–965 867 85-90% 3 109.00–123.00 $117.23 $1,016 —
715–1070 886 85-90% 9 84.00–89.00 $86.17 $763 —
880–1160 1009 85-90% 14 95.00–106.00 $100.17 $1,011 —
1015 1015 85-90% 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,157 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1325 1116 80-85% 22 105.00–121.00 $111.89 $1,249 —
1170 1170 80-85% 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,112 -15.45
1080–1375 1228 80-85% 2 123.00–130.00 $126.08 $1,548 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1570 1275 75-80% 10 109.00–124.00 $116.47 $1,485 —
1095–1530 1343 75-80% 5 127.00–130.00 $128.38 $1,724 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1645 1485 2 125.00–134.00 $129.98 $1,930 +22.98
1995 1995 1 139.00 $139.00 $2,773 —

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750 750 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
800 800 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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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 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,325.00 $1,325.00 —

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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.