Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 16, 2021

2,951 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 heifers $152.25/cwt -2.18 vs last sale · ≈ $868/hd at 570 lb · 401 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.53/cwt -4.22 vs last sale · ≈ $844/hd at 523 lb · 390 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $141.83/cwt +2.81 vs last sale · ≈ $943/hd at 665 lb · 284 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,951 2,837 1,020
Feeder cattle 2,671 1,782 911
Slaughter cattle 165 328 30
Replacement cattle 115 727 79

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers all sold steady to 3.00 higher, with the exception on 500-549 lbs which sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Heifers under 450 lbs were too lightly tested either this week or last to develop an accurate market trend, however sharply higher undertones were noticed. 450-599 lbs heifers sold steady to 2.00 lower, heifers 600-699 lbs sold steady to 2.00 higher, heifers over 700 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed on a much more attractive offering . Demand was mostly moderate this week with moderate to good demand seen at times. Quality was average to very attractive. Todays sale was the annual trailhead replacement heifer show and sale. A good crowd was on hand for todays sale. Several very attractive sets of heifers sold as replacements this week. Order buyers searching for fancy heifers suitable to run on grass competed with replacement buyers over offerings. Market activity was mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for light offerings. Feeding demand was moderate this week despite fewer feeding buyers were present. Feeing and slaughter cows both sold sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Cow and bull quality was mostly average this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 1.00-2.00 lower. 2 year old to young age cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower. Moderate demand was seen this week for these offerings. Heavier supplies are starting to be seen around the area as ranchers are selling off any cows that lose calves due to high feed cost.

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
355–377 367 10 200.00–222.50 $202.42 $743 +6.05
412–435 424 26 192.50–212.50 $198.52 $842 +4.89
460–490 473 47 183.00–188.50 $186.67 $883 +1.76
505–537 528 51 172.00–177.00 $173.86 $918 -9.60
550–584 577 77 165.00–174.00 $167.24 $965 -0.48
601–645 607 50 157.00–164.50 $163.56 $993 +2.09
652 fancy 652 11 160.25 $160.25 $1,045 —
670–688 682 37 151.00–156.00 $153.43 $1,046 +4.70
700–744 719 11 140.00–150.50 $145.43 $1,046 +2.81
791 791 10 133.00 $133.00 $1,052 -5.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
516–518 517 15 161.00–171.00 $165.01 $853 -0.99
616 616 4 154.00 $154.00 $949 —
720 720 2 136.00 $136.00 $979 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–547 537 8 165.00–173.00 $167.91 $902 -1.34
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
155 155 1 400.00 $400.00 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–329 325 5 185.00–194.00 $192.28 $625 +26.28
387–395 389 8 183.00–188.00 $184.27 $717 +15.86
400–443 424 34 172.00–185.00 $178.13 $755 +7.37
450–487 463 180 160.00–173.00 $166.54 $771 +1.43
492 thin fleshed 492 8 176.00 $176.00 $866 —
503–514 thin fleshed 513 80 169.00–172.00 $171.78 $881 -0.71
502–544 524 294 155.00–166.25 $159.31 $835 -2.94
546 546 16 151.00 $151.00 $824 -11.25
550–592 570 401 145.00–158.00 $152.25 $868 -1.75
601–647 625 190 137.00–145.50 $142.32 $890 +0.84
638 638 29 151.00 $151.00 $963 +9.52
656–667 657 110 145.00 $145.00 $953 +5.98
655–689 670 174 137.00–142.50 $139.82 $937 +0.80
703–704 704 126 138.50–142.50 $139.93 $985 +15.93
708–725 716 134 136.00–139.50 $138.14 $989 +14.14
759–781 763 24 129.00–130.50 $130.24 $994 +5.24
786 786 17 131.00–133.00 $131.82 $1,036 +6.82
820 820 4 118.00 $118.00 $968 —
888 888 2 118.00 $118.00 $1,048 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411–448 429 34 159.00–167.00 $164.41 $705 +2.63
463–498 485 32 154.00–155.50 $154.81 $751 +2.81
510–536 527 14 145.50–153.00 $151.17 $797 -5.33
584–585 584 10 141.00–148.00 $145.20 $848 —
730–740 735 2 130.00 $130.00 $956 +8.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
441 441 5 130.00 $130.00 $573 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 4 145.00 $145.00 $841 —
698 698 5 134.50 $134.50 $939 —
720 720 2 120.00 $120.00 $864 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 3 101.00 $101.00 $1,030 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870 870 85-90% 1 42.00 $42.00 $365 —
1103–1170 1118 85-90% 6 41.00–48.50 $45.24 $506 -10.44
1093–1220 1149 85-90% 4 58.00–60.50 $59.14 $680 -2.85
1071–1315 1187 85-90% 38 49.00–56.50 $51.91 $616 -8.58
1355 1355 85-90% 1 60.00 $60.00 $813 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295–1345 1317 80-85% 3 55.00–58.00 $56.81 $748 —
1365–1705 1401 80-85% 10 54.00–58.00 $57.22 $802 +0.99
1305–1530 1439 80-85% 9 58.50–64.75 $61.91 $891 -0.58
1455–1605 1533 80-85% 4 58.00–63.50 $61.02 $935 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600–1610 1605 75-80% 2 60.50–63.00 $61.75 $991 —
1715–1840 1778 75-80% 2 56.00–58.00 $57.04 $1,014 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120 1120 1 82.50 $82.50 $924 —
1210 1210 1 86.50 $86.50 $1,047 —
1435–1810 1667 25 74.00–79.50 $77.30 $1,289 -1.44
1305–2130 1799 20 80.50–86.50 $82.87 $1,491 —
1955–2195 2126 4 89.00–95.50 $91.43 $1,944 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
800–983 900 (<2 yrs)Open 17 85.00–105.00 $98.36 $885
875–957 thin fleshed 934 (<2 yrs)Open 7 82.00–85.00 $82.80 $773
994 thin fleshed 994 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 57.00 $57.00 $567
908–1218 1059 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 28 58.00–87.00 $72.94 $772
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
915 915 (<2 yrs)Open 1 87.00 $87.00 $796

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1245 thin fleshed 1245 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 660.00 $660.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1291 thin fleshed 1291 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 725.00 $725.00

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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.