Cattle Market Pulse

East Tennessee Livestock Center Market Report

Sweetwater, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 30, 2024

304 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest East Tennessee Livestock Center report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $230.14/cwt +2.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,217/hd at 529 lb · 16 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $231.28/cwt +2.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,113/hd at 481 lb · 12 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $238.35/cwt +3.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,010/hd at 424 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 304 282 234
Feeder cattle 216 210 155
Slaughter cattle 84 62 70
Replacement cattle 4 10 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaker cows 4.00 higher, boning cows 1.00 lower, lean cows 9.00 lower, and slaughter bulls 3.00 lower. No comparisons available for feeder classes due to limited comparable receipts.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,080 -16.38
424 424 4 303.00 $303.00 $1,285 +17.18
455–475 468 3 260.00–285.00 $275.21 $1,288 +5.21
500–545 511 4 231.00–260.00 $244.45 $1,249 -23.05
555–595 579 9 232.00–254.00 $241.41 $1,398 +11.41
618–646 633 8 244.00–259.00 $250.73 $1,587 +7.22
780 780 1 211.00 $211.00 $1,646 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 237.50 $237.50 $1,140 —
580 580 1 213.00 $213.00 $1,235 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 255.00 $255.00 $790 —
360 360 1 218.00 $218.00 $785 -17.97
355–395 373 4 230.00–255.00 $243.19 $907 +7.22
420 420 1 220.00 $220.00 $924 -14.59
405–445 424 10 228.00–249.00 $240.19 $1,018 +5.60
450–490 479 9 226.00–249.00 $234.92 $1,125 +5.99
475–495 488 3 219.00–221.00 $220.35 $1,075 -8.58
500–545 524 9 217.00–232.00 $225.24 $1,180 -2.78
505–547 value added 535 7 235.50–239.00 $236.44 $1,265 —
560–595 578 5 216.00–221.00 $219.41 $1,268 -4.38
590 590 1 208.00 $208.00 $1,227 -15.79
620–645 638 4 209.00–223.00 $219.49 $1,400 +0.49
655–665 660 2 211.00–214.00 $212.49 $1,402 —
700–720 710 2 205.00–206.00 $205.51 $1,459 —
720 value added 720 3 209.00 $209.00 $1,505 —
763–795 771 4 182.00–192.00 $189.42 $1,460 —
805 805 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,489 —
855 value added 855 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,616 —
878 878 2 182.00 $182.00 $1,598 —
900 900 1 172.00 $172.00 $1,548 —
1005 1005 2 172.50 $172.50 $1,734 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–320 318 2 220.00–234.00 $227.06 $722 -5.44
355 355 1 220.00 $220.00 $781 —
455 455 1 213.00 $213.00 $969 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 212.50 $212.50 $638 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–390 371 6 290.00–302.50 $296.00 $1,098 -1.60
415–448 431 9 250.00–300.00 $274.98 $1,185 -4.27
445 445 1 242.00 $242.00 $1,077 -37.25
468–495 475 4 240.00–255.00 $243.91 $1,159 -19.87
510–540 523 7 227.50–255.00 $247.20 $1,293 +22.20
560–580 569 6 219.00–231.00 $226.55 $1,289 +0.35
610 610 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,250 -0.73
605–635 620 2 216.00–224.00 $219.90 $1,363 +14.17
670 670 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,407 -7.55
710–743 735 4 197.00–209.00 $199.90 $1,469 +9.22
755 755 1 182.50 $182.50 $1,378 +9.36
770–780 775 2 197.00–198.00 $197.50 $1,531 +24.36
858–875 864 3 180.00–183.00 $181.99 $1,572 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 250.00 $250.00 $725 —
385 385 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,020 +10.00
590 590 1 211.00 $211.00 $1,245 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 328 2 266.00–269.00 $267.47 $877 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 240.00 $240.00 $708 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1055 975 85-90% 3 84.00–89.00 $86.25 $841 —
1020–1230 1146 85-90% 9 96.00–109.00 $101.09 $1,158 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1235 1114 80-85% 6 114.00–123.00 $118.73 $1,323 —
925–1415 1193 80-85% 3 107.00–108.00 $107.74 $1,285 -11.85
1350 1350 80-85% 1 133.50 $133.50 $1,802 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1625 1400 75-80% 8 118.00–135.00 $127.28 $1,782 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1185 1010 3 125.00–138.00 $132.97 $1,343 —
1220–2140 1671 8 135.00–150.50 $141.01 $2,356 —
1865 1865 1 160.00 $160.00 $2,984 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1300 1300 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,850.00 $1,850.00
1450 1450 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,725.00 $1,725.00
1500 1500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 205.00 $205.00 $574 —
305 305 1 202.50 $202.50 $618 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1130 1040 85-90% 2 89.00–94.00 $91.72 $954 —
1040 1040 80-85% 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,227 —
975–1465 1148 85-90% 8 104.00–114.00 $107.23 $1,231 —
1365–1635 1500 75-80% 2 108.00–111.00 $109.64 $1,645 —

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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.