Cattle Market Pulse

Knoxville Livestock Center Market Report

Knoxville, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 18, 2026

581 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $360.39/cwt -47.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,865/hd at 518 lb · 32 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $342.94/cwt -39.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,961/hd at 572 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $392.22/cwt -34.35 vs last sale · ≈ $2,059/hd at 525 lb · 28 head
Knoxville 5-weight heifers sold at $352/cwt, in line with the state average—$1/cwt above the TN average ($351) and $7/cwt under Dickson, TN ($359). TN 5-weight heifers are down $43 from their early July peak of $395. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 581 1,171 920
Feeder cattle 485 1,050 779
Slaughter cattle 64 94 104
Replacement cattle 32 27 37

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week and based on a lighter test this week, feeder steers sold 10.00 to 25.00 lower with instances of 40.00 lower, and feeder heifers sold 10.00 to 40.00 lower. Regarding feeder bulls- 4-weights sold 55.00 to 85.00 lower, with 5 and 6-weights 15.00 to 50.00 lower, and 7-weights 5.00 to 15.00 higher. Regarding slaughter classes- breaker and lean cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with boning cows and bulls 11.00 to 12.00 lower.

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
375 375 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,688 -43.71
395 value added 395 2 460.00 $460.00 $1,817 —
415 415 3 400.00 $400.00 $1,660 -63.53
425 425 3 420.00–480.00 $440.00 $1,870 -23.53
430 fancy 430 1 515.00 $515.00 $2,214 —
432 432 2 400.00 $400.00 $1,728 -63.53
450 450 1 370.00 $370.00 $1,665 -45.00
455–495 465 6 400.00–430.00 $421.77 $1,961 +6.77
505–530 522 3 350.00 $350.00 $1,827 -75.66
505–540 523 19 370.00–405.00 $388.58 $2,032 -8.26
515–536 value added 533 6 420.00–450.00 $424.84 $2,264 -25.16
565–595 577 11 375.00–410.00 $394.74 $2,278 -23.41
600–637 value added 628 7 370.00–392.50 $389.43 $2,446 —
625–646 641 4 341.00–365.00 $346.85 $2,223 -53.02
660 value added 660 5 362.50 $362.50 $2,392 -27.19
655–695 674 6 342.50–360.00 $351.58 $2,370 -14.42
702–705 value added 703 3 340.00–343.00 $342.00 $2,404 -47.70
765 value added 765 1 330.00 $330.00 $2,524 —
825 825 1 315.00 $315.00 $2,599 -4.76

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–280 273 2 400.00–430.00 $414.59 $1,132 —
275 value added 275 1 480.00 $480.00 $1,320 —
300 300 2 435.00 $435.00 $1,305 -22.15
365–395 376 10 400.00–425.00 $422.37 $1,588 -9.78
400 400 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,440 -81.06
400–430 410 4 370.00–380.00 $374.94 $1,537 -66.12
405–447 430 14 392.50–437.50 $422.57 $1,817 +16.10
455–495 475 2 365.00 $365.00 $1,734 -65.33
460–491 485 14 395.00–403.00 $401.62 $1,948 -28.71
503 503 3 320.00 $320.00 $1,610 -83.49
500–543 517 25 350.00–395.00 $369.49 $1,910 -34.00
500–543 532 4 330.00–335.00 $333.83 $1,776 -69.66
561 value added 561 7 357.50 $357.50 $2,006 -46.17
552–595 575 24 327.50–350.00 $338.69 $1,947 -22.96
605 value added 605 2 341.00 $341.00 $2,063 -34.79
607–645 617 11 312.50–325.00 $317.32 $1,958 -7.69
650–685 665 8 310.00–337.50 $322.57 $2,145 -5.32
700–715 710 9 300.00–319.00 $313.13 $2,223 -9.37
790 790 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,528 +5.73
815–819 value added 818 8 310.00 $310.00 $2,536 ±0.00
835–841 839 5 296.00–297.50 $296.60 $2,488 +16.69
889 value added 889 5 295.00 $295.00 $2,623 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–285 278 4 500.00–540.00 $530.09 $1,474 —
300–340 323 3 470.00–550.00 $509.59 $1,646 -4.45
357–395 368 7 450.00–470.00 $454.40 $1,672 -15.60
370–395 383 2 420.00–425.00 $422.58 $1,618 -94.66
400–440 421 8 370.00–440.00 $393.24 $1,656 -91.75
435–440 438 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,533 -85.00
455 thin fleshed 455 1 420.00 $420.00 $1,911 —
450–497 479 13 350.00–390.00 $367.12 $1,759 -71.31
507 thin fleshed 507 2 415.00 $415.00 $2,104 —
508–520 510 5 320.00 $320.00 $1,632 -50.00
521–535 528 12 330.00–390.00 $352.36 $1,860 -41.90
550–575 565 9 330.00–385.00 $365.97 $2,068 +15.97
605 605 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,876 -71.83
600–630 608 13 320.00–355.00 $328.72 $1,999 -53.11
675 675 1 297.50 $297.50 $2,008 -20.94
660–695 678 3 320.00–325.00 $322.52 $2,187 +4.08
710–745 724 7 310.00–320.00 $316.78 $2,293 +16.78
765–773 771 4 300.00–311.00 $302.73 $2,334 +2.73
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–375 373 2 385.00–400.00 $392.45 $1,464 -52.55
505–515 510 2 320.00–325.00 $322.52 $1,645 -47.48
595 595 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,785 —
615 615 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,845 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
995–1295 1145 (<2 yrs)N/A 2 2,650.00–3,175.00 $2,946.89 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1495 1217 80-85% 24 162.00–181.50 $170.31 $2,073 -12.32
1110–1565 1338 80-85% 2 189.00–191.50 $190.46 $2,548 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1470 1350 75-80% 3 157.00–159.00 $157.99 $2,133 —
1505 1505 75-80% 1 186.00 $186.00 $2,799 +5.14
1325–1890 1604 75-80% 5 171.00–182.50 $178.22 $2,859 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1195 1088 85-90% 4 155.00–168.50 $160.62 $1,748 —
1090 1090 85-90% 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,646 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1755–2165 1933 6 207.00–220.00 $213.08 $4,119 —
2270 2270 1 197.00 $197.00 $4,472 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
835–1255 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 1,680.00–2,260.00 $2,034.29

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
930–1160 1045 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,525.00–2,900.00 $2,691.87
1200 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,800.00 $2,800.00
1120–1345 1223 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 2,500.00–3,700.00 $3,085.08
1040–1405 1269 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 2,200.00–4,050.00 $2,773.11
1435 1435 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,650.00 $2,650.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
880 880 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,250.00 $2,250.00
1020 1020 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 3,050.00 $3,050.00

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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 (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00 —
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 3,150.00 $3,150.00 —

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Heifer 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 2,700.00 $2,700.00 —

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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.