Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 31, 2022

1,555 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $175.00/cwt ≈ $1,292/hd at 738 lb · 68 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.12/cwt -0.88 vs last sale · ≈ $919/hd at 531 lb · 16 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale
Total receipts	1,555	791
Feeder cattle	153	204
Slaughter cattle	637	388
Replacement cattle	765	199

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. One load lot of replacement quality heifers was seen this week and these offerings sold on good to very good demand as buyers bid on them to breed and to run on grass, with grass buyers casting the winning bid. Outside of this load of heifers quality was plain and most offerings were sold as singles or small groups. Market activity was moderate to active. Weigh up cows comprised most of the offering this week as ranchers continue to brand cows and bring dries to town. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 lower on all offerings. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Packer buyers continue to show good demand for feeding cows as they continue to voice concerns of tightening cow supplies in the northern tier of the country going forward. Both cow and bulls were of average to attractive quality this week and better quality than was seen last week. Weigh up conditions were average to above average for buyers, but did deteriorate throughout the sale as temperatures warmed and cows and bulls filled. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on good to very good demand this week. Several buyers were all searching for these offerings this week and demand was mostly good. Several sets of young to middle age cows sold as replacements this week as they were too thin for packers to purchase them to feed and would not yield high enough to send to slaughter. Quality was average to attractive. Young age replacement offerings sold generally steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
605–633	626	8	154.50–162.00	$156.31	$979	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
510–532	531	16	173.00–175.00	$173.12	$919	-0.88
738 fancy	738	68	175.00	$175.00	$1,292	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
577–578	578	6	160.50–161.00	$160.75	$929	—
695	695	2	149.00	$149.00	$1,036	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
781	781	6	143.00	$143.00	$1,117	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1275	1275	Young (2-4 yrs)	N/A	5	1,750.00–2,000.00	$1,850.00	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1303–1313	1307	80-85%	9	68.00–75.00	$71.23	$931	—
1281–1600	1357	80-85%	62	82.00–84.00	$82.21	$1,116	+7.54
1163–1525	1360	80-85%	14	66.50–74.50	$71.53	$973	-3.14
1200–1541	1390	80-85%	144	75.00–81.50	$79.20	$1,101	-2.28
1334–1535	1412	80-85%	50	74.00–80.00	$78.44	$1,108	+3.43
1340–1530	1417	80-85%	3	80.50–84.00	$82.27	$1,166	+7.26

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
835–980	905	85-90%	7	60.00–70.00	$64.57	$584	—
925–1015	954	85-90%	8	51.00–58.00	$56.67	$541	-16.33
1155–1165	1160	85-90%	2	59.00–59.50	$59.25	$687	-14.36
1020–1335	1189	85-90%	92	62.00–73.00	$67.80	$806	-10.25
1068–1310	1210	85-90%	107	73.00–78.00	$75.50	$914	—
1202–1240	1218	85-90%	11	79.00–84.00	$80.27	$978	+1.27
1270	1270	85-90%	1	78.00	$78.00	$991	—
1253–1305	1278	85-90%	10	81.50–82.50	$82.30	$1,052	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1421–1750	1513	75-80%	16	74.50–79.25	$76.56	$1,158	-5.38
1435–1838	1674	75-80%	8	80.50–83.50	$82.29	$1,378	+0.15
1708	1708	75-80%	2	77.00	$77.00	$1,315	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1205–1365	1298	6	75.00–87.00	$80.87	$1,050	-22.58
1540–1610	1575	2	97.00–104.50	$100.67	$1,586	—
1360–1705	1578	3	78.00–88.00	$84.29	$1,330	—
1325–2300	1756	16	93.50–101.00	$99.41	$1,746	—
1825–2275	2053	5	104.00–105.50	$104.48	$2,145	—
2005–2510	2265	5	104.00–111.00	$107.85	$2,443	—

YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1900	1900	1	92.00	$92.00	$1,748	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
800–1290	994	(<2 yrs)	Open	62	86.50–124.00	$110.67	$1,100
1085 fancy	1085	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	113.00	$113.00	$1,226
1125 thin fleshed	1125	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	24	71.75	$71.75	$807
1125–1390 thin fleshed	1135	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	60	71.00–72.50	$71.45	$811
945–1270	1140	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	51	80.00–109.00	$92.89	$1,059
1030–1237	1180	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	15	80.00–89.00	$84.32	$995
1295 thin fleshed	1295	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	74.50	$74.50	$965

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
662 thin fleshed	662	(<2 yrs)	Open	3	110.00	$110.00	$728

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1005	1005	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	92.00	$92.00	$925
1025	1025	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	75.00	$75.00	$769

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1345–1437 fancy	1402	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	140	2,150.00–2,250.00	$2,194.23	—
1625 fancy	1625	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	42	1,935.00	$1,935.00	—
1632 fancy	1632	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	12	2,000.00	$2,000.00	—
1723	1723	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	2	1,535.00	$1,535.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1442	1442	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	5	1,200.00	$1,200.00	—

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1185 fancy	1185	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	24	2,210.00	$2,210.00	—

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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.