The Morning Wire / Tennessee / Tue Aug 18, 2026

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Tennessee cattle market

The trading day in one page — Tue, Aug 18
● 5 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 17Aug 18Aug 19 →

The market in a line

Tue, Aug 18
Choice cutout closed $11.58 higher at $391.15. 5 Tennessee barns reported 307 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Tennessee, week of Aug 17 USDA
Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a state figure. Watch the barn count: a weight class carried by one or two barns is a thin figure, not a market.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb440.76/cwt$37.47 lower809
400-499 lb412.28/cwt$31.25 lower15212
500-599 lb377.00/cwt$30.93 lower37213
600-699 lb352.32/cwt$17.65 lower50812
700-799 lb331.53/cwt$21.63 lower76112
800-899 lb316.07/cwt$20.41 lower47710

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Tue, Aug 18, weighted by head. Spread of $21.81 between the top and bottom of 2 barns. An average moves with the cattle that showed up as much as with the buyers in the seats — a yard with better grade will average higher on the same demand. This is where the money landed, not a verdict on the barn.
BarnStateAverageHead
Knoxville Livestock Auction - Knoxville, TNTN392.93/cwt39
Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TNTN371.12/cwt35

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 18 USDA
Choice $391.15, $11.58 higher. Select $366.29, $2.03 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $24.86. 118 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
23,779 head traded Aug 12–Aug 18.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.502,377
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB227.603,366
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered363.6711,426

At the Tennessee barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last week, all classes of Feeder Cattle 15.00 to 20.00 lower. Calves under 450lbs receiving most discounts, with instances of 40.00 lower. Slaughter Cows mostly steady to 4.00 lower. Slaughter Bulls 10.00 lower. Quality fair to good, with moderate demand on a lighter test of market.

Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TN · Tennessee

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.

Knoxville Livestock Auction - Knoxville, TN · Tennessee

Compared to last week, Feeder Steers/Bulls 5.00-15.00 lower with instances of 20.00 lower; Feeder Heifers 8.00-15.00 lower with instances of 20.00 lower; Slaughter Cows 2.00-5.00 lower; Slaughter Bulls mostly steady.

United Producers Inc (Fayetteville, TN) · Tennessee

No trends could be established due to light receipts; however all classes of Feeder and Slaughter Cattle traded with a lower undertone due to moderate demand and lack of quality.

Pulaski Livestock Auction - Pulaski, TN · Tennessee

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)306.48/cwt$7.43 lower541
Boner (85% lean)328.25/cwt$3.02 higher1,566
Cutter (90% lean)333.46/cwt$10.30 higher2,512
Premium White322.92/cwt$1.15 lower1,896
Bull (92% lean)368.72/cwt$0.56 lower373

What published

See every report →
Every USDA report carried this date is listed in the archive.
Source: USDA AMS. Feeder prices and barn comment are Tennessee only; boxed beef, fed cattle and the cow market are national, because those markets are. Every figure is USDA's as filed, and the direction words — higher, lower, steady— follow the arithmetic rather than an opinion. Quoted comment is the work of USDA market reporters, credited to the sale it came from. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of USDA data, not a copy of USDA's document and not endorsed by USDA.