Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 25, 2021

1,141 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $141.96/cwt +0.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,014/hd at 714 lb · 32 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $135.88/cwt -0.23 vs last sale · ≈ $894/hd at 658 lb · 31 head

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $137.00/cwt ≈ $1,043/hd at 761 lb · 30 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale
Total receipts	1,141	982
Feeder cattle	327	329
Slaughter cattle	534	371
Replacement cattle	280	282

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on like quality offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Demand was mostly moderate for light offerings. Market activity this week was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows comprised the majority of the offering this week. Packers continue to be aggressive as they purchase cows. Packers opted to put the majority of the cow offering on feed this week. Many cows were purchased to put on a holding ration until shackle space becomes available. Packers also purchased high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Quality this week was attractive to very attractive. Heavy supplies of cows continue to be offered up as ranchers cull cows which aren't raising calves or have yet to calve. Weigh up conditions were mostly in buyers favor this week as most cows coming off grass were slicked off and very empty. Both slaughter and feeding cows sold fully steady. Slaughter bulls sold steady to weak. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady to firm. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand for cow-calf pairs was mostly light as ranchers continue to show concern over both drought conditions and higher feed prices.

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
701–732	714	32	140.50–143.00	$141.96	$1,014	+0.96
761	761	30	137.00	$137.00	$1,043	—
844	844	4	127.00	$127.00	$1,072	+3.00

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
921	921	6	116.00	$116.00	$1,068	—
1067	1067	8	107.50	$107.50	$1,147	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
552	552	3	160.00	$160.00	$883	+6.50
740	740	2	135.00	$135.00	$999	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
623–641	638	13	140.00	$140.00	$893	—
650–660	658	31	134.00–138.00	$135.88	$894	-0.23
807–840	829	11	114.00–115.50	$114.78	$952	-5.22

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
653–685	676	7	121.00–124.00	$123.17	$833	—

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1200–1235	1220	3	85.00–87.00	$85.67	$1,045	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
465	465	3	137.00	$137.00	$637	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
835–975	902	85-90%	3	55.00–65.00	$59.91	$540	—
820–995	918	85-90%	6	52.00–58.00	$55.26	$507	—
975	975	85-90%	1	44.00	$44.00	$429	—
1005–1245	1097	85-90%	26	52.00–60.50	$57.65	$632	—
965–1345	1200	85-90%	42	54.00–62.00	$59.49	$714	—
1155–1260	1208	85-90%	2	70.00–72.00	$70.96	$857	—
955–1355	1237	85-90%	61	61.00–64.50	$62.81	$777	—
1015–1399	1244	85-90%	92	62.00–68.50	$65.77	$818	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1360–1365	1365	80-85%	13	68.25–68.50	$68.27	$932	+2.71
1329–1555	1370	80-85%	9	59.00–61.00	$60.47	$828	-5.09
1285–1535	1412	80-85%	131	62.00–67.75	$66.44	$938	—
1385–1513	1470	80-85%	3	58.00–61.00	$60.06	$883	-1.68
1345–1605	1472	80-85%	15	63.00–66.50	$64.97	$956	+3.23

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1493–1517	1503	75-80%	7	62.50–65.00	$63.92	$961	—
1570–1645	1598	75-80%	3	66.50–67.50	$67.17	$1,073	—
1440–1705	1615	75-80%	3	61.50–65.00	$62.91	$1,016	-1.59
1700	1700	75-80%	1	66.50	$66.50	$1,130	—
1716	1716	75-80%	4	69.00	$69.00	$1,184	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1385	1385	1	68.50	$68.50	$949	-17.43
1325–1510	1387	3	73.00–84.00	$80.01	$1,110	-5.92
1420	1420	1	82.00	$82.00	$1,164	—
1445–1665	1547	3	81.50–85.00	$83.58	$1,293	—
1600	1600	1	86.00	$86.00	$1,376	—
1375–2135	1689	15	84.00–91.00	$87.19	$1,473	-1.29
1850–1965	1908	2	94.00–95.00	$94.52	$1,803	—
1768–2280	2046	23	98.00–106.00	$101.95	$2,086	—
1855–2160	2055	12	92.50–96.00	$94.14	$1,935	—
2565	2565	1	93.50	$93.50	$2,398	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
795–1233	1014	(<2 yrs)	Open	82	70.00–104.50	$88.29	$895
840–1340	1107	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	70	63.50–88.50	$76.51	$847

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
785–970	894	(<2 yrs)	Open	4	71.00–76.50	$73.27	$655
930	930	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	63.00	$63.00	$586

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
930	930	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	65.50	$65.50	$609

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1244–1331	1284	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	55	1,485.00–1,500.00	$1,499.21	+580.04
1365–1518	1471	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	13	1,350.00–1,425.00	$1,403.58	—

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1037	1037	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	1,425.00	$1,425.00	—

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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.