Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 11, 2021

578 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.40/cwt -3.99 vs last sale · ≈ $580/hd at 425 lb · 22 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.41/cwt -4.14 vs last sale · ≈ $634/hd at 475 lb · 21 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.86/cwt -0.12 vs last sale · ≈ $700/hd at 519 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 578 857 397
Feeder cattle 436 711 313
Slaughter cattle 94 87 48
Replacement cattle 48 59 36

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to sale two weeks ago, on a lighter test this week, feeder steers measuring 2.00 to 3.00 lower overall with feeder heifers 1.00 to 2.00 lower, and feeder bulls weighing up to 550 lbs. 3.00 higher and those weighing over 550 lbs. 7.00 lower. Slaughter cows gauging 1.00 to 4.00 higher with slaughter bulls 5.00 to 9.00 higher.

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
360–395 372 6 160.00–167.50 $163.92 $610 -2.25
400–440 414 6 160.00–165.00 $161.17 $667 +4.37
455–495 474 15 150.00–157.00 $153.19 $726 -0.73
510 value added 510 4 154.00 $154.00 $785 —
533–545 536 12 142.00–150.00 $146.95 $788 -4.94
555–583 580 9 136.00–141.00 $140.34 $814 -8.79
587 587 2 127.50 $127.50 $748 -21.63
622 value added 622 2 146.00 $146.00 $908 —
625–645 635 9 128.00–137.00 $131.84 $837 -7.59
655–680 672 5 125.00–133.00 $127.67 $858 -8.98
710 value added 710 1 127.50 $127.50 $905 —
715–735 722 3 120.00 $120.00 $866 -10.00
815 815 1 116.00 $116.00 $945 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465–480 473 2 140.00–142.00 $141.02 $667 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 145.00 $145.00 $631 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–347 334 7 137.50–147.50 $143.57 $480 +1.94
350–392 378 8 135.00–140.00 $136.82 $517 -5.95
400–443 425 22 134.00–142.00 $136.40 $580 -3.87
450–486 475 21 127.50–136.00 $133.41 $634 -4.14
500–545 519 17 130.00–140.00 $134.86 $700 -0.12
550–585 562 13 124.00–132.00 $126.99 $714 -4.25
600–645 617 9 121.00–128.00 $124.30 $767 +3.16
655–685 666 9 112.50–115.00 $113.99 $759 -2.59
667 value added 667 2 120.00 $120.00 $800 —
720–740 730 2 107.50–110.00 $108.73 $794 -0.27
790 790 2 100.00–103.00 $101.50 $802 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472 472 2 125.00 $125.00 $590 —
500–527 522 5 122.00–125.00 $124.42 $649 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–325 311 4 152.50–165.00 $159.37 $496 -3.72
360–375 368 2 157.50–160.00 $158.78 $584 +2.00
400–445 419 13 148.00–160.00 $155.02 $650 +1.76
455–480 461 4 147.00–153.00 $148.56 $685 +5.10
500–545 524 10 131.00–144.00 $138.81 $727 +2.28
550–592 571 7 126.00–136.00 $129.47 $739 -4.86
630–645 639 7 119.00–122.50 $120.58 $771 -9.49
660 660 2 115.00–116.00 $115.50 $762 -7.17
700–745 721 7 107.00–110.00 $109.01 $786 -11.42
755 755 1 106.00 $106.00 $800 -5.49
800–840 820 2 100.00–103.00 $101.46 $832 -7.54
1000 1000 1 90.00 $90.00 $900 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 2 147.50 $147.50 $531 —
405 405 1 145.00 $145.00 $587 —
455 455 1 138.00 $138.00 $628 —
550 550 3 122.00 $122.00 $671 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 127.50 $127.50 $478 —
420 420 1 125.00 $125.00 $525 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1475 1157 80-85% 22 63.50–73.00 $69.16 $800 —
1135–1285 1195 80-85% 5 73.50–75.00 $74.29 $888 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275–1710 1495 75-80% 19 63.00–71.50 $67.04 $1,002 —
1710 1710 75-80% 1 74.50 $74.50 $1,274 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–1225 982 85-90% 9 56.00–67.00 $60.11 $590 +0.68
940–1140 1047 85-90% 3 70.00–72.00 $71.06 $744 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1675–1995 1834 5 103.50–106.50 $104.97 $1,925 +12.64
1450–2140 1875 7 96.00–102.00 $99.35 $1,863 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
870–1190 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 725.00–775.00 $753.88

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
895–940 918 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 785.00–875.00 $831.10
900–1015 958 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 975.00–1,025.00 $1,001.50
950–1020 977 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 900.00–1,175.00 $1,016.67
975–1175 1075 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 685.00–760.00 $725.99
1220 1220 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00
1155–1335 1238 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 825.00–900.00 $864.32
1385 1385 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 925.00 $925.00

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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 1,110.00 $1,110.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,300.00–1,450.00 $1,375.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,075.00–1,185.00 $1,130.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00 —

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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.