Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 8, 2020

5,345 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 $169.99/cwt -2.98 vs last sale · ≈ $888/hd at 523 lb · 532 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $179.23/cwt -20.70 vs last sale · ≈ $768/hd at 429 lb · 306 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.71/cwt +0.58 vs last sale · ≈ $761/hd at 470 lb · 292 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,345 3,029 4,596
Feeder cattle 4,364 1,885 3,609
Slaughter cattle 436 726 105
Replacement cattle 545 418 882

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Unweaned Feeder Steers above 500 lbs sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher, Unweaned Steers 400-450 lbs sold 3.00 to 4.00 lower. Steer Calves not enough comparable weights for an accurate market trend, weak undertone noted. Feeder Heifers 400-500 lbs sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher, all other Feeder Heifer weights not enough comparison for an accurate market trend, steady to firm undertone noted. Slaughter Cows sold steady to 2.00 higher and Slaughter Bulls sold steady.

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
302–307 unweaned 305 6 200.00–223.00 $211.41 $645 +8.91
335–338 336 38 204.00–212.00 $208.83 $702 —
352–384 unweaned 374 10 191.00–205.00 $194.95 $729 -9.65
353–397 376 42 193.00–205.00 $197.70 $743 —
403–438 unweaned 419 62 185.00–190.00 $189.06 $792 -9.10
400–447 431 244 165.00–185.00 $176.73 $762 -33.27
454–497 479 189 165.00–183.00 $171.46 $821 -11.54
502–538 unweaned 515 192 170.50–179.50 $173.40 $893 +2.36
507–540 527 340 164.00–175.00 $168.06 $886 -10.29
565 unweaned 565 39 158.00 $158.00 $893 +10.25
552–586 572 253 154.00–163.00 $156.90 $897 —
600–610 unweaned 601 64 148.00–153.25 $152.92 $919 +1.42
610–628 619 81 149.00–155.00 $151.52 $938 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 unweaned 375 4 166.00 $166.00 $622 —
393 393 32 180.00 $180.00 $707 -9.16
407–443 436 40 159.00–175.00 $165.47 $721 —
468 unweaned 468 60 151.00 $151.00 $707 —
546 546 15 140.00 $140.00 $764 —
558–598 581 24 147.00–150.50 $148.89 $865 —
633–634 633 19 135.50–137.00 $136.45 $864 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
326 326 5 180.00 $180.00 $587 —
354–393 376 74 177.00–192.50 $182.55 $686 +17.55
398 unweaned 398 12 165.00 $165.00 $657 -0.75
406 fancy 406 19 176.50 $176.50 $717 —
422–428 unweaned 424 25 155.50–165.50 $161.47 $685 +3.28
405–438 426 158 161.00–174.00 $168.57 $718 +14.43
452 unweaned 452 8 159.00 $159.00 $719 +6.24
450–498 471 284 152.50–168.50 $161.79 $762 +6.19
519–525 unweaned 522 75 151.50–153.00 $152.22 $795 -1.21
509–543 531 145 147.00–158.00 $150.36 $798 -1.64
556 fancy 556 80 151.75 $151.75 $844 —
556–595 570 122 135.00–143.00 $139.61 $796 -2.39
569–599 unweaned 585 54 136.00–138.00 $136.87 $801 -1.34
613–620 615 44 132.00–133.50 $132.95 $818 —
733 733 12 135.00 $135.00 $990 —
809–834 826 18 132.75–133.25 $132.91 $1,098 +2.41
855–895 871 37 128.75–129.00 $128.85 $1,122 —
944 944 4 123.00 $123.00 $1,161 -4.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332–347 341 17 162.00–165.00 $163.20 $557 —
449 449 9 152.00 $152.00 $682 ±0.00
470–494 479 41 146.00–150.00 $148.49 $711 —
542–545 543 38 142.50–144.50 $142.98 $776 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–449 440 10 165.00–172.00 $170.00 $748 —
536 unweaned 536 14 157.00 $157.00 $842 —
554 554 19 145.00 $145.00 $803 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1360 1099 85-90% 32 38.00–44.50 $42.62 $468 —
1000–1138 1110 85-90% 5 59.50–60.00 $59.91 $665 +0.91
1000–1245 1120 85-90% 6 36.00–44.00 $41.93 $470 -17.07
840–1495 1134 85-90% 31 45.00–55.00 $48.61 $551 -10.39
1040–1395 1168 85-90% 4 27.00–31.00 $29.04 $339 -18.31
920–1355 1170 85-90% 106 44.50–55.00 $49.47 $579 +2.12
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008–1430 1250 80-85% 13 53.50–58.50 $55.78 $697 —
1176–1475 1305 80-85% 55 52.00–59.00 $55.85 $729 +9.55
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1451–1680 1513 75-80% 7 54.00–57.00 $56.11 $849 -6.07
1720 1720 75-80% 1 47.00 $47.00 $808 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530 1530 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,117 —
1155–1925 1561 10 54.00–74.00 $67.30 $1,051 —
1235–1923 1745 4 74.50–77.50 $75.49 $1,317 —
1330–2155 1796 20 73.00–83.00 $78.76 $1,415 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
580–1195 985 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 169 61.50–88.00 $76.95 $758

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1204–1226 1218 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 17 800.00–925.00 $881.40

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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.