Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 5, 2023

1,287 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $229.50/cwt ≈ $1,136/hd at 495 lb · 94 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $207.97/cwt +13.70 vs last sale · ≈ $1,087/hd at 522 lb · 89 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $199.20/cwt +0.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,137/hd at 571 lb · 81 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,287 1,142 1,108
Feeder cattle 1,120 955 910
Slaughter cattle 135 162 138
Replacement cattle 32 25 60

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers measuring 2.00 lower, with heifers unevenly steady overall, and bulls weighing up to 500 lbs. unevenly steady, with those weighing over 500 lbs. 9.00 lower. Slaughter cows gauging 3.00 to 7.00 lower with slaughter bulls mostly steady. Today's offerings included the following load lot: 1 load ML 1 preconditioned Heifers, 495 lbs., $229.50, medium flesh, mostly black/black-white-face.

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
364 364 8 269.00 $269.00 $979 +4.00
405 value added 405 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,073 +2.50
400–445 431 8 227.50–240.00 $230.84 $995 -3.55
473–475 value added 474 9 237.50–240.00 $239.17 $1,134 -8.32
460–492 480 46 217.50–235.00 $223.10 $1,071 -10.20
517–530 521 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,094 -17.52
500–545 522 31 215.00–230.00 $225.01 $1,175 -2.51
525 fancy 525 1 237.50 $237.50 $1,247 —
557–585 564 10 210.00–221.00 $214.31 $1,209 -14.42
564 value added 564 21 235.00 $235.00 $1,325 -9.00
605–640 value added 632 20 215.00–220.00 $219.02 $1,384 —
625–647 634 5 202.00–204.00 $203.18 $1,288 +33.18
665–697 685 9 190.00–207.00 $203.57 $1,394 —
705–730 718 2 195.00–200.00 $197.46 $1,418 +9.95
715–727 value added 722 9 205.00–215.00 $209.40 $1,512 —
842 value added 842 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,600 —
875–880 878 2 180.00–185.00 $182.51 $1,602 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,000 +12.50
509 509 7 195.00 $195.00 $993 —
581 581 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,191 —
615–625 616 7 182.50–185.00 $184.64 $1,137 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 210.00 $210.00 $746 —
505 505 3 190.00 $190.00 $960 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,056 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 276 6 205.00–225.00 $212.72 $587 -4.86
290 fancy 290 1 237.50 $237.50 $689 —
305–342 317 13 212.50–230.00 $223.90 $710 +9.80
361–395 374 12 200.00–223.00 $213.37 $798 +2.12
396 value added 396 6 230.00 $230.00 $911 -6.08
408–410 value added 409 6 220.00–230.00 $224.99 $920 -2.51
400–447 416 48 195.00–217.00 $207.42 $863 -2.57
462–475 value added 469 4 212.00–212.50 $212.25 $995 -3.59
450–495 479 42 190.00–204.00 $195.81 $938 -9.25
503–531 value added 513 57 204.00–225.00 $216.38 $1,110 +5.38
530 530 2 180.00 $180.00 $954 -12.87
500–549 540 30 186.00–199.00 $193.85 $1,047 +0.98
550–582 value added 564 40 200.00–210.00 $208.97 $1,179 +3.97
550–597 577 41 182.50–195.00 $189.67 $1,094 +3.10
605–644 628 15 170.00–185.00 $171.68 $1,078 -7.52
650–662 value added 657 6 175.00–178.00 $176.00 $1,156 —
725 value added 725 11 180.00 $180.00 $1,305 —
780 780 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,248 —
790 value added 790 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,327 -22.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 value added 495 94 229.50 $229.50 $1,136 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 250.00 $250.00 $562 —
260–285 270 3 240.00–245.00 $242.48 $655 -42.52
315 fancy 315 1 290.00 $290.00 $914 ±0.00
305–340 318 8 245.00–275.00 $262.64 $835 -8.32
350–395 372 8 250.00–275.00 $256.44 $954 -0.06
400 fancy 400 2 257.50–260.00 $258.75 $1,035 —
405–445 426 25 220.00–250.00 $236.60 $1,008 +16.93
450–490 470 18 210.00–225.00 $214.99 $1,010 -1.11
501–530 fancy 508 4 212.50–217.50 $213.80 $1,086 -13.70
505–545 526 18 190.00–207.50 $197.01 $1,036 -13.83
558–585 567 7 197.00–207.50 $199.69 $1,132 -15.31
600–640 610 9 180.00–192.50 $183.98 $1,122 -5.27
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 2 185.00 $185.00 $1,054 +5.00
637 637 5 172.50 $172.50 $1,099 +2.50
693 693 3 160.00 $160.00 $1,109 +10.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 220.00 $220.00 $693 —
505–535 520 2 160.00–180.00 $169.71 $882 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 212.50 $212.50 $861 —
580 580 1 167.50 $167.50 $972 -14.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1480 1275 80-85% 25 77.00–90.00 $83.86 $1,069 -17.98
1150–1480 1322 80-85% 7 92.50–102.00 $94.61 $1,251 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1815 1531 75-80% 22 82.50–96.50 $88.98 $1,362 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1235 1043 85-90% 4 68.00–72.00 $70.38 $734 -9.69
820–1220 1045 85-90% 12 73.00–83.00 $77.39 $809 -2.68
1210–1555 1383 85-90% 2 86.00–88.50 $87.41 $1,209 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1615–2095 1835 4 113.00–123.00 $119.11 $2,186 —
1965 1965 1 127.00 $127.00 $2,496 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950–990 973 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 950.00–1,325.00 $1,118.70
980 980 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 980.00 $980.00
950–1070 1017 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,025.00–1,100.00 $1,067.87
1075 1075 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00
980–1415 1176 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,050.00–1,200.00 $1,114.02
1260 1260 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,060.00 $1,060.00
1360 1360 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015 1015 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
895 895 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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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 1 2,075.00 $2,075.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,300.00–2,150.00 $1,725.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00 —

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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.