Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 10, 2020

3,821 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $157.39/cwt +8.30 vs last sale · ≈ $885/hd at 562 lb · 349 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $155.54/cwt +9.70 vs last sale · ≈ $737/hd at 474 lb · 311 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $162.14/cwt +3.97 vs last sale · ≈ $853/hd at 526 lb · 273 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,821	5,490	4,912
Feeder cattle	2,804	3,712	3,478
Slaughter cattle	731	1,310	230
Replacement cattle	286	468	1,204

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 sharply higher, mostly 10.00-20.00 higher; 400-499 lbs steers sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher; steer calves over 500 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, except 550-599 lbs steers which sold 8.00-10.00 higher. Unweaned heifer calves sold 4.00-8.00 higher with the exception of 500-549 lbs heifers which sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Demand this week was mostly good for moderate to heavy offerings. Demand for lightweight calves suitable to develop into yearlings was mostly good with several buyers purchasing this weight class. Quality this week was average to attractive. Calves with two rounds of preconditioning shots continue to sell with the best demand. Buyers continue to offer a 4.00-8.00 premium for calves with two rounds of shots. Market activity this week was 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. The majority of cows purchased by packers this week are destined for short term feed. Packer buyers purchased these cows at similar prices to slaughter cows. Slaughter cows sold generally steady. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 higher on high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Short term feeding cows sold steady. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. 2-3 year old's suitable to feed or rebeed sold generally steady. Quality was average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
276–288 unweaned	284	20	210.00–219.00	$215.94	$613	+25.94
305–311 unweaned	308	7	210.00–212.50	$211.44	$651	+13.44
352–372 unweaned	355	80	192.00–208.00	$202.20	$718	+18.65
410–439 unweaned	427	173	181.00–188.00	$184.22	$787	+5.95
454–497 unweaned	462	193	164.00–185.50	$179.09	$827	+11.08
505–547 unweaned	526	273	154.50–166.00	$162.14	$853	+3.97
553–591 unweaned	562	349	149.00–160.25	$157.39	$885	+8.30
600 fancy	600	23	160.00	$160.00	$960	—
606–638 unweaned	616	91	141.00–148.00	$146.28	$901	+2.65
650–683 unweaned	673	18	137.00–144.50	$141.01	$949	+11.01
780	780	14	133.00	$133.00	$1,037	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315–342 unweaned	328	51	185.00–192.00	$185.26	$608	+4.14
356–378 unweaned	360	20	183.00–185.00	$184.58	$664	+7.49
435–444 unweaned	441	19	164.00–173.00	$167.27	$738	-1.29
469–486 unweaned	479	13	158.00–166.50	$161.20	$772	+5.20
544 unweaned	544	7	151.00	$151.00	$821	-1.31
573 unweaned	573	3	146.00	$146.00	$837	+5.00

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
650 unweaned	650	4	134.00	$134.00	$871	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
310–333 unweaned	314	34	159.00–165.00	$163.88	$515	+7.23
354–372 unweaned	366	64	160.00–164.50	$161.94	$593	+7.31
401–433 unweaned	408	127	147.00–159.00	$155.76	$636	+7.96
452–489 unweaned	467	169	145.50–154.50	$152.41	$712	+6.57
474 fancy	474	44	157.50	$157.50	$747	—
480–495	486	98	159.00–160.75	$160.06	$778	—
513–549 unweaned	533	101	141.00–149.00	$143.77	$766	+2.73
550–577 unweaned	564	125	135.00–144.50	$139.95	$789	+6.43
611	611	7	117.50	$117.50	$718	—
601–648 unweaned	619	8	119.00–126.50	$123.55	$765	-2.95
787	787	11	123.50	$123.50	$972	-3.61

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
301–347 unweaned	327	40	152.00–155.00	$153.88	$503	+7.57
364–399 unweaned	390	39	150.00–151.00	$150.10	$585	+5.00
425 unweaned	425	25	143.00	$143.00	$608	+2.36
455–487 unweaned	481	18	130.00–145.00	$142.52	$686	+3.92
508 unweaned	508	12	136.50	$136.50	$693	—
849	849	9	119.00	$119.00	$1,010	—
983	983	4	112.00	$112.00	$1,101	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
392 unweaned	392	3	157.50	$157.50	$617	—
411–445 unweaned	431	12	165.00–179.00	$172.89	$745	+1.89
530 unweaned	530	4	137.50	$137.50	$729	—
630 unweaned	630	2	127.50	$127.50	$803	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
925–970	959	85-90%	4	38.50–42.00	$41.16	$395	-8.84
965	965	85-90%	1	48.00	$48.00	$463	-2.00
980–990	983	85-90%	3	32.00–37.00	$35.01	$344	-14.99
1000–1315	1080	85-90%	58	34.00–39.00	$36.99	$399	—
1011–1280	1152	85-90%	193	40.50–48.00	$44.52	$513	-7.25
1000–1293	1171	85-90%	140	40.50–47.50	$43.56	$510	-2.77
1116–1353	1262	85-90%	95	48.00–58.00	$52.10	$658	—
1270–1285	1278	85-90%	3	47.00–48.50	$47.83	$611	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1305	1305	80-85%	1	42.50	$42.50	$555	-12.85
1310–1335	1318	80-85%	3	49.00–50.50	$49.99	$659	-5.36
1278–1500	1328	80-85%	8	45.50–47.00	$46.62	$619	-8.73
1238–1518	1364	80-85%	52	50.50–59.50	$57.48	$784	+10.34
1220–1448	1366	80-85%	40	60.50–62.50	$61.95	$846	+14.81

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1475–1575	1525	75-80%	2	57.50–58.50	$58.02	$885	-7.48
1465–1633	1540	75-80%	14	61.00–62.50	$62.40	$961	-3.10
1500–1760	1587	75-80%	3	64.00–65.00	$64.37	$1,022	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1660–1675	1670	3	68.00–73.50	$71.68	$1,197	-5.98
1690–1945	1818	2	77.00–79.50	$78.34	$1,424	—
1735–1890	1824	8	75.50–77.50	$76.06	$1,387	—
1840	1840	1	65.00	$65.00	$1,196	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
831–1133	930	(<2 yrs)	Open	111	68.00–90.00	$81.04	$754
815–1450	1140	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	66	54.00–78.00	$65.88	$751
1184 thin fleshed	1184	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	53.00	$53.00	$628

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1180	1180	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	57.00	$57.00	$673

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1118 thin fleshed	1118	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	8	600.00	$600.00
1150	1150	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	6	800.00	$800.00

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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.