Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, February 23, 2021

2,910 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $163.82/cwt -8.32 vs last sale · ≈ $792/hd at 484 lb · 341 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $163.42/cwt +3.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,030/hd at 630 lb · 281 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $183.73/cwt +2.73 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 515 lb · 203 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,910 1,237 791
Feeder cattle 2,202 1,100 507
Slaughter cattle 288 67 140
Replacement cattle 420 70 144

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: The best test for steers was for 600-649 lbs which sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher. All other steer weights sold unevenly steady. Heifers 500-699 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher; all other heifers sold unevenly steady. Demand was mostly moderate for moderate to heavy offerings. Quality this week was average to attractive. Several load lots of high quality backgrounded feeders were seen today and these offerings sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Packages of calves sold on light to moderate demand and led to wide prices at times. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed lighter demand for slaughter cows this week. Warmer weather allowed for more cattle to be marketed this week and packers backed up bids as a result. Several sets of fed cows were seen this week. Many of these sets of cows needed to be fed a few more weeks to reach premium white. Feeding buyers purchased most of these cows away from packers to return to the country to feed. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 lower. Feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly moderate demand. 2 year old to young age cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Moderate demand was seen this week for these offerings.

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
412 unweaned 412 12 189.00 $189.00 $779 —
425 425 3 194.00 $194.00 $824 —
458–487 467 45 181.50–194.00 $188.22 $879 -4.78
479 unweaned 479 23 181.00 $181.00 $867 —
500–538 515 203 180.00–187.00 $183.73 $946 +2.73
570 unweaned 570 41 167.00 $167.00 $952 —
554–595 574 72 164.75–177.00 $169.63 $974 -13.32
614–636 630 281 155.25–165.50 $163.42 $1,030 +3.06
655–684 677 61 147.50–150.00 $148.62 $1,006 -1.05
708–745 740 14 142.00–143.00 $142.14 $1,052 -5.64
773–780 777 144 141.50 $141.50 $1,099 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
421 421 7 190.00 $190.00 $800 +8.00
463–489 481 42 158.00–182.00 $177.03 $852 —
519–524 522 8 162.00–170.00 $165.98 $866 —
588–596 595 23 148.50–162.00 $150.82 $897 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 9 175.00 $175.00 $884 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
337 unweaned 337 11 172.50 $172.50 $581 —
365 365 7 164.00 $164.00 $599 —
457–484 unweaned 466 39 155.50–164.50 $161.38 $752 —
459–495 486 302 157.00–167.50 $164.14 $798 -8.00
503–543 523 134 156.50–165.00 $159.65 $835 +2.41
548 unweaned 548 48 156.50 $156.50 $858 —
550–590 566 180 150.00–159.00 $154.73 $876 +4.37
574 unweaned 574 8 153.00 $153.00 $878 —
609–634 622 111 136.00–146.00 $143.32 $891 +4.85
656 656 27 136.25 $136.25 $894 -6.75
655–661 661 50 133.00–137.00 $136.76 $904 +1.47
780 780 10 115.00 $115.00 $897 -2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361–399 376 15 157.00–158.00 $157.58 $593 —
401–440 413 16 154.00–155.00 $154.45 $638 —
450 450 4 155.00 $155.00 $698 +1.00
509 509 13 141.50 $141.50 $720 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 11 148.00 $148.00 $710 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
399 399 8 150.00 $150.00 $598 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
513 unweaned 513 5 144.00 $144.00 $739 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
549 549 5 139.00 $139.00 $763 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1394–1845 1440 75-80% 41 61.50–65.75 $64.39 $927 -3.61
1454–1865 1500 75-80% 20 57.50–61.00 $60.11 $902 —
1403–1805 1536 75-80% 57 61.50–66.00 $63.00 $968 —
1825 1825 75-80% 1 59.25 $59.25 $1,081 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1282–1490 1333 80-85% 22 60.50–63.50 $62.09 $828 +2.59
1276–1510 1387 80-85% 31 56.00–60.00 $59.49 $825 -6.04
1360–1470 1438 80-85% 4 64.50–65.50 $65.01 $935 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910 910 85-90% 1 59.00 $59.00 $537 —
870–995 947 85-90% 8 47.00–55.00 $50.43 $478 —
960 960 85-90% 1 43.00 $43.00 $413 -13.50
1145 1145 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $550 -9.98
1148 1148 85-90% 2 62.50 $62.50 $718 +4.52
1245–1290 1263 85-90% 7 61.00–64.00 $61.64 $779 —
1050–1375 1268 85-90% 30 51.00–60.00 $57.28 $726 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1592–1816 1716 65-75% 35 61.50–63.75 $62.99 $1,081 —
2450 2450 65-75% 1 51.00 $51.00 $1,250 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290 1290 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,077 —
1290 1290 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,096 —
1360–1760 1560 2 82.00–83.00 $82.56 $1,288 —
1620–2190 1779 15 85.00–90.50 $87.78 $1,562 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775–832 821 (<2 yrs)Open 9 107.00–110.00 $109.13 $896
788–1245 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 57 61.00–88.00 $73.25 $754

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1181 thin fleshed 1181 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 33 760.00 $760.00
1322–1427 1381 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 48 875.00–925.00 $905.51
1502 1502 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 15 1,250.00 $1,250.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
942–1175 1063 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 248 1,300.00–1,510.00 $1,447.35
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
921 921 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,225.00 $1,225.00

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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.