Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 2, 2024

1,040 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $259.75/cwt ≈ $1,153/hd at 444 lb · 107 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $228.70/cwt +31.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,165/hd at 509 lb · 100 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $220.00/cwt ≈ $1,769/hd at 804 lb · 66 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,040 902 1,258
Feeder cattle 895 814 1,075
Slaughter cattle 119 73 138
Replacement cattle 26 15 45

Market comments — USDA reporter

**No comparisons available due to no sale the last two weeks in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays, however, market trends will be available next week. Today's offerings included the following load lots: 1 load ML 1 preconditioned Heifers, 444 lbs., $259.75, medium flesh, mostly black and 1 load ML 1 preconditioned Steers, 804 lbs., $220.00, medium flesh, mostly black.

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
330–345 339 5 310.00–322.50 $314.87 $1,067 +48.15
365 fancy 365 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,113 +10.00
360–385 379 6 275.00–292.50 $283.42 $1,074 +19.50
411–435 418 8 257.50–275.00 $271.45 $1,135 +18.86
472–497 486 11 256.00–267.50 $258.39 $1,256 +22.41
501–521 value added 508 11 260.00–280.00 $268.07 $1,362 +21.41
500–525 511 4 242.50–257.50 $251.85 $1,287 +22.06
555–595 579 13 240.00–252.00 $247.40 $1,432 +20.99
605–640 624 26 227.00–235.00 $231.34 $1,444 +11.85
627 value added 627 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,536 —
652 value added 652 11 242.00 $242.00 $1,578 —
670 670 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,574 +15.29
715 value added 715 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,573 —
720–748 743 9 200.00–207.50 $206.08 $1,531 —
770–790 778 5 201.00–205.00 $204.19 $1,589 —
825 825 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,691 —
875 value added 875 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,768 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
804 value added 804 66 220.00 $220.00 $1,769 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505–530 511 4 222.50–225.00 $223.15 $1,140 —
630 630 2 217.50 $217.50 $1,370 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–298 value added 292 4 232.50–235.00 $234.41 $684 —
315–345 338 5 232.50–242.50 $239.11 $808 +23.22
350 value added 350 6 252.50 $252.50 $884 —
355–390 369 6 228.00–237.50 $231.11 $853 +28.71
408–415 value added 409 13 242.00–250.00 $248.84 $1,018 +18.48
400–445 422 17 217.50–234.00 $229.29 $968 +28.79
450–496 482 21 210.00–225.00 $216.10 $1,042 +17.42
457–498 value added 484 6 227.50–242.50 $230.22 $1,114 +9.22
501–538 value added 507 88 223.00–234.00 $231.07 $1,172 +21.07
505–545 527 12 204.00–215.00 $211.35 $1,114 +17.47
550–595 567 6 200.00–207.50 $204.56 $1,160 +10.97
577–588 value added 579 38 210.00–219.50 $217.76 $1,261 +10.26
630–648 638 23 192.50–199.00 $196.58 $1,254 +13.60
650–696 682 18 185.00–198.00 $192.08 $1,310 +8.55
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
444 value added 444 107 259.75 $259.75 $1,153 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–340 320 2 270.00–280.00 $275.31 $881 -4.24
385–395 390 2 290.00–300.00 $294.94 $1,150 +32.39
405–415 408 3 260.00–280.00 $270.85 $1,105 +32.86
450–495 470 16 247.50–270.00 $260.54 $1,225 +29.00
512–547 523 22 230.00–245.00 $236.97 $1,239 +12.17
555–595 572 6 207.50–230.00 $220.66 $1,262 +5.73
580–590 value added 587 19 240.00–245.00 $243.43 $1,429 —
602–632 622 14 205.00–220.00 $208.12 $1,295 -4.46
665–695 669 10 192.50–214.00 $209.08 $1,399 +19.58
700–740 718 4 187.50–197.50 $191.81 $1,377 +13.62
766–780 770 7 173.00–186.00 $179.95 $1,386 +17.75
800–827 819 4 162.50–165.00 $163.74 $1,341 +23.74
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 257.50 $257.50 $901 —
587 587 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,174 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1155 1135 80-85% 2 85.00–86.00 $85.51 $971 —
885–1440 1204 80-85% 28 88.00–100.00 $94.16 $1,134 +9.03
1030–1385 1208 80-85% 9 101.00–120.00 $105.96 $1,280 +20.83
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280 1280 75-80% 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,075 —
1210–1860 1432 75-80% 24 86.00–97.50 $92.50 $1,325 —
1620 1620 75-80% 1 102.50 $102.50 $1,660 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885 885 85-90% 1 75.00 $75.00 $664 —
960–1080 1031 85-90% 5 80.00–90.00 $84.55 $872 +8.97

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–2105 1720 11 107.00–120.00 $113.41 $1,951 —
2195 2195 1 125.00 $125.00 $2,744 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00
915–1185 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 990.00–1,275.00 $1,150.82
1070 1070 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00
1135 1135 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1210 1210 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1185–1355 1270 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,190.00–1,450.00 $1,328.70
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 920.00 $920.00

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810 810 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00

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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/Aged (>5 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,290.00–1,450.00 $1,370.00 —
— — Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,850.00 $1,850.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,850.00 $1,850.00 —

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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.