Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 9, 2023

940 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $201.13/cwt -0.48 vs last sale · ≈ $1,124/hd at 559 lb · 44 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $211.61/cwt +2.24 vs last sale · ≈ $990/hd at 468 lb · 43 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $228.81/cwt +7.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,359/hd at 594 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 940 1,000 904
Feeder cattle 754 819 743
Slaughter cattle 157 147 146
Replacement cattle 29 34 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers mostly steady overall, with feeder bulls 7.00 lower, and no comparisons for feeder steers due to limited comparable receipts. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 higher, with slaughter bulls mostly steady.

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
330 330 1 250.00 $250.00 $825 -30.00
420 420 2 234.00 $234.00 $983 -19.98
400–445 422 13 245.00–257.50 $251.56 $1,062 -2.42
475–495 fancy 488 3 256.00–258.00 $257.35 $1,256 —
460–495 489 9 230.00–240.00 $238.39 $1,166 -10.57
505–548 529 13 220.00–248.00 $236.74 $1,252 -0.90
535 fancy 535 1 259.00 $259.00 $1,386 —
577 value added 577 2 247.00 $247.00 $1,425 —
577–599 595 27 215.00–231.00 $227.46 $1,353 +5.94
620–635 628 2 221.00–239.00 $229.89 $1,444 +4.88
635 635 3 206.00 $206.00 $1,308 -19.01
637 637 2 214.00 $214.00 $1,363 -11.01
660–667 665 3 205.00–225.00 $211.62 $1,407 +1.11
707 value added 707 7 219.00 $219.00 $1,548 —
710–742 731 3 194.00–198.00 $195.29 $1,428 +4.29
769–790 774 20 180.00–190.00 $188.01 $1,455 +2.01
815 value added 815 2 194.00 $194.00 $1,581 —
825 825 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,559 -2.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–390 383 2 232.50–235.00 $233.73 $895 —
425 425 1 190.00 $190.00 $808 —
475 475 1 208.00 $208.00 $988 —
565 565 1 207.00 $207.00 $1,170 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 333 10 210.00–230.00 $220.22 $733 -8.60
350–397 374 16 210.00–227.00 $217.35 $813 +2.57
395 395 1 190.00 $190.00 $750 -24.78
400–445 423 22 200.00–219.00 $208.75 $883 -4.86
423 value added 423 3 234.00 $234.00 $990 —
430 430 2 195.00 $195.00 $838 -18.61
465 fancy 465 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,046 +2.00
450–495 468 42 203.00–218.00 $211.29 $989 +2.26
507 value added 507 2 214.00 $214.00 $1,085 +1.09
505–540 520 26 190.00–208.00 $200.33 $1,042 -5.40
550–590 559 44 189.00–207.00 $201.13 $1,124 +2.80
600–645 626 13 180.00–190.00 $187.29 $1,172 +3.38
650–693 668 19 177.00–184.50 $181.06 $1,209 +3.05
710–737 730 7 169.00–175.00 $173.27 $1,265 +8.77

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–330 323 4 230.00–255.00 $241.90 $781 -7.91
335 fancy 335 2 270.00 $270.00 $904 —
350–395 374 14 225.00–248.00 $238.29 $891 -16.71
400–445 419 12 220.00–237.00 $230.03 $964 +4.54
431–435 fancy 432 4 242.50–245.00 $244.37 $1,056 —
460–495 473 6 215.00–232.50 $224.56 $1,062 -6.19
495 495 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,015 -25.75
500–545 530 21 210.00–232.50 $223.72 $1,186 -9.95
575–590 582 3 207.50–222.00 $216.52 $1,260 -1.82
605 fancy 605 1 221.00 $221.00 $1,337 —
615 615 1 160.00 $160.00 $984 -41.01
600–645 630 14 172.50–189.00 $183.12 $1,154 -17.89
665 fancy 665 1 213.00 $213.00 $1,416 —
660–685 669 4 172.50–185.00 $177.43 $1,187 -5.03
715–745 729 11 170.00–179.00 $172.53 $1,258 -6.91
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 5 218.00 $218.00 $974 —
455 455 1 190.00 $190.00 $864 —
505 505 1 160.00 $160.00 $808 —
555 555 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,110 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 328 2 215.00–220.00 $217.48 $713 —
540 540 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,080 +3.71

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–1075 963 80-85% 3 83.50–84.00 $83.85 $807 —
980–1420 1157 80-85% 38 86.00–98.50 $92.40 $1,069 +0.45
1070–1455 1260 80-85% 12 100.00–110.00 $104.19 $1,313 +2.59
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1470 1300 75-80% 3 86.00–88.00 $87.08 $1,132 —
1205–1665 1382 75-80% 22 90.00–101.00 $94.98 $1,313 —
1400–1670 1540 75-80% 4 103.00–106.00 $103.80 $1,599 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1060 1008 85-90% 3 70.00–71.00 $70.35 $709 -15.04
870–1210 1065 85-90% 10 80.00–89.00 $85.20 $907 +11.92

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395–2185 1756 14 118.00–131.00 $124.30 $2,183 —
1675–2010 1901 4 134.00–136.00 $135.05 $2,567 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
945 945 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1180 1180 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
1240 1240 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1265–1315 1290 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,025.00–1,170.00 $1,098.91
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
875 875 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 840.00 $840.00
1115 1115 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
905 905 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
875 875 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 790.00 $790.00
920 920 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00

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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
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,200.00–1,225.00 $1,212.50 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —

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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.