Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 17, 2024

226 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 heifers $243.99/cwt +1.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,158/hd at 475 lb · 15 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $282.47/cwt +2.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,359/hd at 481 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 226 178 185
Feeder cattle 172 97 124
Slaughter cattle 48 70 53
Replacement cattle 6 11 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows measuring 2.00 lower overall, with no comparisons available for feeder classes or slaughter bulls due to limited comparable receipts, but a lower undertone was noted for slaughter bulls.

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
325 325 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,056 -25.00
360 360 2 300.00–305.00 $302.50 $1,089 —
440–443 value added 442 3 302.50–320.00 $308.31 $1,363 —
450–485 465 4 280.00–312.50 $296.56 $1,379 -8.44
500–525 513 3 285.00–287.00 $285.68 $1,466 —
531 value added 531 4 303.00 $303.00 $1,609 —
555–590 573 3 265.00–272.00 $268.95 $1,541 +23.95
660–690 680 3 230.00–255.00 $244.85 $1,665 —
780–790 785 2 220.00–225.00 $222.48 $1,746 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–245 225 2 265.00–282.50 $274.53 $618 —
285 285 1 256.00 $256.00 $730 +1.00
285–290 value added 289 7 280.00–281.00 $280.86 $812 —
320 320 1 265.00 $265.00 $848 ±0.00
345 value added 345 2 270.00 $270.00 $932 —
360 value added 360 1 270.00 $270.00 $972 —
375–398 390 3 245.00–255.00 $251.80 $982 —
400–445 420 4 247.50–265.00 $253.18 $1,063 -30.62
435 435 1 225.00 $225.00 $979 -58.80
435 value added 435 4 271.00 $271.00 $1,179 —
458–490 470 10 225.00–245.00 $235.06 $1,105 -7.20
450–493 value added 484 5 260.00–270.00 $261.86 $1,267 —
515 value added 515 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,262 —
510–545 528 2 225.00–240.00 $232.25 $1,226 -4.75
550–560 555 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,276 -5.29
615–630 620 3 210.00–212.50 $210.85 $1,307 -29.15
675–695 685 6 200.00–214.00 $208.28 $1,427 —
745 745 2 203.00 $203.00 $1,512 —
770 770 1 167.50 $167.50 $1,290 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 value added 385 1 235.00 $235.00 $905 —
515 515 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,107 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 295.00 $295.00 $767 +10.00
345 345 1 275.00 $275.00 $949 -20.55
350–390 373 6 280.00–312.50 $300.20 $1,120 -9.80
420–435 430 3 270.00–300.00 $279.77 $1,203 -15.23
440 value added 440 2 315.00 $315.00 $1,386 —
465–495 478 8 270.00–290.00 $279.84 $1,338 -2.66
493 value added 493 2 293.00 $293.00 $1,444 —
515–535 525 3 265.00–280.00 $274.90 $1,443 +24.90
558–585 570 4 245.00–247.50 $245.64 $1,400 +3.14
670–685 678 2 195.00–210.00 $202.42 $1,372 -2.58
715 715 1 177.50 $177.50 $1,269 —
780 780 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,482 —
970 970 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,649 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 3 275.00 $275.00 $1,086 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 80-85% 1 104.00 $104.00 $868 —
940–1285 1120 80-85% 13 115.00–125.00 $121.14 $1,357 -2.46
1235 1235 80-85% 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,606 -10.00
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–860 835 85-90% 2 90.00–91.00 $90.51 $756 —
880–1280 1085 85-90% 3 100.00–109.00 $105.89 $1,149 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1510 1390 75-80% 4 116.00–131.00 $122.63 $1,705 +5.96

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1970 1738 3 145.00–151.00 $149.27 $2,594 -11.42
1930–2180 2055 2 162.00–169.00 $165.29 $3,397 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 3 237.50 $237.50 $914 —
500 500 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,100 —
565 565 1 223.00 $223.00 $1,260 —

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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
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,590.00 $1,590.00 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1425 1307 85-90% 3 99.00–117.00 $110.69 $1,447 —
1405–1815 1597 80-85% 3 116.00–119.00 $117.86 $1,882 —
1710–2010 1835 75-80% 3 109.00–111.00 $109.95 $2,018 —

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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.