Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 24, 2022

791 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 $166.37/cwt ≈ $1,083/hd at 651 lb · 63 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $163.58/cwt ≈ $1,008/hd at 616 lb · 36 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $187.00/cwt ≈ $832/hd at 445 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 791 875 1,141
Feeder cattle 204 56 327
Slaughter cattle 388 618 534
Replacement cattle 199 201 280

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were scarcely tested this week, thus no trend can be established. Demand for feeder cattle was mostly moderate for light offerings. Quality was mostly average to attractive this week. Several sets of replacement quality heifers were seen this week and most of these offerings were purchased for grass cattle. CME positions saw triple digit gains today following a turbulent week last week. The May contract closed at 154.50, while the August closed at 168.15. Market activity this week was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows comprised most of the offering today. Slaughter cows sold unevenly steady from 2.00 lower to 2.00 higher. Demand for slaughter cows was light to moderate. Packers were forced to be aggressive as they purchased cows for slaughter early in the sale as additional feeding cow buyers were seen this week. However, other buyers purchasing cows for slaughter filled loads and exited the market allowing cow prices to fall mid-sale. Feeding cows sold steady despite additional buyers this week. Cow quality was average to attractive this week, however quality was not as attractive as last week. Weigh up conditions were average to above average, however weigh up conditions were not as attractive to buyers this week as last. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher as feeding bull buyers pushed bulls higher. Young age cows sold steady to 5.00 higher. Quality was average to attractive this week and additional buyers were seen.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 19 187.00 $187.00 $832 —
518 518 15 174.00 $174.00 $901 —
554–559 556 11 164.00–171.00 $167.80 $933 —
611–628 616 36 160.00–165.00 $163.58 $1,008 —
651–652 651 63 166.00–167.00 $166.37 $1,083 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
439 439 7 162.00 $162.00 $711 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
569 569 4 119.00 $119.00 $677 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
605 605 3 129.00 $129.00 $780 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,170 +2.00
1070 1070 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,220 +5.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 3 117.00 $117.00 $1,129 -0.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910 910 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,065 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960 960 85-90% 1 73.00 $73.00 $701 —
920–1020 970 85-90% 2 71.50 $71.50 $694 —
1065–1310 1158 85-90% 8 69.00–75.00 $73.61 $852 +2.20
1030–1326 1177 85-90% 66 76.00–78.50 $77.32 $910 +18.32
1065–1305 1198 85-90% 68 75.00–81.50 $78.05 $935 +2.00
1133–1278 1247 85-90% 12 79.00 $79.00 $985 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1267–1490 1345 80-85% 59 76.50–81.50 $79.41 $1,068 +2.91
1155–1555 1359 80-85% 4 73.50–76.00 $74.67 $1,015 -8.12
1322–1545 1359 80-85% 15 76.50–80.50 $79.36 $1,079 -3.43
1260–1426 1396 80-85% 18 81.00–81.75 $81.48 $1,137 +0.76
1370–1450 1415 80-85% 3 73.50–76.50 $75.01 $1,061 —
1385–1465 1425 80-85% 6 82.00–82.50 $82.24 $1,172 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–1690 1456 75-80% 17 78.00–78.50 $78.03 $1,136 —
1513–1580 1517 75-80% 18 81.00–82.00 $81.94 $1,243 —
1490–1710 1556 75-80% 6 72.50–80.50 $76.71 $1,194 -6.79
1440–1763 1655 75-80% 3 82.00–82.50 $82.14 $1,359 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1213–1720 1296 25 101.00–106.00 $103.45 $1,341 +3.45
1520 1520 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,368 —
1690 1690 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,606 —
1610–2050 1723 6 105.00–109.50 $106.00 $1,826 +0.28
1485–2390 1928 14 99.00–104.50 $102.29 $1,972 —
2520 2520 1 102.00 $102.00 $2,570 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775–1110 969 (<2 yrs)Open 33 100.00–127.00 $115.71 $1,121
933–1182 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 18 79.00–96.00 $84.41 $937
930–1375 1115 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 85 82.00–116.00 $93.10 $1,038
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
745 745 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 82.50 $82.50 $615
860 860 (<2 yrs)Open 5 91.00 $91.00 $783
1260 1260 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 85.50 $85.50 $1,077

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1255 thin fleshed 1255 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 4 1,060.00 $1,060.00 —
1410–1447 1427 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 13 1,250.00–1,325.00 $1,289.90 —
1449 1449 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 5 1,360.00 $1,360.00 —

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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.