Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 3, 2020

5,490 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Miles City Livestock Commission Auction report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $158.17/cwt +0.17 vs last sale · ≈ $837/hd at 529 lb · 424 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $169.50/cwt +6.95 vs last sale · ≈ $809/hd at 477 lb · 409 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $149.09/cwt +4.65 vs last sale · ≈ $851/hd at 571 lb · 338 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,490 4,217 4,442
Feeder cattle 3,712 3,254 3,210
Slaughter cattle 1,310 843 150
Replacement cattle 468 120 1,082

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Unweaned steer calves under 400 lbs sold 6.00-7.00 lower; unweaned steer calves sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher. Unweaned heifer calves under 400 lbs sold steady to weak; heifers over 400 lbs sold unevenly steady from 5.00 lower to 3.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly moderate for heavy offerings. Lighter demand was seen for light weight calves suitable to develop into yearlings. Lightweight calves had fewer takers this week and heavier supplies as calves continue to come off the cow very light and thin. Lightweight calf quality has been mixed depending on how thin calves got while still on the cow. Market activity this week was moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand. Packers opted to send a very large portion of the cow offering to feed this week. Many cows were sent to short term feed for slaughter during the upcoming holiday weeks. Packers opted to send more plain to average quality cows to feed (albeit short term feed) this week. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower while slaughter cows sold 1.00-2.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 lower. Feeding bulls sold generally steady. 2-3 year olds suitable to feed or re-breed sold steady to 3.00 higher. Quality was average to attractive this week and overall better than last week.

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
299 unweaned 299 13 190.00 $190.00 $568 —
318–327 unweaned 326 41 190.00–199.00 $198.00 $645 -6.30
361–392 unweaned 383 177 177.00–197.00 $183.55 $703 -7.01
408–446 unweaned 424 204 171.00–184.00 $178.27 $756 +1.95
454 thin fleshed 454 47 181.00 $181.00 $822 +8.00
456–499 unweaned 480 362 160.00–174.25 $168.01 $806 +5.92
501–549 unweaned 529 424 153.50–165.00 $158.17 $837 +0.17
551–591 unweaned 571 338 141.00–156.00 $149.09 $851 +4.40
600–630 unweaned 611 83 135.00–148.00 $143.63 $878 +3.38
683 unweaned 683 6 130.00 $130.00 $888 -3.16
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
304–348 unweaned 326 30 172.00–185.00 $181.12 $590 +9.64
355–391 unweaned 373 27 175.00–180.00 $177.09 $661 +0.46
427–435 unweaned 433 51 150.00–173.00 $168.56 $730 —
481 unweaned 481 7 156.00 $156.00 $750 -0.50
530–548 unweaned 534 61 150.00–154.00 $152.31 $813 +5.37
564 unweaned 564 10 141.00 $141.00 $795 +1.00
618–638 unweaned 624 11 124.00–134.00 $129.95 $811 —
741 741 19 126.00 $126.00 $934 —
763 763 8 128.00 $128.00 $977 —
843 843 3 130.00 $130.00 $1,096 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
289 unweaned 289 8 160.00 $160.00 $462 —
303–341 unweaned 323 66 155.00–160.00 $156.65 $506 —
360–391 unweaned 383 128 150.50–157.50 $154.63 $592 -0.45
404–446 unweaned 436 286 143.00–154.50 $147.80 $644 -6.93
453–498 unweaned 475 289 140.00–150.00 $145.84 $693 -1.44
505 505 23 149.50 $149.50 $755 +8.00
505–548 unweaned 527 195 136.50–147.00 $141.04 $743 +2.65
553–584 unweaned 564 85 127.00–136.00 $133.52 $753 +5.52
610 unweaned 610 2 126.50 $126.50 $772 —
673 unweaned 673 3 118.00 $118.00 $794 -5.57
791–796 794 28 125.50–128.00 $127.11 $1,009 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307–341 unweaned 332 36 140.00–155.00 $146.31 $486 -3.51
352–378 unweaned 370 73 140.00–150.00 $145.10 $537 +3.74
408–445 unweaned 437 30 140.00–142.00 $140.64 $615 —
458–481 unweaned 470 13 135.00–143.00 $138.60 $651 -0.99
569 unweaned 569 8 125.00 $125.00 $711 +3.70
890 890 3 115.00 $115.00 $1,024 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
396 unweaned 396 7 135.00 $135.00 $535 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 4 116.00 $116.00 $1,218 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408 unweaned 408 5 171.00 $171.00 $698 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–980 890 85-90% 3 33.00–38.00 $34.84 $310 —
980 980 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $490 +6.31
1020–1275 1110 85-90% 21 29.00–40.00 $34.34 $381 -30.16
1130 1130 85-90% 22 63.00 $63.00 $712 +16.80
1055–1250 1149 85-90% 29 40.00–47.00 $42.93 $493 +1.09
1080–1290 1157 85-90% 38 48.00–54.50 $51.77 $599 -3.23
850–1305 1163 85-90% 138 43.00–48.50 $46.33 $539 -8.67
915–1293 1197 85-90% 128 49.00–58.00 $52.29 $626 +0.43
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1244–1545 1338 80-85% 113 51.00–59.50 $55.35 $741 —
1298–1520 1371 80-85% 6 45.00–50.00 $47.14 $646 -2.14
1375 1375 80-85% 1 42.00 $42.00 $578 -1.00
1202–1650 1394 80-85% 44 60.00–65.00 $62.19 $867 -1.88
1428 1428 80-85% 2 42.00 $42.00 $600 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525 1525 75-80% 25 65.50 $65.50 $999 —
1500–1845 1641 75-80% 8 58.00–63.50 $62.05 $1,018 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1905 1670 3 76.00–79.50 $77.66 $1,297 —
1450–2090 1721 7 62.50–74.00 $69.06 $1,189 -9.00
1385–1950 1745 5 62.50–74.50 $68.75 $1,200 -9.31
1495–1980 1751 23 74.50–79.50 $77.38 $1,355 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
911 911 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 9 49.00 $49.00 $446
820–1120 922 (<2 yrs)Open 80 66.50–89.00 $83.16 $767
930–960 thin fleshed 953 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 51.00–55.00 $51.98 $495
883–1597 1057 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 141 48.00–80.00 $63.41 $670

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1047 1047 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,060.00 $1,060.00
1174 1174 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 27 680.00 $680.00
1258 1258 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 885.00 $885.00

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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.