Name: Sweetwater Livestock Auction livestock auction prices — 2026-04-22
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-04-22

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week, slaughter cows sold 6.00 to 7.00 lower, with no market trends available for slaughter bulls and feeder cattle due to limited comparable receipts.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $382.98/cwt on 9 head, down $35.91 from the prior sale. That ranks 7 of 11 comparable sales and sits +8.00 against this barn's trailing median of $374.98.

Average price

$382.98

▼ 35.91 vs prior sale

9 head · 559 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,140

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$115

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium and Large 2

$42.73/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−32.67

vs TN average

−39.19 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	555	387.73	2,151	8thin
Medium and Large 2	590	345.00	2,036	1thin

One grade step is worth $42.73/cwt here — about $115 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 500–600 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

11 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $419.81, low $340.56, median $374.98 across 11 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale9 hd

382.98

—

TN average16 barns · 776 hd

415.65

−32.67

National average167 barns · 11,519 hd

422.17

−39.19

This barn, trailing median11 sales

374.98

+8.00

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	Average	1,515	211.25	3,200	3thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,365	175.64	2,398	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,191	173.51	2,067	11
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,001	161.45	1,617	9thin
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,073	156.39	1,678	2thin

Every lot, as filed

41 lots · USDA AMS · East Tennessee Livestock Center - Sweetwater, TN

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added.

Class	Grade / description	Weight	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Bulls	—	—	1,500	200.37/cwt	197.00–205.00	3,006	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,184	171.34/cwt	162.50–176.00	2,029	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,225	183.27/cwt	182.50–184.00	2,245	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,339	173.36/cwt	162.00–180.00	2,321	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,470	184.75/cwt	184.50–185.00	2,716	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,037	166.06/cwt	160.00–176.00	1,722	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	500–550	535	376.25/cwt	370.00–382.50	2,013	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	650–700	655	366.25/cwt	360.00–372.50	2,399	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	450–500	470	407.50/cwt	407.50–407.50	1,915	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	550–600	562	389.79/cwt	380.00–410.00	2,191	3
Bulls	Small 1	250–300	270	510.00/cwt	510.00–510.00	1,377	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	735	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,242	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	500–550	500	440.00/cwt	440.00–440.00	2,200	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	355	479.65/cwt	455.00–500.00	1,703	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	563	373.12/cwt	370.00–375.00	2,101	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	500–550	530	475.00/cwt	475.00–475.00	2,518	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	350–400	388	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	2,037	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	330	490.00/cwt	490.00–490.00	1,617	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	350–400	360	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	1,890	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	455	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	2,207	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	625	362.50/cwt	362.50–362.50	2,266	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	450–500	455	502.50/cwt	502.50–502.50	2,286	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	480	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,160	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	820	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,583	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	560	403.33/cwt	380.00–427.50	2,259	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	750–800	780	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,184	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	550–600	563	425.00/cwt	425.00–425.00	2,393	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	250–300	288	570.00/cwt	570.00–570.00	1,642	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	350–400	375	490.00/cwt	480.00–500.00	1,838	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	335	465.00/cwt	465.00–465.00	1,558	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	410	417.50/cwt	417.50–417.50	1,712	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Value Added	800–850	833	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,624	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	500–550	543	445.00/cwt	445.00–445.00	2,416	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	705	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	2,520	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	630	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	2,237	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	930	152.24/cwt	149.00–158.00	1,416	3
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,073	156.39/cwt	156.00–157.00	1,678	2
Bulls	—	—	1,545	233.00/cwt	233.00–233.00	3,600	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	600–650	605	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	2,148	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	590	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,036	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	750–800	750	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,400	1

How this sale compares

Tennessee weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every Tennessee auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

Tennessee feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

East Tennessee Livestock Center - Sweetwater, TN

Wed Apr 22, 2026

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Nashville, TN (LS-NV)

Feeder CattleReceipts 97Last week 126Year ago 24

Slaughter CattleReceipts 48Last week 55Year ago 32

Compared to last week, slaughter cows sold 6.00 to 7.00 lower, with no market trends available for slaughter bulls and feeder cattle due to limited comparable receipts.

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,500	197.00–205.00	200.37
1	—	1,545	233.00	233.00
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	1,184	162.50–176.00	171.34
2	—	1,225	182.50–184.00	183.27
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,339	162.00–180.00	173.36
2	—	1,470	184.50–185.00	184.75
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,037	160.00–176.00	166.06
3	—	930	149.00–158.00	152.24
Dairy Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,073	156.00–157.00	156.39

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	250–300	288	570.00	570.00
2	350–400	375	480.00–500.00	490.00
1	450–500	455	485.00	485.00
2	500–550	535	370.00–382.50	376.25
2	550–600	560	380.00–427.50	403.33
1	600–650	625	362.50	362.50
2	650–700	655	360.00–372.50	366.25
1	700–750	705	357.50	357.50
1	800–850	820	315.00	315.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	450–500	470	407.50	407.50
1	600–650	605	355.00	355.00
Bulls — Small 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	250–300	270	510.00	510.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Value Added$ per cwt · actual wt
1	500–550	500	440.00	440.00
3	550–600	562	380.00–410.00	389.79
2	800–850	833	315.00	315.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	300–350	330	490.00	490.00
3	350–400	355	455.00–500.00	479.65
2	450–500	480	450.00	450.00
4	550–600	563	370.00–375.00	373.12
1	600–650	630	355.00	355.00
1	700–750	735	305.00	305.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	350–400	360	525.00	525.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
1	750–800	780	280.00	280.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	300–350	335	465.00	465.00
1	400–450	410	417.50	417.50
1	550–600	590	345.00	345.00
1	750–800	750	320.00	320.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Value Added$ per cwt · actual wt
2	350–400	388	525.00	525.00
2	450–500	455	502.50	502.50
3	500–550	530	475.00	475.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
6	500–550	543	445.00	445.00
5	550–600	563	425.00	425.00

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

Fed Cattle — the cash market and what quality pays

Beef & Retail — from the box to the grocery shelf

Feed & Hay — the cost side, cash not futures

Cows & Bred Stock — the rebuild market

More

Sweetwater Livestock Auction