Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 29, 2023

827 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $238.24/cwt -1.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,965/hd at 825 lb · 105 head
heavy 6-weight M 1 steers $270.00/cwt ≈ $1,796/hd at 665 lb · 87 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $257.00/cwt ≈ $1,622/hd at 631 lb · 67 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 827 437 489
Feeder cattle 625 254 367
Slaughter cattle 200 150 114
Replacement cattle 2 33 8

Compared to last reported sale (8/08/23): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested either last sale to today to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on steers and steady to firm undertones were noticed on heifers. Demand was mostly very good for light offerings. Quality this sale was mostly average. Cattle continue to offer buyers mostly light flesh as pasture and range conditions are in mostly poor condition due to late summer heat and grasshoppers. Market activity was mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Cow and bull body condition scores continue to deteriorate as poor pasture and range conditions are weighing on all animals that are turned out. Breaking cows were not well compared. Boning and lean cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 lower in a narrow comparison on a lower yielding offering than was seen three weeks ago. Feeding cows were not well compared as packer buyers purchased cows only to slaughter this week which kept comparisons narrow. However, steady to weak undertones were noticed on a lower quality offering. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Weigh up conditions were average to below average as most cows were pushing fill. Young age cows were too lightly tested to trend. fewer takers were seen for this class of cows this week.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
499 499 8 286.50 $286.50 $1,430
665 665 87 270.00 $270.00 $1,796
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505–529 525 23 283.00 $283.00 $1,486 +9.00
673 673 6 267.50 $267.50 $1,800
735 735 15 262.50 $262.50 $1,929 +12.21
760–768 764 4 250.00–255.50 $252.76 $1,931
800–845 815 10 241.00–245.00 $243.20 $1,982 -0.80
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 unweaned 323 8 330.00 $330.00 $1,066
461 unweaned 461 9 301.00 $301.00 $1,388
759–763 761 10 257.00–259.00 $257.80 $1,962 +6.11
853 853 8 245.00 $245.00 $2,090 +6.61
928 928 7 234.00 $234.00 $2,172 -2.00
962 962 5 231.50 $231.50 $2,227

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 unweaned 377 8 296.00 $296.00 $1,116
631 631 67 257.00 $257.00 $1,622
752–794 767 33 237.00–245.00 $239.78 $1,839 -1.22
800–847 825 105 233.50–239.75 $238.24 $1,965 -1.76
868–897 884 18 231.00–235.00 $232.97 $2,059 -6.03
910–942 934 28 224.50–228.00 $226.98 $2,120
983 983 5 224.00 $224.00 $2,202 +15.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
521 521 25 248.00 $248.00 $1,292
669 669 12 234.00 $234.00 $1,565
702–738 716 17 240.00–241.50 $241.08 $1,726
750 750 2 234.00 $234.00 $1,755
845 845 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,944 -1.00
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 3 255.00 $255.00 $1,275
560–593 572 11 246.00–247.00 $246.62 $1,411
593 593 5 246.00 $246.00 $1,459
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1018 1018 2 213.00 $213.00 $2,168
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
693 693 2 221.00 $221.00 $1,532

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Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 1 157.50 $157.50 $2,040

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1062–1210 1075 85-90% 11 69.00–75.00 $74.39 $800 -17.28
915–1235 1102 85-90% 3 101.00–107.00 $103.03 $1,135 +31.54
1070–1350 1129 85-90% 18 88.00–97.00 $90.81 $1,025 +19.32
1000–1340 1205 85-90% 16 82.00–95.00 $87.92 $1,059
1263–1370 1278 85-90% 7 102.00 $102.00 $1,304
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1383 1375 80-85% 5 105.50–108.00 $107.51 $1,478 -3.51
1387–1405 1392 80-85% 4 96.00–102.00 $100.49 $1,399 -10.53
1398 1398 80-85% 12 112.75 $112.75 $1,576 +1.73
1415 1415 80-85% 15 96.50 $96.50 $1,365 -22.07
1320–1675 1444 80-85% 17 103.00–108.50 $107.59 $1,554
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405 1405 75-80% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,503
1535–1675 1546 75-80% 13 112.00–114.50 $114.25 $1,766

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,227 +1.26
1288–1510 1407 13 112.00–122.00 $118.21 $1,663
1065–2030 1646 20 88.00–111.00 $102.03 $1,679 -5.16
1420–1907 1697 8 107.00–111.00 $108.79 $1,846
1515–2190 1832 8 113.00–120.00 $115.73 $2,120
1930–2135 2033 2 125.00–130.00 $127.63 $2,595

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930–1050 990 (<2 yrs)Open 2 123.00–167.50 $143.90 $1,425

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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.