Cattle Market Pulse

Smith County Commission Co. Market Report

Carthage, Tennessee · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, April 18, 2026

577 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Smith County Commission Co. report →

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $363.24/cwt ≈ $2,321/hd at 639 lb · 47 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $396.98/cwt ≈ $2,306/hd at 581 lb · 28 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $505.70/cwt ≈ $2,685/hd at 531 lb · 28 head
Carthage, TN 6-weight heifers sold at $361/cwt, running $12/cwt below the TN average ($373) and $45/cwt under Knoxville, TN ($406). TN 6-weight heifers are down $5/cwt from their late-March peak of $377. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 577 882 538
Feeder cattle 476 — 413
Slaughter cattle 101 — 125

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week Feeder Steers under 550# no trends due to light test of comparable data, over 550# mostly steady; Feeder Heifers 7.00 to 10.00 lower; Feeder Bulls10.00 to 12.00 lower; Fair quality with moderate demand; Slaughter Cows 3.00 to 5.00 higher; Slaughter Bulls 6.00 to 8.00 higher due to good quality and very strong demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
260 260 1 640.00 $640.00 $1,664
318 318 6 610.00 $610.00 $1,940
403 403 2 512.50 $512.50 $2,065
456–477 461 13 515.00–520.00 $518.81 $2,392
520–545 526 20 490.00–505.00 $499.98 $2,630
543 value added 543 8 520.00 $520.00 $2,824
563–580 576 14 462.00–482.50 $466.29 $2,686
629 value added 629 4 438.00 $438.00 $2,755
616–645 636 17 412.50–417.50 $415.03 $2,640
660–669 value added 665 8 420.00–425.00 $422.48 $2,809
655–678 667 8 400.00–405.00 $402.54 $2,685
705 value added 705 5 400.00 $400.00 $2,820
765–770 769 4 337.50–340.00 $338.12 $2,600
803–833 value added 813 6 330.00–333.00 $331.02 $2,691
1005 1005 1 294.00 $294.00 $2,955
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
331 331 4 550.00 $550.00 $1,820
355 355 1 460.00 $460.00 $1,633
410 410 2 485.00 $485.00 $1,988
470–487 480 5 440.00–475.00 $461.30 $2,214
570 570 1 380.00 $380.00 $2,166
800 800 3 285.00 $285.00 $2,280
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
618 618 2 365.00 $365.00 $2,256

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
245 245 7 560.00 $560.00 $1,372
300 300 6 555.00 $555.00 $1,665
383–385 383 18 500.00 $500.00 $1,915
440 440 3 462.50 $462.50 $2,035
461 461 20 460.00 $460.00 $2,121
538 538 16 425.00 $425.00 $2,286
550–599 581 28 395.00–400.00 $396.98 $2,306
636–649 639 47 352.00–366.00 $363.24 $2,321
674–676 675 9 347.50–355.00 $350.83 $2,368
748 748 2 337.50 $337.50 $2,524
758 value added 758 6 348.00 $348.00 $2,638
815 815 1 307.50 $307.50 $2,506
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
330 330 1 480.00 $480.00 $1,584
393 393 2 405.00 $405.00 $1,592
438 438 4 452.50 $452.50 $1,982
461–478 472 12 420.00–437.50 $431.81 $2,038
566–575 569 6 365.00–385.00 $378.26 $2,152
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
480 480 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,800

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
378–391 389 18 510.00–525.00 $522.57 $2,033
430 430 1 500.00 $500.00 $2,150
451 451 20 490.00 $490.00 $2,210
539 539 19 462.50 $462.50 $2,493
582 582 16 425.00 $425.00 $2,474
619 619 5 413.00 $413.00 $2,556
650–657 653 14 378.00–388.00 $383.69 $2,505
718 718 2 343.00 $343.00 $2,463
853 853 2 300.00 $300.00 $2,559
905 905 2 257.50 $257.50 $2,330
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
388 388 2 445.00 $445.00 $1,727
511–523 515 6 415.00–440.00 $431.54 $2,222
565–590 582 3 365.00–380.00 $375.14 $2,183
655 655 1 355.00 $355.00 $2,325
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
510 510 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,785

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
975–1175 1093 80-85% 6 160.00–175.00 $169.54 $1,853
1110–1300 1224 80-85% 9 195.00–211.00 $201.87 $2,471
975–1525 1263 80-85% 20 180.00–193.00 $185.43 $2,342
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
985–1015 1000 85-90% 2 130.00–144.00 $137.11 $1,371
925–1090 1011 85-90% 11 150.00–165.00 $157.37 $1,591
1010–1145 1057 85-90% 5 167.00–182.00 $175.33 $1,853
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1285 1285 75-80% 1 173.00 $173.00 $2,223
1245–1585 1420 75-80% 10 180.00–192.00 $186.61 $2,650
1255–1535 1428 75-80% 3 198.00–208.00 $201.65 $2,880

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1660–1675 1668 2 192.00–195.00 $193.49 $3,227
1520–1925 1714 4 229.00–245.00 $234.63 $4,022
1295–2180 1728 6 212.00–221.00 $215.22 $3,719

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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.