Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 11, 2022

3,345 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 steers $198.18/cwt +11.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,153/hd at 582 lb · 408 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $181.54/cwt +13.96 vs last sale · ≈ $844/hd at 465 lb · 189 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.14/cwt +11.74 vs last sale · ≈ $1,001/hd at 578 lb · 176 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,345 4,571 3,092
Feeder cattle 2,612 3,201 2,286
Slaughter cattle 492 895 507
Replacement cattle 241 475 299

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were scarcely tested today, no trend is available. Feeder steers 400-450 lbs sold sharply higher, steers over 450 lbs sold mostly 8.00-12.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs sold sharply higher, with most sales 10.00-15.00 higher and instances of 20.00-25.00 higher seen in places. Heifers over 500 lbs sold steady to 3.00 higher. Demand was mostly good to very good today. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Most calves were weaned 60-100 days this week. Demand for load lots was very good this sale as several long strings with multiple loads were seen. Packages of calves sold on mostly moderate demand. Very good demand was seen for calves suitable to develop into yearlings. A large buyer pool was on hand this week actively bidding on offerings. Market activity was active as a result. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for light to moderate offerings. Feeding buyers were very aggressive and showed very good demand for high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Feeding cows sold 5.00-8.00 higher. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady to firm undertones were noticed. Boning and lean cows sold sharply higher with most sales 6.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this sale with many cows pushing heavy amounts of fill. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on good to very good demand. Several buyers were searching for this class of cattle and pushed these offerings sharply higher. Young cows under 950 lbs sold with the best demand. Quality this week was average to very attractive, with several sets of very attractive one iron home-raised cows on offer.

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
366 366 6 225.00 $225.00 $824 -0.79
402–424 409 128 221.00–239.00 $236.08 $966 +20.37
474–487 479 175 206.00–215.00 $213.94 $1,025 +8.62
503–540 508 122 195.00–215.50 $214.21 $1,088 +12.47
561–594 582 408 188.00–202.00 $198.18 $1,153 +11.19
604–632 611 45 178.00–192.50 $186.51 $1,140 +11.51
656–685 660 104 171.00–184.00 $179.42 $1,184 —
729–737 732 57 155.25–167.50 $163.60 $1,198 +13.60
750 750 8 155.00 $155.00 $1,162 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423–441 430 91 208.00–212.50 $211.11 $908 +8.77
453–493 473 82 184.00–201.00 $191.59 $906 -3.00
504–538 515 36 181.00–186.00 $184.37 $950 —
588 588 13 179.00 $179.00 $1,053 +17.00
628 628 4 173.00 $173.00 $1,086 —
653 653 7 165.00 $165.00 $1,077 +4.00
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 344 11 185.00 $185.00 $636 —
389 389 13 182.50 $182.50 $710 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442 442 10 190.00 $190.00 $840 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1303 1303 3 115.00 $115.00 $1,498 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–388 378 75 197.00–208.00 $203.18 $768 +24.29
410–445 434 125 187.50–195.00 $188.86 $820 +15.51
451–486 465 189 176.00–186.00 $181.54 $844 +11.80
508–544 533 151 164.00–170.00 $165.36 $881 -2.37
560 fancy 560 75 180.00 $180.00 $1,008 —
557–594 592 101 162.00–169.00 $168.05 $995 —
609 609 21 159.50–164.50 $162.12 $987 —
664–692 683 29 148.50–150.50 $149.10 $1,018 —
703 703 3 145.00 $145.00 $1,019 -5.00
906 906 4 131.00 $131.00 $1,187 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 344 5 192.00 $192.00 $660 +20.00
404–448 434 13 174.00–186.50 $177.58 $771 +15.58
467–497 480 55 152.00–172.50 $168.96 $811 —
815 815 2 132.00 $132.00 $1,076 —
868–875 869 11 131.00–132.50 $132.36 $1,150 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 4 183.00 $183.00 $716 —
1099 1099 19 94.00 $94.00 $1,033 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
309 309 7 137.50 $137.50 $425 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
434 434 5 181.00 $181.00 $786 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 4 158.00 $158.00 $700 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
448 448 12 186.00 $186.00 $833 -2.77
557 557 6 169.00 $169.00 $941 —
658 658 18 148.00 $148.00 $974 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–957 938 85-90% 6 33.00–41.00 $38.10 $357 +1.55
935–995 957 85-90% 5 45.00–50.00 $47.96 $459 —
1015–1108 1078 85-90% 5 41.00–45.00 $42.82 $462 +7.96
1025–1265 1131 85-90% 33 45.00–54.00 $51.75 $585 +9.57
1040–1285 1152 85-90% 39 54.00–59.50 $57.19 $659 +10.09
1075–1216 1152 85-90% 73 52.00–58.00 $54.47 $627 +7.37
1045–1275 1213 85-90% 112 54.00–61.00 $58.98 $715 -0.52
1141–1285 1219 85-90% 14 63.50–64.50 $63.77 $777 +4.27
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1325 1303 80-85% 2 56.50–57.50 $56.99 $743 +7.65
1260–1430 1327 80-85% 5 48.50–56.50 $53.53 $710 -2.97
1315–1505 1353 80-85% 6 54.00–62.50 $59.24 $802 +2.39
1370 1370 80-85% 1 73.50 $73.50 $1,007 +16.65
1232–1668 1375 80-85% 126 57.00–66.00 $64.72 $890 +7.87
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1425–1695 1560 75-80% 2 56.00–62.50 $58.97 $920 —
1515–1730 1623 75-80% 2 65.50–66.00 $65.77 $1,067 —
1710 1710 75-80% 2 71.50 $71.50 $1,223 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135 1135 1 82.00 $82.00 $931 —
1270 1270 1 72.00 $72.00 $914 —
1355–1840 1598 2 81.50–83.00 $82.36 $1,316 —
1475–1830 1650 9 74.00–81.50 $78.13 $1,289 —
1605–2065 1859 11 76.00–88.00 $84.06 $1,563 +0.85
YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1900 1900 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,615 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
715–1325 959 (<2 yrs)Open 71 72.50–137.00 $106.28 $1,019
855–1185 1012 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 52 60.50–105.00 $85.28 $863

↑ Back to top

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.