Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 21, 2024

789 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $307.48/cwt +24.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,303/hd at 424 lb · 43 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $280.27/cwt +19.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,452/hd at 518 lb · 42 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $277.87/cwt +6.09 vs last sale · ≈ $1,329/hd at 478 lb · 34 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 789 780 1,028
Feeder cattle 611 650 846
Slaughter cattle 148 108 155
Replacement cattle 30 22 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers and feeder steers weighing up to 600 lbs. 7.00 higher overall, with feeder steers weighing over 600 lbs. sharply higher, and feeder bulls 5.00 to 6.00 lower overall. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and lean cows 4.00 to 7.00 higher overall, with boning cows 1.00 higher, and bulls 7.00 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
230 230 1 350.00 $350.00 $805 —
285 value added 285 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,083 —
290 290 1 355.00 $355.00 $1,030 —
320 value added 320 1 385.00 $385.00 $1,232 +15.00
335–345 340 2 340.00–375.00 $357.24 $1,215 —
350–391 381 7 330.00–345.00 $339.48 $1,293 +2.88
405–440 421 11 315.00–335.00 $329.00 $1,385 +31.53
450–475 463 2 315.00 $315.00 $1,458 +1.37
500–543 514 23 295.00–310.00 $306.09 $1,573 +7.12
535 value added 535 2 317.50 $317.50 $1,699 —
570–595 573 9 290.00–297.00 $290.81 $1,666 +10.90
603–642 625 7 297.50–300.00 $298.53 $1,866 +21.06
665–675 668 4 284.00–288.00 $285.01 $1,904 +24.14
720–746 740 4 252.50–273.00 $257.49 $1,905 +17.49
831 value added 831 6 230.00 $230.00 $1,911 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–297 280 6 320.00–345.00 $328.93 $921 -10.08
300–317 309 9 310.00–340.00 $326.08 $1,008 +6.29
355–390 367 8 295.00–312.50 $306.85 $1,126 +1.71
360–382 value added 379 11 333.00–345.00 $335.07 $1,270 +6.07
402–410 value added 407 13 327.50–332.50 $328.73 $1,338 —
400–445 431 30 290.00–312.50 $298.27 $1,286 +15.00
450 value added 450 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,350 —
460–495 481 31 267.50–290.00 $275.73 $1,326 +0.58
500–532 value added 512 13 287.50–290.00 $289.00 $1,480 —
500–545 521 29 265.00–285.00 $276.36 $1,440 +14.77
552–585 value added 573 14 282.50–284.50 $283.81 $1,626 —
555–597 574 18 255.00–272.50 $264.02 $1,515 +15.09
610 610 2 247.50–250.00 $248.75 $1,517 +11.09
665–670 value added 667 3 247.50 $247.50 $1,651 ±0.00
710–725 718 6 215.00–237.00 $227.78 $1,635 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 395.00 $395.00 $1,066 +21.13
302–345 332 10 330.00–360.00 $352.32 $1,170 -14.67
350 fancy 350 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,312 —
360–390 375 7 323.00–355.00 $337.19 $1,264 -15.60
406–448 421 9 305.00–315.00 $311.94 $1,313 +1.16
450–495 475 20 289.00–315.00 $301.90 $1,434 -7.14
515–548 535 12 275.00–301.00 $287.10 $1,536 -4.42
553–595 568 12 270.00–282.50 $275.27 $1,564 +11.14
600–630 613 3 250.00–265.00 $255.66 $1,567 -14.90
650–675 663 9 242.50–265.00 $253.48 $1,681 +3.44
740 740 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,665 -2.21
825–830 828 2 200.00–204.00 $202.01 $1,673 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1355 1163 80-85% 37 116.00–134.00 $125.56 $1,460 +13.76
1210 1210 80-85% 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,331 —
1105–1450 1266 80-85% 9 136.00–151.50 $141.30 $1,789 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1140 1085 75-80% 2 116.00–121.00 $118.63 $1,287 —
1210–1630 1416 75-80% 21 128.00–143.00 $137.42 $1,946 —
1285–1585 1448 75-80% 6 144.00–150.00 $146.25 $2,118 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–905 882 85-90% 3 94.00–101.00 $98.27 $867 —
800–1225 1008 85-90% 5 125.00–135.00 $128.40 $1,294 +17.07
845–1285 1065 85-90% 15 109.00–123.00 $114.85 $1,223 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1225 1143 2 141.00–148.00 $144.25 $1,649 —
1365–1670 1518 2 144.00–148.00 $145.80 $2,213 —
1555–1985 1718 10 155.00–165.00 $159.90 $2,747 —
1905–2080 1971 4 168.00–173.00 $170.48 $3,360 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
845–980 913 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,450.00–1,500.00 $1,476.85
945 945 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,500.00 $1,500.00
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,170.00 $1,170.00
1065 1065 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1135 1135 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00
985–1320 1153 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,450.00–1,700.00 $1,593.17
1265 1265 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
765–815 790 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,350.00–1,375.00 $1,362.90
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
765 765 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
920 920 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 2,070.00 $2,070.00

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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
— — Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,675.00–2,050.00 $1,862.50 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —
— — Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408 408 5 222.50 $222.50 $908 —
482 482 5 222.00 $222.00 $1,070 —

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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.