Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 6, 2022

2,325 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $209.46/cwt +6.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,199/hd at 572 lb · 259 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $231.54/cwt +1.92 vs last sale · ≈ $1,101/hd at 476 lb · 257 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $213.70/cwt -7.19 vs last sale · ≈ $1,134/hd at 531 lb · 256 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,325 3,002 1,757
Feeder cattle 1,913 2,070 1,353
Slaughter cattle 266 631 303
Replacement cattle 146 301 101

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand moderate to good. Weaned feeder steers under 550 lbs sold 4.00 lower, over 550 lbs 1.00 higher. Weaned heifers mostly 7.00 to 9.00 lower on a light test. Average dressing slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower, bulls steady. In the feeding cow supply, heiferettes sold 4.00 higher, young cows steady. The next available report will be as receipts warrant coverage.

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
356–392 376 17 241.00–255.00 $248.60 $935 -4.28
419 value added 419 7 256.50 $256.50 $1,075 —
406–436 425 26 229.00–232.50 $229.97 $977 —
429 429 8 240.00 $240.00 $1,030 —
455–466 value added 459 42 239.00–241.00 $240.18 $1,102 —
451–489 472 102 217.00–235.00 $225.34 $1,064 —
473–485 485 113 218.00–234.50 $233.93 $1,135 —
525 525 5 205.00 $205.00 $1,076 -13.00
526 526 19 212.00 $212.00 $1,115 -6.00
500–548 531 232 205.00–218.50 $214.03 $1,136 -3.97
556 fancy 556 71 222.75 $222.75 $1,238 —
568 value added 568 77 215.00 $215.00 $1,221 —
565–576 570 26 191.00–204.00 $198.23 $1,130 +1.23
588–592 591 85 195.50–197.00 $196.79 $1,163 -0.21
615 615 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,113 —
618–649 623 93 192.00–195.50 $193.70 $1,207 —
670 670 57 194.50 $194.50 $1,303 —
719 719 15 180.50 $180.50 $1,298 —
938 938 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,585 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
279 279 6 237.50 $237.50 $663 -2.50
396 396 12 231.00 $231.00 $915 —
433–437 436 29 220.00–225.00 $223.63 $975 —
527 527 10 204.00 $204.00 $1,075 -3.00
553–575 564 4 184.00–185.00 $184.49 $1,041 —
606 606 6 174.00 $174.00 $1,054 —
621–648 632 5 178.00–182.00 $180.36 $1,140 —
656 unweaned 656 4 179.00 $179.00 $1,174 —
680 680 15 179.00 $179.00 $1,217 —
805 805 2 154.00 $154.00 $1,240 —
1051 1051 10 158.50 $158.50 $1,666 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
582 582 6 180.00 $180.00 $1,048 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356–397 391 28 201.00–208.00 $204.33 $799 +0.51
401–444 428 75 194.00–208.00 $196.56 $841 -16.44
453–495 480 64 188.00–191.00 $189.88 $911 -8.10
504–528 516 70 185.00–190.50 $188.02 $970 -7.31
530–546 532 56 188.25–204.00 $190.27 $1,012 -5.06
550–560 556 24 177.50–181.00 $180.28 $1,002 -9.57
630 630 34 176.00 $176.00 $1,109 —
879–898 883 11 162.00–167.50 $166.07 $1,466 —
905 905 1 157.00 $157.00 $1,421 —
953–990 974 19 163.00–164.00 $163.48 $1,592 -2.02
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
439 439 12 192.00 $192.00 $843 -2.00
467–499 490 32 181.50–184.50 $182.46 $894 -3.04
518–542 531 37 170.00–180.00 $175.55 $932 —
574 574 7 173.50 $173.50 $996 —
637–648 639 23 162.00–165.00 $164.47 $1,051 —
687 687 35 164.00 $164.00 $1,127 —
760 760 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,216 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
759 759 7 155.00 $155.00 $1,176 —
Medium and Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805 805 2 87.50 $87.50 $704 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 333 6 210.00 $210.00 $699 —
405 405 3 221.00 $221.00 $895 —
490 490 4 199.00 $199.00 $975 —
508 508 13 196.00 $196.00 $996 —
528 528 4 174.00 $174.00 $919 —
553 553 2 175.00 $175.00 $968 —
628 628 4 166.00 $166.00 $1,042 —
630 630 26 176.50 $176.50 $1,112 —
809 809 7 161.00 $161.00 $1,302 —
975 975 2 134.00 $134.00 $1,306 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
494 494 12 175.00 $175.00 $864 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–1240 944 85-90% 14 20.00–45.00 $35.10 $331 -12.81
855–1297 1109 85-90% 51 48.00–57.00 $53.31 $591 +14.06
945–1280 1120 85-90% 13 57.00–64.50 $59.17 $663 +19.92
870–1380 1139 85-90% 7 28.00–50.00 $41.44 $472 -10.59
770–1450 1155 85-90% 62 50.50–59.00 $52.87 $611 -3.08
1020–1360 1227 85-90% 21 55.00–66.00 $58.08 $713 -3.90
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1152 1152 80-85% 3 79.50 $79.50 $916 —
1197–1610 1309 80-85% 6 63.50–67.00 $65.92 $863 —
1138–1560 1346 80-85% 24 54.50–64.00 $60.30 $812 —
1230–1540 1399 80-85% 17 64.00–67.00 $66.35 $928 —
1250–1588 1413 80-85% 29 58.00–62.50 $61.47 $869 +1.47
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650–1655 1653 75-80% 2 61.50–64.00 $62.75 $1,037 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090 1090 1 57.00 $57.00 $621 -28.00
1180–1980 1450 3 92.00–93.00 $92.59 $1,343 —
1385–2180 1679 9 63.00–90.00 $81.73 $1,372 —
1890 1890 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,663 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735–1270 915 (<2 yrs)Open 64 71.00–115.00 $100.45 $919
1008–1410 1125 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 18 65.00–81.00 $70.60 $794
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
880 880 (<2 yrs)Open 1 55.00 $55.00 $484

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1063–1143 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 9 610.00–800.00 $760.11
1211 1211 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 21 900.00 $900.00
1388 1388 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,075.00 $1,075.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1126–1263 1172 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 1,185.00–1,260.00 $1,233.05
1268 1268 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 900.00 $900.00
1300–1331 1323 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 1,035.00–1,075.00 $1,065.18
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1210 1210 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 835.00 $835.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1440 1440 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 860.00 $860.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1310 1310 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —

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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.