Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, June 22, 2021

1,492 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $145.84/cwt ≈ $986/hd at 676 lb · 42 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 bulls $106.50/cwt ≈ $1,027/hd at 964 lb · 15 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 2 bulls $96.00/cwt ≈ $824/hd at 858 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,492 921 1,067
Feeder cattle 201 107 114
Slaughter cattle 1,114 692 299
Replacement cattle 177 122 654

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate to good for very light offerings. Quality was mostly plain to average. Market activity was moderate. Weigh up cows comprised most of the sale again this week as ranchers continue to market cows due to dry conditions. Cow and bull quality was attractive to very attractive this week. Many reputation ranches sold cows and bulls this week. Weigh up conditions continue to be very attractive to buyers as most cows are still coming off fresh grass and were emptied out as a result. Packers purchased the majority of cows this week to feed as quality lent itself to feeding and supplies of cows available to the packer in the northern plains are running very high due to drought conditions. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm on all classes. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher on a very attractive offering. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher, again quality this week was very attractive and better compared to last week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold lower as very few takers were seen for this class of cattle. Packers purchased many of these offerings as feeding cows this week as demand from rebreed buyers was light. Demand for cow calf pairs remains light as drought conditions continue to weigh on the market. Many pairs were split this week as cow prices made pairs more valuable to do so.

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
746 746 8 153.50 $153.50 $1,145 —
783 783 4 147.00 $147.00 $1,151 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 8 157.00 $157.00 $702 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 2 153.00 $153.00 $895 —
603 603 2 155.50 $155.50 $938 -0.50
660 660 3 157.50 $157.50 $1,040 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
669–688 676 42 144.50–147.00 $145.84 $986 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
129 thin fleshed 129 4 200.00 $200.00 —
180–190 181 8 425.00–435.00 $433.69 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
626 626 5 133.00 $133.00 $833 +3.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
729 729 7 92.00 $92.00 $671 —
858 858 14 96.00 $96.00 $824 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
729 729 4 116.00 $116.00 $846 —
964 964 15 106.50 $106.50 $1,027 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
129 thin fleshed 129 3 200.00 $200.00 —
155–180 175 5 435.00–460.00 $439.43 —
230–248 242 3 450.00–475.00 $457.92 —
272–295 278 4 450.00–475.00 $456.64 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
968 968 (<2 yrs)N/A 5 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095 1095 4 94.00 $94.00 $1,029 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975 975 1 97.00 $97.00 $946 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1510 1374 80-85% 186 70.25–76.50 $72.00 $989 +4.83
1218–1695 1375 80-85% 146 64.00–70.00 $68.38 $940 +1.21
1290–1485 1392 80-85% 6 58.00–63.00 $60.18 $838 -11.29
1335–1600 1393 80-85% 26 62.00–67.50 $64.15 $894 -7.32
1365–1457 1432 80-85% 20 69.00–72.50 $70.75 $1,013 +10.16
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–930 868 85-90% 3 54.00–60.00 $56.49 $490 —
975 975 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $556 —
935–993 979 85-90% 4 62.00–65.00 $64.28 $629 —
1030–1340 1131 85-90% 31 54.50–60.00 $56.57 $640 —
1068–1335 1171 85-90% 75 68.50–75.00 $72.36 $847 +12.36
1055–1310 1185 85-90% 63 60.00–67.00 $63.59 $754 -4.63
1030–1325 1197 85-90% 38 62.00–68.00 $65.87 $788 -5.75
1060–1363 1262 85-90% 9 67.50–72.50 $69.99 $883 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1402–1537 1483 75-80% 35 72.25–73.25 $72.63 $1,077 +1.34
1400–1825 1611 75-80% 55 69.50–73.50 $71.23 $1,148 —
1350–1750 1634 75-80% 7 62.00–67.50 $64.80 $1,059 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375 1375 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,210 —
1515–1785 1632 3 78.00–82.50 $80.72 $1,317 —
1205–2050 1776 33 84.50–94.00 $89.72 $1,593 —
1816–2265 1951 35 94.50–104.00 $98.26 $1,917 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735 thin fleshed 735 (<2 yrs)Open 2 72.50 $72.50 $533
780–1318 1034 (<2 yrs)Open 30 71.00–80.00 $76.68 $793
750–1263 1073 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 77 63.00–78.25 $73.92 $793

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1571 1571 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 1,385.00 $1,385.00 —
1640 1640 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,410.00 $1,410.00 —

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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.