Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 22, 2022

1,253 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 heifers $170.18/cwt +2.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,033/hd at 607 lb · 241 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $163.16/cwt +4.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,131/hd at 693 lb · 114 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.15/cwt -10.47 vs last sale · ≈ $933/hd at 539 lb · 95 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,253	1,945	646
Feeder cattle	773	1,492	326
Slaughter cattle	231	234	139
Replacement cattle	249	219	181

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers were too lightly tested to establish an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Heifers 600-699 lbs offered the best test this week and these offerings sold 4.00-8.00 higher. Good to very good demand was seen for load lot offerings, while light to moderate demand was seen for small head lots. Quality this week was average to very attractive. Demand for cattle suitable to run on grass was moderate to very good. Demand for calves under 550 lbs was mostly moderate, and many of these calves were purchased to run on grass, however buyers were not willing to give as much for these offerings as they would for 550-675 lbs offerings as they will be lighter coming off grass. Market activity this week was mostly active with a good crowd on hand actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand again this week. Packers showed a desire to own the majority of the cows in the offering, buying both slaughter and feeding cows this week. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher as private feeding buyers showed good demand for high quality cows and young cows. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 3.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand this week. Demand for these offerings strengthened as more buyers started loads. These offerings sold mostly 5.00 higher.

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
460–498	484	16	205.50–210.00	$207.09	$1,002	-18.94
519	519	5	203.00	$203.00	$1,054	—
551–566	564	32	200.50–201.00	$200.56	$1,131	+4.27
610–620	615	6	178.00–186.50	$182.62	$1,123	-3.68
713–748	739	19	150.00–156.50	$154.44	$1,141	-10.06
771	771	7	149.00	$149.00	$1,149	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
420	420	3	210.00	$210.00	$882	—
540	540	1	190.00	$190.00	$1,026	-14.90
593	593	5	181.00	$181.00	$1,073	+7.50
667	667	3	160.00	$160.00	$1,067	-2.50

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
629	629	5	175.00	$175.00	$1,101	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
432–447	441	54	181.50–185.50	$183.10	$807	-5.88
455–487	473	30	179.00–185.00	$182.06	$861	+0.65
534–548	539	95	168.50–174.50	$173.15	$933	+5.65
593	593	3	171.00	$171.00	$1,014	+11.00
600–639	607	241	162.00–175.50	$170.18	$1,033	-1.82
672–695	693	114	158.00–164.50	$163.16	$1,131	+2.16
738	738	9	139.00	$139.00	$1,026	-17.25

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
564–581	573	8	164.00–165.00	$164.49	$943	+2.78
623	623	2	160.00	$160.00	$997	—
653–675	666	6	149.00–152.00	$150.15	$1,000	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
535	535	3	184.00	$184.00	$984	—
933	933	3	113.50	$113.50	$1,059	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
90	90	1	425.00	$425.00	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
885–975	930	85-90%	2	65.50–66.00	$65.76	$612	+13.19
900–955	946	85-90%	6	51.00–59.00	$57.73	$546	+5.16
1059–1080	1062	85-90%	11	62.00–68.00	$67.26	$714	—
1090–1286	1184	85-90%	14	74.50–82.50	$78.35	$928	+0.73
1208–1325	1218	85-90%	17	79.00–83.00	$81.43	$992	—
1030–1320	1221	85-90%	29	53.00–76.50	$71.57	$874	—
1285–1300	1293	85-90%	2	83.50–85.00	$84.25	$1,089	+4.92

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1243–1500	1329	80-85%	37	74.00–84.00	$76.34	$1,015	—
1200–1485	1351	80-85%	13	78.50–85.00	$82.33	$1,112	+0.58
1320–1451	1386	80-85%	2	70.00–72.00	$71.05	$985	-3.95
1395–1420	1408	80-85%	2	83.50–87.00	$85.23	$1,200	+5.62

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1450–1600	1525	75-80%	2	82.50–88.00	$85.39	$1,302	+7.89
1533	1533	75-80%	7	87.00	$87.00	$1,334	+3.88

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1790	1790	65-75%	3	87.00	$87.00	$1,557	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1325	1325	1	94.00	$94.00	$1,246	—
1210–1425	1326	7	88.00–95.00	$92.85	$1,231	—
1340	1340	1	87.00	$87.00	$1,166	—
1365–1825	1631	8	81.00–94.00	$89.48	$1,459	—
1418–1955	1666	8	104.00–112.50	$109.52	$1,825	—
1410–1910	1699	4	93.00–102.00	$99.01	$1,682	—
1770	1770	1	97.00	$97.00	$1,717	-4.00
1610–1915	1790	4	101.50–106.50	$104.21	$1,865	+3.21
2035	2035	1	109.00	$109.00	$2,218	—

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
775–1138	1024	(<2 yrs)	Open	72	103.50–123.00	$115.96	$1,187
838–1200	1052	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	31	81.00–106.00	$92.98	$978

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
885	885	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	75.00	$75.00	$664

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1148	1148	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	6	1,300.00	$1,300.00
1115–1402	1218	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	59	1,000.00–1,150.00	$1,068.76
1292	1292	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	1,250.00	$1,250.00
1258–1585	1445	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	43	1,210.00–1,285.00	$1,247.44

↑ 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.