Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 9, 2021

3,044 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 $159.78/cwt +8.49 vs last sale · ≈ $747/hd at 468 lb · 246 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $189.59/cwt -0.69 vs last sale · ≈ $914/hd at 482 lb · 178 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $184.45/cwt +3.95 vs last sale · ≈ $950/hd at 515 lb · 144 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,044 4,725 3,821
Feeder cattle 1,721 2,239 2,804
Slaughter cattle 929 1,882 731
Replacement cattle 394 604 286

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend, weak undertones noted for heifers. Demand for yearlings was moderate to good for light offerings. Feeder steers under 400 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed; 400-499 lbs steers sold steady to 10.00 higher; 500-599 lbs steers sold steady to 5.00 lower, calves over 600 were not well tested. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold steady to 10.00 higher; heifers over 500 lbs sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. Quality this week was average to attractive. Most calves were offered in mostly small to medium size packages. Very few packages over 50 head were seen this week. Trucks remain tight but have started to loosen up some according to buyers. Demand for grass calves was mostly very good this week as supplies have started to tighten. Fewer takers were seen calves over 500 lbs this week which allowed prices to soften. Market activity this week was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. This sale offered the lightest cow offerings seen in weeks. Feeding cows comprised the majority of the sale this week. Fewer feeding buyers were on hand this week and prices slid on lighter demand. Packers showed very light to light demand for slaughter cows as they purchased only very lame or severely blemished cows to send to imitate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. Fewer buyers were seen this week.

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
338 unweaned 338 5 227.00 $227.00 $767 +27.63
360–393 unweaned 382 21 202.00–223.00 $213.50 $816 +20.83
408–424 419 7 191.00–203.00 $194.34 $814 +15.34
404–446 unweaned 421 63 194.00–210.50 $201.74 $849 +16.05
460–471 465 20 189.00–194.00 $191.78 $892 —
465–496 unweaned 484 158 184.00–203.00 $189.31 $916 -0.97
513 513 78 191.50 $191.50 $982 —
500–547 unweaned 517 66 162.00–186.00 $176.12 $911 -4.38
550–585 unweaned 564 121 159.00–172.00 $165.37 $933 -5.21
605–620 unweaned 609 7 153.00–182.50 $161.58 $984 -2.98
660 660 4 150.00 $150.00 $990 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316 unweaned 316 6 195.00 $195.00 $616 +14.89
363 363 2 191.00 $191.00 $693 —
359–393 unweaned 382 32 188.00–196.00 $190.23 $727 +15.23
437 unweaned 437 18 165.00 $165.00 $721 -8.50
475 475 4 171.00 $171.00 $812 —
491 unweaned 491 14 175.00 $175.00 $859 +6.55
500–520 unweaned 505 44 158.00–165.00 $160.11 $809 —
596 596 11 157.50 $157.50 $939 —
602 unweaned 602 12 163.50 $163.50 $984 —
995 unweaned 995 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,741 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
512 unweaned 512 13 133.00 $133.00 $681 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 unweaned 483 4 164.00 $164.00 $792 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327–338 unweaned 332 9 171.00–178.00 $174.83 $580 +13.34
351–382 unweaned 370 66 175.00–183.00 $180.05 $666 +23.41
399 399 25 168.00 $168.00 $670 +6.00
400–426 unweaned 412 63 150.00–169.00 $163.68 $674 +9.00
457 457 7 144.00 $144.00 $658 —
465 465 65 167.00 $167.00 $777 —
460–491 unweaned 469 174 150.00–165.00 $157.72 $740 +6.43
513–547 unweaned 529 121 140.00–155.00 $148.68 $787 -6.72
559–585 unweaned 571 23 143.50–145.00 $144.27 $824 -3.48
801–831 816 39 141.00–144.00 $142.65 $1,164 -1.95
875 875 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,208 -4.27
900–930 918 5 130.00–133.00 $132.21 $1,214 -3.79
955–980 968 7 126.00–137.00 $134.36 $1,301 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 unweaned 300 4 155.00 $155.00 $465 ±0.00
425 unweaned 425 8 160.00 $160.00 $680 +18.00
450–466 unweaned 458 23 132.50–145.00 $138.35 $634 -1.19
521 521 27 131.00 $131.00 $683 —
536 unweaned 536 4 131.00 $131.00 $702 -11.00
568 unweaned 568 4 130.00 $130.00 $738 -5.00
770 770 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,055 -4.17
848 848 3 135.00 $135.00 $1,145 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–472 unweaned 463 13 125.00–131.00 $127.82 $592 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 unweaned 461 11 115.00 $115.00 $530 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
583 unweaned 583 4 120.00 $120.00 $700 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–965 885 85-90% 2 44.00–45.00 $44.45 $393 +6.43
808–975 898 85-90% 9 34.00–42.00 $38.10 $342 +0.08
825–985 921 85-90% 9 25.00–34.50 $30.77 $283 -2.55
869–1180 1050 85-90% 12 37.00–40.50 $39.29 $413 +0.22
1015–1270 1123 85-90% 63 25.00–35.00 $32.85 $369 -11.69
1010–1580 1149 85-90% 40 35.00–43.50 $38.95 $448 -3.58
755–1428 1150 85-90% 107 37.00–46.00 $43.50 $500 -7.83
975–1415 1182 85-90% 168 45.50–52.00 $48.35 $571 -9.22
1126–1260 1184 85-90% 21 44.00–48.50 $45.43 $538 -12.14
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1485 1337 80-85% 16 43.00–49.00 $47.81 $639 —
1105–1516 1351 80-85% 93 50.00–60.50 $54.96 $743 +2.53
1215–1401 1362 80-85% 7 50.00–55.00 $51.72 $704 -0.71
1050–1493 1396 80-85% 11 39.00–45.00 $43.31 $605 -16.75
1520 1520 80-85% 1 40.00 $40.00 $608 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1584–1740 1600 75-80% 10 58.00–59.50 $59.34 $949 —
1573–1720 1610 75-80% 4 48.50–51.00 $49.17 $792 —
1540–1925 1703 75-80% 5 55.00–59.00 $56.82 $968 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1670 1505 3 64.00–78.00 $72.45 $1,090 —
1468–2035 1661 13 67.50–76.50 $73.88 $1,227 +11.19
1695–2045 1903 8 76.50–83.50 $81.47 $1,550 —
1965 1965 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,611 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
805–1090 888 (<2 yrs)Open 107 74.00–110.00 $93.70 $832
815–1230 990 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 185 48.00–98.00 $75.91 $752
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
810–845 828 (<2 yrs)Open 2 55.00–73.00 $63.81 $528

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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.