Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 1, 2024

190 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 $273.33/cwt +14.42 vs last sale · ≈ $1,287/hd at 471 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 190 167 285
Feeder cattle 106 109 194
Slaughter cattle 69 57 70
Replacement cattle 15 1 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaker cows gauging 3.00 higher, with boning and lean cows 1.00 to 4.00 lower. No comparisons available for slaughter bulls and feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts.

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
380 380 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,254 +2.09
481 value added 481 4 314.00 $314.00 $1,510 -8.50
515 515 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,390 —
748 748 2 211.00 $211.00 $1,578 —
920 920 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,840 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
579 579 4 260.00 $260.00 $1,505 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 280.00 $280.00 $714 —
360–390 378 3 290.00–305.00 $295.61 $1,117 +21.93
430 430 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,118 —
470 470 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,198 -3.91
468–478 value added 471 9 273.00–280.00 $275.37 $1,297 —
500–540 523 5 230.00–240.00 $237.04 $1,240 —
583–598 591 8 229.00–240.00 $234.57 $1,386 —
795 795 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,471 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 265.00 $265.00 $755 —
485 485 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,200 —
520 520 1 217.50 $217.50 $1,131 —

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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 1 325.00 $325.00 $861 —
385 385 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,174 —
430 430 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,204 -42.50
465 465 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,302 -10.00
505–507 507 4 270.00–282.50 $279.38 $1,416 —
575–590 583 2 250.00–263.00 $256.42 $1,495 +5.42
607–635 616 5 220.00–231.00 $226.50 $1,395 +24.50
690 690 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,484 +5.00
730 730 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,533 -3.00
945 945 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,606 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–325 317 3 252.50–280.00 $261.18 $828 —
385 385 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,059 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,101 -39.98
515 515 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,172 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1535 1535 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 2,350.00 $2,350.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845 845 80-85% 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,056 —
1040–1240 1127 80-85% 6 126.00–129.00 $127.52 $1,437 —
850–1415 1197 80-85% 11 112.00–125.00 $119.80 $1,434 —
1115–1355 1197 80-85% 3 98.00–109.00 $104.54 $1,251 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1730 1403 75-80% 13 117.00–129.00 $123.40 $1,731 —
1565 1565 75-80% 1 135.00 $135.00 $2,113 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775–960 868 85-90% 2 111.00–121.00 $116.53 $1,011 —
895–960 928 85-90% 2 116.00–119.00 $117.55 $1,091 —
850–1010 930 85-90% 2 100.00–101.00 $100.46 $934 —
775–1110 963 85-90% 7 105.00–112.00 $107.83 $1,038 -16.19

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–2195 1580 4 135.00–151.00 $143.20 $2,263 —
1815 1815 1 157.00 $157.00 $2,850 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 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 1,775.00 $1,775.00
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,860.00 $1,860.00
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,700.00 $1,700.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,125.00 $1,125.00

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,063 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,775.00 $1,775.00 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1440 1303 85-90% 4 104.00–113.00 $108.68 $1,416 —
1620–1715 1668 75-80% 2 110.00–111.00 $110.49 $1,843 —

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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.