Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 19, 2023

1,699 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 $243.10/cwt +9.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,170/hd at 481 lb · 122 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $234.00/cwt -0.61 vs last sale · ≈ $1,328/hd at 568 lb · 74 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $233.85/cwt -3.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,229/hd at 526 lb · 64 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,699 1,362 1,084
Feeder cattle 1,496 1,131 821
Slaughter cattle 191 204 213
Replacement cattle 12 27 50

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, based on a heavier test this week, feeder steers unevenly steady overall. Feeder heifers 7.00 lower overall and feeder bulls 3.00 lower with exception of those weighing over 650 lbs. sharply lower. Slaughter cows gauging 2.00 to 8.00 lower with slaughter bulls 3.00 to 4.00 lower.

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
292 292 2 277.50 $277.50 $810 —
300 300 1 305.00 $305.00 $915 +33.04
365–395 382 10 255.00–273.00 $267.73 $1,023 +8.40
400–447 421 14 260.00–280.00 $269.75 $1,136 +5.98
451 value added 451 7 279.00 $279.00 $1,258 —
450–490 470 28 250.00–270.00 $259.58 $1,220 +0.13
520–537 value added 527 17 264.00–272.00 $268.12 $1,413 -2.17
500–546 532 32 243.00–259.00 $252.28 $1,342 -2.27
550–590 561 34 239.00–252.50 $249.24 $1,398 +7.11
556–597 value added 574 23 258.00–267.00 $266.19 $1,528 +2.19
600–645 616 24 234.00–253.00 $245.82 $1,514 +3.02
625 value added 625 22 264.00 $264.00 $1,650 +9.29
660–685 value added 670 10 247.00–252.50 $250.61 $1,679 —
676–690 680 9 230.00–240.00 $235.43 $1,601 -0.95
700–740 713 3 227.50–230.00 $228.81 $1,631 -4.52
706–727 value added 721 10 239.00–245.00 $243.24 $1,754 -4.26
765 765 1 229.00 $229.00 $1,752 -6.00
791 value added 791 3 236.00 $236.00 $1,867 —
835 835 2 218.00 $218.00 $1,820 —
870 value added 870 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,897 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
507–540 518 3 212.50–227.50 $217.71 $1,128 -30.29
570 570 3 215.00 $215.00 $1,226 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–346 339 14 230.00–247.50 $241.65 $819 -1.16
348 value added 348 4 249.00 $249.00 $867 -11.00
350–395 380 12 230.00–247.50 $235.24 $894 -8.97
386 value added 386 8 250.00 $250.00 $965 —
400–445 416 28 224.00–238.00 $231.13 $962 -5.80
405–445 value added 425 9 241.00–246.00 $244.23 $1,038 -10.76
450–495 476 56 220.00–239.00 $229.17 $1,091 -4.83
450–488 value added 486 66 242.50–259.50 $254.92 $1,239 —
511–523 value added 517 24 242.00–252.00 $247.36 $1,279 +0.36
505–547 531 40 217.50–235.00 $225.75 $1,199 -9.99
559 value added 559 21 246.00 $246.00 $1,375 —
550–598 571 53 217.50–235.00 $229.25 $1,309 -5.36
602–647 625 19 212.50–224.00 $219.02 $1,369 -11.45
624–638 value added 633 18 230.00–233.00 $230.33 $1,458 -7.67
650–690 666 8 207.50–219.00 $213.14 $1,420 -11.37
705–735 730 12 205.00–220.00 $217.54 $1,588 +13.54
767–775 770 3 215.00–220.00 $216.68 $1,668 +2.67
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 2 215.00 $215.00 $832 —
410–447 436 4 200.00–212.50 $206.78 $902 —
480 480 2 212.50 $212.50 $1,020 —
530 530 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,113 -12.50
572–587 580 4 197.50–205.00 $201.30 $1,168 -18.70
700–720 710 2 180.00–197.50 $188.87 $1,341 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285–292 289 8 267.00–287.50 $273.16 $789 —
305–345 328 6 260.00–284.00 $271.92 $892 -1.32
360–392 381 10 250.00–265.00 $254.50 $970 -11.08
415 fancy 415 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,141 +5.00
415–446 429 23 236.00–260.00 $248.27 $1,065 -6.33
462–470 fancy 466 4 255.00–265.00 $260.04 $1,212 -6.21
455–495 472 10 238.00–250.00 $244.02 $1,152 -2.96
530 fancy 530 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,378 +10.00
500–547 533 39 230.00–254.00 $239.65 $1,277 +3.44
550–585 573 15 219.00–233.00 $225.66 $1,293 -1.18
595 fancy 595 3 247.50 $247.50 $1,473 —
600–622 615 11 215.00–224.00 $220.73 $1,357 -1.18
650–680 666 5 202.50–210.00 $207.13 $1,379 -19.29
700–725 708 9 199.00–210.00 $206.46 $1,462 -13.68
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–395 385 2 227.50–230.00 $228.78 $881 —
482–495 490 5 200.00–220.00 $210.90 $1,033 -4.10
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
637–640 638 6 200.00–205.00 $203.33 $1,297 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–1485 1159 80-85% 36 95.00–109.00 $102.36 $1,186 -3.63
1080–1380 1219 80-85% 5 85.50–93.50 $90.73 $1,106 —
1130–1410 1260 80-85% 10 110.00–114.50 $112.33 $1,415 -6.99
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390 1390 75-80% 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,585 —
1410 1410 75-80% 1 94.50 $94.50 $1,332 -27.31
1140–1715 1482 75-80% 35 97.00–112.00 $105.07 $1,557 -5.01
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1190 970 85-90% 7 75.50–83.50 $81.01 $786 -5.62
785–1310 1019 85-90% 10 90.00–102.00 $94.99 $968 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245–2160 1709 18 121.00–132.00 $127.30 $2,176 —
1390–2245 1848 6 134.00–138.00 $135.74 $2,508 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
985–1200 1097 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,000.00–1,260.00 $1,131.78
1225–1460 1343 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,450.00–1,475.00 $1,463.59

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1085 1085 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00

↑ Back to top

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 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.