Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 21, 2025

908 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $288.86/cwt +17.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,673/hd at 579 lb · 81 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $309.34/cwt +4.79 vs last sale · ≈ $1,452/hd at 469 lb · 76 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $282.19/cwt +11.95 vs last sale · ≈ $2,068/hd at 733 lb · 62 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 908 1,116 694
Feeder cattle 841 1,043 633
Slaughter cattle 55 62 52
Replacement cattle 12 11 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers measuring 4.00 lower overall with exception of 3-weights sharply higher. Feeder heifers 8.00 higher overall, with feeder bulls unevenly steady. Slaughter cows and bulls gauging 5.00 to 13.00 higher overall. Strong demand and high-quality offerings were noted for all classes of cattle, with a majority of total feeder offerings being preconditioned.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–280 268 2 445.00–455.00 $449.77 $1,205 —
315 315 1 435.00 $435.00 $1,370 —
360–395 372 3 395.00–425.00 $414.37 $1,541 +24.85
420–440 428 6 372.50–387.50 $376.74 $1,612 —
438 value added 438 4 395.00 $395.00 $1,730 -19.00
450 value added 450 1 390.00 $390.00 $1,755 +29.11
456–485 468 10 320.00–370.00 $336.36 $1,574 -3.22
508–545 523 8 300.00–330.00 $315.81 $1,652 -15.25
502–544 value added 539 25 335.00–347.50 $338.60 $1,825 -4.28
555–560 value added 558 8 325.00–335.00 $331.27 $1,848 -3.73
550–590 571 15 300.00–320.00 $310.68 $1,774 -5.47
615–638 value added 622 13 292.50–310.00 $303.83 $1,890 +6.72
625–646 631 20 261.00–285.00 $272.77 $1,721 —
655 655 2 277.50 $277.50 $1,818 -5.49
677 value added 677 12 289.00 $289.00 $1,957 -8.66
720–734 value added 733 62 274.50–283.00 $282.19 $2,068 +2.56
750–779 value added 767 23 255.00–267.50 $265.26 $2,035 -0.74
830 830 1 247.50 $247.50 $2,054 +4.50
867 value added 867 2 248.00 $248.00 $2,150 -10.12
910 value added 910 4 240.00 $240.00 $2,184 -6.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–290 280 6 370.00–395.00 $387.04 $1,084 —
305–327 value added 319 5 380.00–395.00 $386.16 $1,232 —
310–345 330 8 340.00–375.00 $361.96 $1,194 +40.61
350–398 375 21 332.50–370.00 $357.79 $1,342 +12.88
350–383 value added 375 7 372.50–380.00 $375.35 $1,408 +5.35
400–415 value added 405 3 355.00–365.00 $361.58 $1,464 +11.83
400–445 425 34 310.00–350.00 $331.26 $1,408 +37.26
453 value added 453 3 325.00 $325.00 $1,472 +7.49
450–495 470 73 295.00–320.00 $308.70 $1,451 +18.72
500–545 515 6 270.00–290.00 $279.89 $1,441 +34.75
505–549 value added 523 37 297.50–316.00 $307.68 $1,609 -1.68
550–593 value added 579 73 277.50–295.00 $291.68 $1,689 +13.80
560–587 582 8 250.00–270.00 $263.10 $1,531 +5.65
600–620 value added 615 19 262.50–277.50 $272.23 $1,674 +4.12
615–640 628 19 232.50–260.00 $256.63 $1,612 +20.36
683 value added 683 7 258.00 $258.00 $1,762 -15.00
700–742 717 6 225.00–232.50 $228.77 $1,640 -0.23
747 value added 747 25 254.00 $254.00 $1,897 —
750 value added 750 14 277.50 $277.50 $2,081 —
760–785 766 4 222.50–232.50 $225.06 $1,724 —
805–815 812 3 215.00–235.00 $223.29 $1,813 —
857 value added 857 2 217.00 $217.00 $1,860 +3.63

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 330 6 385.00–430.00 $409.67 $1,352 -2.43
360–365 fancy 363 2 417.50–425.00 $421.28 $1,529 +6.28
350–395 368 11 375.00–405.00 $390.89 $1,438 +8.60
405 fancy 405 3 405.00–430.00 $416.67 $1,688 +6.67
405–445 428 9 340.00–397.50 $369.46 $1,581 +24.46
455–495 471 9 328.00–355.00 $340.73 $1,605 -10.42
470–485 481 8 309.00–315.00 $310.46 $1,493 -40.69
515–545 528 15 297.50–330.00 $316.28 $1,670 -1.11
530–541 538 4 282.50–290.00 $284.35 $1,530 -33.04
550–577 560 8 290.00–317.50 $308.59 $1,728 +7.82
595 595 1 273.00 $273.00 $1,624 -27.77
602 fancy 602 2 294.00 $294.00 $1,770 —
610 610 2 239.00 $239.00 $1,458 -38.79
600–625 615 8 272.50–285.00 $277.42 $1,706 -0.37
630 630 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,670 -12.79
660–670 667 3 250.00–275.00 $258.25 $1,723 -2.92
710–740 725 2 243.00–257.50 $250.10 $1,813 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 2 355.00 $355.00 $1,225 —
360–382 375 3 360.00–362.50 $361.70 $1,356 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–390 385 2 350.00–357.50 $353.80 $1,362 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1370 1370 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 2,375.00 $2,375.00 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1340 1181 80-85% 13 128.00–144.50 $135.81 $1,604 —
1140–1380 1210 80-85% 5 146.00–159.00 $151.36 $1,831 +10.24
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–1135 999 85-90% 6 113.00–127.00 $121.24 $1,211 +15.24
915–1115 1015 85-90% 2 107.00–108.00 $107.45 $1,091 —
1225 1225 85-90% 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,580 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305 1305 75-80% 1 126.00 $126.00 $1,644 —
1250–1675 1501 75-80% 4 132.00–140.00 $135.42 $2,033 +11.92
1550 1550 75-80% 1 154.00 $154.00 $2,387 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540–1660 1600 2 166.00–169.00 $167.44 $2,679 —
1240–1985 1631 7 150.00–164.00 $156.99 $2,561 —
2275 2275 1 145.00 $145.00 $3,299 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
976 976 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,675.00 $1,675.00
1190–1340 1265 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,820.00–1,900.00 $1,857.63
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
805 805 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00

↑ 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.