Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 1, 2022

970 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $202.47/cwt ≈ $1,231/hd at 608 lb · 103 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $187.27/cwt ≈ $972/hd at 519 lb · 85 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $185.59/cwt ≈ $1,073/hd at 578 lb · 55 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 970 251 1,678
Feeder cattle 573 19 1,025
Slaughter cattle 299 125 405
Replacement cattle 98 107 248

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were scarcely tested last week due to poor weather and snowy roads, thus no trend can be established, however higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly good to very good for light to moderate offerings. Demand for cattle suitable to run as yearlings continues to be very good. Several part loads were sold today and good to very good demand was seen for all large packages of feeders. Despite higher grain prices feeders continue to show good demand for offerings as offerings are beginning to tighten. Market activity this week was mostly active with a large crowd on hand actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Many sets of cows on offer have been on feed and buyers purchased most of these offerings to return to feed. Packers showed good demand for both slaughter and feeding cows this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher on lean cows. Boning and breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested last week or this week to develop any market trend.

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
493 493 24 233.00 $233.00 $1,149 —
530–543 539 3 206.00–215.00 $208.95 $1,126 +3.95
554–595 565 10 200.00–221.00 $206.45 $1,166 —
601–639 608 103 195.00–204.50 $202.47 $1,231 —
685 685 3 173.00 $173.00 $1,185 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
359 359 13 172.50 $172.50 $619 —
403 403 5 160.00 $160.00 $645 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403–442 420 7 215.00 $215.00 $903 —
455–485 465 3 199.00–202.50 $201.28 $936 —
545 545 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,063 —
560 560 1 196.00 $196.00 $1,098 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
613–630 617 8 180.00–186.50 $181.66 $1,121 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 10 206.00 $206.00 $921 +14.00
471–474 473 17 199.00–203.00 $201.12 $951 —
504–538 519 85 185.50–193.00 $187.27 $972 —
552–593 578 55 178.00–188.00 $185.59 $1,073 —
601–624 605 43 173.75–184.00 $175.61 $1,062 —
653–659 658 50 171.00–175.00 $171.40 $1,128 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328–330 328 25 177.50–178.00 $177.88 $583 —
354–384 363 13 172.00–177.50 $175.71 $638 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 438 2 197.00 $197.00 $863 —
483 483 2 197.00 $197.00 $952 —
548 548 9 182.50 $182.50 $1,000 —
564 564 5 170.00 $170.00 $959 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
457 457 3 189.00 $189.00 $864 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 3 167.00 $167.00 $790 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
983 983 2 97.00 $97.00 $954 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1062 1062 85-90% 6 69.00 $69.00 $733 +5.92
1015–1255 1113 85-90% 41 61.00–73.50 $69.40 $772 —
1070–1180 1125 85-90% 2 61.00–62.00 $61.52 $692 —
1150–1180 1165 85-90% 2 80.00–80.50 $80.25 $935 —
1063–1420 1166 85-90% 68 73.50–78.25 $77.49 $904 —
1297 1297 85-90% 19 75.00 $75.00 $973 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1381–1748 1507 75-80% 68 79.00–80.75 $79.47 $1,198 —
1545 1545 75-80% 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,298 —
1645 1645 75-80% 7 77.00 $77.00 $1,267 —
1395–1858 1703 75-80% 24 80.50–84.50 $81.40 $1,386 —
1825 1825 75-80% 1 70.50 $70.50 $1,287 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 80-85% 1 82.50 $82.50 $1,085 —
1220–1675 1428 80-85% 11 74.00–80.00 $76.92 $1,098 —
1433 1433 80-85% 2 83.00 $83.00 $1,189 —
1345–1580 1437 80-85% 10 61.50–74.00 $71.08 $1,021 —
1485 1485 80-85% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,203 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1855 1855 65-75% 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,577 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525–1780 1653 2 73.00–85.00 $79.46 $1,313 —
1500–2250 1906 9 90.50–100.50 $95.14 $1,813 —
2130 2130 1 106.00 $106.00 $2,258 —
2190 2190 3 104.00 $104.00 $2,278 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–1030 927 (<2 yrs)Open 5 103.00–118.00 $111.85 $1,037
820–1375 1056 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 47 75.00–107.50 $85.39 $902

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
971–1116 1016 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 86.00–91.50 $89.64 $911
1393 1393 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 82.00 $82.00 $1,142

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
949 949 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,275.00 $1,275.00

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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.