Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, September 19, 2023

1,332 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 $260.24/cwt +11.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,882/hd at 723 lb · 74 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $247.85/cwt +10.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,931/hd at 779 lb · 64 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $317.81/cwt ≈ $1,522/hd at 479 lb · 62 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,332 1,713 870
Feeder cattle 1,034 1,437 631
Slaughter cattle 283 228 218
Replacement cattle 15 48 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last reported sale (9/12/23): Feeder steers sold 2.00 to 7.00 higher, feeder heifers sold 8.00 to 11.00 higher, and feeder bulls lightly tested. Quality this sale was mostly attractive to very attractive, with market activity being mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand, breaking cows were not well compared, boning cows sold mostly steady and lean cows sold 8.00 to 12.00 lower. Feeding boning cows were 1.00 to 3.00 higher, feeding lean cows were mostly steady. Slaughter bulls sold 4.00 to 6.00 lower, feeding bulls sold 7.00 to 8.00 lower. Young age cows were too lightly tested to trend. Good demand was seen for limited offerings.

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
303 303 6 397.50 $397.50 $1,204 —
398 398 14 352.50 $352.50 $1,403 —
410–419 414 31 350.00–352.50 $351.22 $1,454 —
483 483 13 330.00 $330.00 $1,594 —
587 587 3 291.00 $291.00 $1,708 —
643–648 644 19 278.00–285.50 $284.31 $1,831 -2.19
675–690 681 6 271.00–274.00 $272.67 $1,857 —
775 775 15 263.50 $263.50 $2,042 +4.50
804–835 807 52 252.00–255.50 $254.99 $2,058 +6.49
886–888 887 8 245.50–246.00 $245.63 $2,179 +2.34
900–938 926 11 239.00–244.00 $240.80 $2,230 —
954–975 958 5 227.50–236.00 $234.27 $2,244 —
1010 1010 1 229.00 $229.00 $2,313 +2.36
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 4 357.50 $357.50 $1,162 —
355–364 362 11 340.00–344.00 $343.29 $1,243 —
458–480 479 62 312.50–318.00 $317.81 $1,522 —
517–523 518 34 295.00–301.00 $296.07 $1,534 —
830–840 838 24 247.50–249.50 $249.17 $2,088 —
855–867 865 7 232.50–238.50 $237.65 $2,056 -1.85
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 326 8 332.50–340.00 $335.01 $1,092 —
360–365 362 9 320.00–330.00 $325.26 $1,177 —
400–410 402 5 295.00–307.50 $304.95 $1,226 —
660–670 669 8 257.00–260.00 $257.37 $1,722 —
775–790 785 3 252.00–253.00 $252.33 $1,981 —
840 840 1 244.00 $244.00 $2,050 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
312–330 327 16 337.50–350.00 $339.74 $1,111 —
350–355 351 4 312.50–320.00 $318.10 $1,117 —
401 value added 401 15 322.50 $322.50 $1,293 —
412–433 420 10 302.50–310.00 $306.91 $1,289 —
451 451 19 285.00 $285.00 $1,285 —
597 597 3 268.00 $268.00 $1,600 —
608 608 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,611 —
708–731 723 74 258.75–261.50 $260.24 $1,882 +11.24
752–764 761 38 253.50–259.50 $257.01 $1,956 +13.44
801–810 802 16 245.00–245.50 $245.47 $1,969 +6.43
857–895 881 48 235.25–239.00 $236.21 $2,081 +1.13
950–978 965 28 227.50–230.00 $229.02 $2,210 +8.02
1048 1048 2 221.00 $221.00 $2,316 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
653–694 673 12 256.00–260.00 $258.69 $1,741 —
710–730 723 14 250.00–256.00 $253.72 $1,834 +10.95
753–798 779 64 244.50–250.00 $247.85 $1,931 +10.45
814–835 818 37 239.00–241.50 $241.14 $1,973 +9.64
975–999 994 30 217.50–226.00 $225.13 $2,238 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,431 —
635 635 1 253.00 $253.00 $1,607 —
675–695 691 5 242.50–251.00 $245.67 $1,698 —
755–778 770 7 237.50–243.00 $241.52 $1,860 —
800–830 815 2 232.50–236.00 $234.22 $1,909 —
898 898 2 217.50 $217.50 $1,953 —
925 925 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,896 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,232 —
538 538 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,426 —
758 758 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,668 —
800 800 1 217.00 $217.00 $1,736 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1247 1184 80-85% 7 104.00–107.00 $105.50 $1,249 —
1105–1255 1192 80-85% 8 104.00–109.50 $106.87 $1,274 —
915–1485 1210 80-85% 8 93.00–101.00 $97.47 $1,179 —
1301 1301 80-85% 7 115.00 $115.00 $1,496 +7.00
1241–1570 1319 80-85% 72 108.50–113.00 $110.17 $1,453 +2.82
1455 1455 80-85% 2 112.50 $112.50 $1,637 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1063 1063 85-90% 2 69.00 $69.00 $733 —
965–1385 1148 85-90% 11 84.00–95.00 $88.16 $1,012 -6.51
1015–1292 1175 85-90% 66 91.50–102.50 $97.98 $1,151 +5.85
960–1355 1203 85-90% 7 74.00–82.50 $79.83 $960 -26.31
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1580–1775 1678 75-80% 2 112.00–117.50 $114.91 $1,928 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1430 1365 2 101.00–103.00 $102.05 $1,393 —
1340–1930 1520 6 104.00–111.50 $108.74 $1,653 —
1360–1995 1641 5 95.00–104.50 $100.09 $1,642 -16.13
1350–2155 1714 36 107.00–117.00 $111.86 $1,917 +5.21
1770–1985 1875 4 119.00–124.00 $121.11 $2,271 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1013–1285 1091 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 30 113.00–149.00 $135.56 $1,479

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,700.00 $1,700.00

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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.