Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 30, 2022

489 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $168.79/cwt ≈ $1,553/hd at 920 lb · 60 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $171.23/cwt ≈ $1,509/hd at 881 lb · 48 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $178.75/cwt -2.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,258/hd at 704 lb · 30 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 489 581 4,670
Feeder cattle 367 391 3,218
Slaughter cattle 114 172 616
Replacement cattle 8 18 836

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last reported sale(8-9-22): Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed on all offerings. Demand for feeder cattle was moderate to good for light offerings. Quality was mixed from plain to attractive. Corn prices have risen sharply since last sale and buyers were slightly more reserved as they bid on offerings. A good crowd was on hand for todays sale and buyers were competitive as they bid on offerings. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light offerings. The last test for slaughter cows was 3 weeks ago making comparisons difficult. Not enough cows were seen today to develop any market trend. Demand for slaughter cows remains mostly good. Packer buyers continue to send all cow offerings to immediate harvest. Feeding cows were not tested this week. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week with lots of variation seen. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly light to moderate.

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
550 unweaned 550 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,045 —
603–605 604 9 210.00–211.00 $210.89 $1,274 -4.72
655–693 680 3 205.00–207.00 $205.64 $1,398 -0.36
758 758 2 194.00 $194.00 $1,471 ±0.00
813–830 821 6 182.00–185.00 $183.99 $1,511 -4.51
875 875 3 181.00 $181.00 $1,584 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
761 761 7 184.00 $184.00 $1,400 +9.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003 1003 4 157.50 $157.50 $1,580 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568 568 4 201.00 $201.00 $1,142 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 4 192.00 $192.00 $1,037 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
582 582 9 182.00 $182.00 $1,059 —
619 619 9 179.50 $179.50 $1,111 —
704 704 30 178.75 $178.75 $1,258 -2.65
763–779 774 16 176.50–177.50 $176.81 $1,369 +6.43
820–845 829 29 175.00–178.50 $177.66 $1,473 +8.77
851–896 881 48 169.50–174.00 $171.23 $1,509 —
900–945 920 60 164.00–170.00 $168.79 $1,553 —
957–994 975 17 154.00–163.50 $158.40 $1,544 +5.62
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785 785 2 175.50 $175.50 $1,378 —
800–838 827 7 166.00–168.00 $166.55 $1,377 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1023 1009 7 156.00–158.00 $156.58 $1,580 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
603 603 6 171.00–172.00 $171.33 $1,033 -3.67

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075 1075 2 115.00 $115.00 $1,236 —
1140 1140 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,379 +7.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1332–1460 1364 80-85% 6 70.00–81.50 $76.30 $1,041 -15.57
1283–1540 1369 80-85% 9 89.50–90.00 $89.76 $1,229 -2.11
1285–1540 1402 80-85% 8 84.00–89.00 $86.50 $1,213 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–905 860 85-90% 2 61.00–65.00 $63.10 $543 —
975 975 85-90% 1 86.00 $86.00 $838 —
1035–1250 1173 85-90% 9 69.00–78.00 $72.51 $851 —
1215 1215 85-90% 3 85.00–87.00 $86.33 $1,049 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445 1445 75-80% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,344 +1.54

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1395 1375 2 91.00–95.00 $92.97 $1,278 —
1395 1395 2 100.00 $100.00 $1,395 —
1467–1865 1523 13 91.50–97.00 $93.83 $1,429 —
1605 1605 2 107.00 $107.00 $1,717 —
1547–2120 1747 42 99.00–108.00 $102.70 $1,794 —
1805 1805 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,986 —
1990–2105 2064 4 108.50–109.00 $108.62 $2,242 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1225 1225 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,090
1280–1305 1288 (<2 yrs)Open 3 92.00–95.50 $94.32 $1,215
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
840–1025 958 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 81.00–84.00 $82.25 $788

↑ 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.