Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 14, 2021

1,121 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.34/cwt +2.75 vs last sale · ≈ $692/hd at 476 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $169.43/cwt -0.60 vs last sale · ≈ $881/hd at 520 lb · 39 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.64/cwt -4.41 vs last sale · ≈ $725/hd at 527 lb · 37 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,121 1,545 0
Feeder cattle 982 1,425 0
Slaughter cattle 97 90 0
Replacement cattle 42 30 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week and based on a lighter test this week, feeder classes measuring 3.00 to 5.00 higher overall, with slaughter cows and bulls gauging 1.00 to 4.00 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
315–325 320 4 190.00–210.00 $199.42 $638 +9.65
340 value added 340 1 212.50 $212.50 $722 —
355 fancy 355 1 209.00 $209.00 $742 —
385 385 3 192.50–202.50 $199.17 $767 +11.97
400–430 419 8 177.50–197.00 $189.51 $794 +8.35
450–493 475 16 171.00–187.50 $180.67 $858 +8.21
500–515 fancy 509 6 180.00–187.50 $183.50 $934 —
500–545 522 33 157.00–177.50 $166.87 $871 +3.52
572–575 value added 573 3 164.00–167.00 $166.00 $951 -1.52
550–597 584 16 145.00–160.00 $150.53 $879 -9.36
600–645 624 9 146.00–162.50 $152.53 $952 +0.72
660–699 687 11 148.00–150.00 $148.90 $1,023 +2.65
730 730 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,044 +7.18
760–795 784 4 132.00–140.00 $134.70 $1,056 +2.70
792 value added 792 26 146.50 $146.50 $1,160 —
835–840 836 4 138.00–139.00 $138.25 $1,156 +11.25
1030 1030 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,308 —
1110–1130 1126 5 127.00 $127.00 $1,430 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 284 8 145.00–162.50 $155.56 $442 —
300–345 326 27 147.50–163.00 $157.52 $514 +15.24
360–395 382 16 146.00–160.00 $153.79 $587 +2.46
415 fancy 415 1 159.00 $159.00 $660 —
400–445 421 28 142.00–156.00 $150.77 $635 +1.45
450–496 476 64 137.00–149.00 $145.34 $692 +5.98
500–528 value added 517 7 144.00–146.00 $145.12 $750 -3.33
500–547 529 30 130.00–141.00 $135.90 $719 -3.29
550–598 570 28 129.00–137.50 $132.63 $756 +2.87
560–578 value added 574 5 140.00–142.00 $141.61 $813 -4.47
600 value added 600 1 136.00 $136.00 $816 +2.50
600–645 626 17 124.00–134.00 $127.14 $796 +2.15
660–695 678 5 120.00–132.50 $127.08 $862 +2.53
700–735 718 6 120.00–127.50 $121.62 $873 +2.82
755–765 760 3 118.00–123.00 $120.34 $915 +0.72
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 4 144.00 $144.00 $478 —
385–395 388 3 134.00–141.00 $136.37 $529 +6.37
450–475 463 2 126.00–127.50 $126.73 $587 -1.27
530 530 1 123.00 $123.00 $652 -4.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–240 233 3 182.50–195.00 $189.25 $441 —
260–280 266 5 180.00–195.00 $185.45 $493 -1.49
305–320 311 6 187.50–205.00 $198.40 $617 +6.69
340–345 fancy 343 2 212.50–220.00 $216.22 $742 +9.62
351–375 fancy 357 8 207.50–217.50 $213.71 $763 +12.40
350–395 373 17 177.50–205.00 $192.68 $719 +15.61
410–435 fancy 419 4 189.00–200.00 $193.67 $811 —
403–445 427 18 165.00–185.00 $178.02 $760 +7.30
450–495 475 35 160.00–177.50 $167.40 $795 +7.89
500–545 518 17 151.00–165.00 $158.71 $822 +9.36
550–590 575 16 137.00–154.00 $147.63 $849 +8.48
600–635 617 11 135.00–147.50 $143.56 $886 +5.68
660–680 673 5 132.00–139.00 $134.99 $908 +3.74
700–740 715 3 120.00–127.00 $124.59 $891 +6.13
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 152.50 $152.50 $564 —
490 490 1 150.00 $150.00 $735 —
615–635 628 3 126.00–128.00 $126.65 $795 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–330 310 3 150.00–153.00 $151.94 $471 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 80-85% 1 72.00 $72.00 $659 —
870–1515 1199 80-85% 19 57.50–68.00 $62.81 $753 —
1005–1415 1243 80-85% 7 69.50–83.00 $74.10 $921 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1580 1353 75-80% 14 55.50–65.50 $60.56 $819 —
1360–1470 1417 75-80% 3 67.50–74.00 $71.25 $1,010 +12.14
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960 960 85-90% 1 66.00 $66.00 $634 —
825–1320 977 85-90% 7 52.50–61.50 $56.83 $555 —
1080 1080 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $691 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390 1390 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,140 —
1225–1960 1529 9 88.00–96.00 $90.74 $1,387 —
1610–2240 1916 5 100.00–115.00 $106.41 $2,039 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
785 785 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 775.00 $775.00

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1045 1045 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00
1115 1115 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 980.00 $980.00
1230 1230 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
1245 1245 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00
1115–1480 1333 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 775.00–950.00 $901.22
1455 1455 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 880.00 $880.00
1335–1680 1490 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 875.00–900.00 $886.02

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 105.00 $105.00 $236 —
275 275 1 105.00 $105.00 $289 —
325 325 1 105.00 $105.00 $341 —
355 355 1 102.50 $102.50 $364 —
430 430 1 110.00 $110.00 $473 —

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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.