Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, November 21, 2023

2,203 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $283.02/cwt +2.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,306/hd at 462 lb · 127 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $290.71/cwt -9.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,555/hd at 535 lb · 119 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $265.08/cwt -2.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,398/hd at 528 lb · 117 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,203 5,796 3,322
Feeder cattle 1,169 4,036 2,310
Slaughter cattle 778 1,382 822
Replacement cattle 256 378 190

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, all classes of feeder cattle sold weak on a light comparison. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. No comparison on replacement cattle due to light supply. Buyer demand was moderate, overall, on a moderate supply.

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
330 330 2 337.50 $337.50 $1,114 —
340 thin fleshed 340 4 365.00 $365.00 $1,241 —
350–370 365 4 310.00–320.00 $317.60 $1,159 -23.34
369 thin fleshed 369 12 353.00 $353.00 $1,303 —
403 thin fleshed 403 8 318.00 $318.00 $1,282 —
405–415 408 6 293.00–304.00 $296.73 $1,211 —
458 thin fleshed 458 72 340.00 $340.00 $1,557 —
483–498 488 35 290.00–299.00 $297.97 $1,454 -27.03
510–540 535 119 282.00–291.00 $290.71 $1,555 —
563 thin fleshed 563 28 284.00 $284.00 $1,599 —
555–598 585 33 253.00–260.00 $254.78 $1,490 —
609–622 618 56 246.00–250.25 $248.90 $1,538 —
672–673 672 11 223.00–225.00 $223.36 $1,501 —
727 727 6 215.00 $215.00 $1,563 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 370 8 292.50–299.00 $295.72 $1,094 —
416–438 423 17 271.00–284.00 $280.62 $1,187 —
468–478 471 11 279.00–284.00 $282.62 $1,331 —
500–547 519 23 271.00–279.00 $275.30 $1,429 —
585–591 589 6 243.00–244.00 $243.67 $1,435 —
670 670 2 212.50 $212.50 $1,424 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
553–570 557 4 155.00–205.00 $167.79 $935 —
620–644 641 7 207.50–210.00 $207.85 $1,332 —
691 691 6 214.00 $214.00 $1,479 —
956 956 4 187.00 $187.00 $1,788 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–295 288 4 275.00–290.00 $282.30 $813 —
373–375 373 30 285.00–295.00 $294.33 $1,098 -18.67
405–434 423 28 265.00–271.00 $266.76 $1,128 -40.24
457 thin fleshed 457 85 289.00 $289.00 $1,321 —
451–485 471 42 265.00–274.00 $270.91 $1,276 —
505–528 526 103 261.00–272.00 $262.37 $1,380 -5.63
539 thin fleshed 539 14 285.00 $285.00 $1,536 —
572 572 33 270.00 $270.00 $1,544 +47.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
364–389 382 14 251.00–278.00 $259.81 $992 -3.19
403–445 429 21 251.00–256.00 $252.85 $1,085 —
458–494 482 35 245.00–257.00 $253.88 $1,224 —
506–546 525 23 251.00–259.00 $254.83 $1,338 —
569 569 25 241.00 $241.00 $1,371 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 323 3 225.00 $225.00 $727 —
390 390 4 230.00 $230.00 $897 —
402–428 420 10 230.00–245.00 $239.43 $1,006 —
468–478 474 8 240.00–242.00 $241.26 $1,144 —
510–547 536 7 242.00 $242.00 $1,297 —
667 667 6 215.00 $215.00 $1,434 —
754–796 779 13 183.00–197.50 $196.09 $1,528 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 3 340.00 $340.00 $1,122 —
504–541 523 16 265.00–270.00 $267.59 $1,399 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1009 1009 80-85% 5 88.00 $88.00 $888 —
998–1610 1158 80-85% 99 87.00–92.00 $88.64 $1,026 —
1194 1194 80-85% 33 81.00 $81.00 $967 —
1055–1500 1209 80-85% 126 70.50–79.50 $76.43 $924 —
958–1614 1235 80-85% 96 80.00–86.50 $84.04 $1,038 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1073–1332 1172 85-90% 22 81.00–87.50 $84.08 $985 —
918–1325 1178 85-90% 35 63.00–69.00 $65.90 $776 —
988–1340 1191 85-90% 112 70.00–77.50 $73.37 $874 —
1305 1305 85-90% 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,070 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1107–1555 1153 75-80% 19 95.00–101.50 $99.14 $1,143 —
1058–1658 1424 75-80% 37 88.50–93.00 $91.23 $1,299 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1200 1153 4 75.00–84.00 $80.32 $926 —
1580–1950 1804 4 102.00–110.00 $105.10 $1,896 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
865–910 thin fleshed 874 (<2 yrs)Open 56 147.00–161.00 $150.76 $1,318
808–1015 929 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 15 110.00–122.50 $115.37 $1,072
851–1921 1062 (<2 yrs)Open 106 124.00–135.00 $126.22 $1,340
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
907–1068 951 (<2 yrs)Open 41 107.00–116.00 $110.50 $1,051
996 996 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 104.00 $104.00 $1,036
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
812–899 848 (<2 yrs)Open 19 180.00–182.50 $181.33 $1,538
890 890 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 147.50 $147.50 $1,313

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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.