Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 5, 2023

2,632 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $284.41/cwt -6.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,513/hd at 532 lb · 120 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $311.36/cwt +13.07 vs last sale · ≈ $1,457/hd at 468 lb · 93 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $265.84/cwt -9.94 vs last sale · ≈ $1,299/hd at 489 lb · 87 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,632 2,735 2,325
Feeder cattle 1,313 1,862 1,913
Slaughter cattle 934 728 266
Replacement cattle 385 145 146

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Steer calves under 500 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Steers over 500 lbs sold mostly 5.00-10.00 lower in a narrow comparison on a lower quality offering. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, heifers over 500 lbs sold 5.00-8.00 lower. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Offerings overall were not as attractive this week as last week. Package sizes were smaller this week with very few partial loads seen this week, and no full load lots seen. The best demand continues to be for light weight calves suitable to develop into yearlings. Calves too heavy to make yearlings sold on light to moderate demand. Several sets of long weaned calves were seen this week and these were met with mostly good demand. CME positions continue to trade very volatilely, with sharply higher and sharply lower movement seen. Today CME positions traded with triple digit gains as the January contract closed 4.175 higher to close at 214.70, while the March contract closed 3.90 higher to close at 217.475. Market activity was mostly moderate this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and moderate to heavy offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was mostly light this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on all classes. A large portion of the cow offering was purchased to feed again this week. High quality feeding cows, suitable to feed to premium white sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Thin feeding or turn out cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Many thin low dressing or very low dressing cows continue to be seen. A large buyer pool continues to be seen, especially for thin cows. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00-8.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average today. Temperatures warmed into the upper 50's and low 60's and most cows and bulls were tanked up as a result. Young age cows sold on mostly good demand this week. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. This class of cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher, with a larger buyer pool noticed for this class.

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
310 310 1 342.50 $342.50 $1,062 +5.00
355–392 unweaned 368 34 330.00–357.50 $343.80 $1,265 +12.89
375 375 3 331.00 $331.00 $1,241 —
403–433 427 13 318.00–331.00 $327.37 $1,398 +14.61
459–465 460 10 315.00–325.00 $323.99 $1,490 +23.99
452–488 unweaned 469 83 298.50–328.00 $309.84 $1,453 +11.77
515–542 unweaned 528 24 275.00–284.00 $281.91 $1,488 -8.70
510–548 533 96 275.00–291.00 $285.03 $1,519 -9.10
565–598 unweaned 570 34 250.00–265.00 $261.35 $1,490 -1.85
580 580 2 257.00 $257.00 $1,491 -14.84
604 604 7 249.00 $249.00 $1,504 -17.85
608–618 unweaned 611 72 254.00 $254.00 $1,552 -3.21
670–681 unweaned 680 12 231.00–242.50 $241.56 $1,643 -8.94
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–326 315 14 327.50–337.50 $333.91 $1,052 —
364 unweaned 364 7 317.50 $317.50 $1,156 +7.50
418–448 unweaned 426 11 303.00–313.00 $305.46 $1,301 —
445 445 5 310.00 $310.00 $1,380 —
456–498 474 19 270.00–292.00 $282.31 $1,338 —
452–499 unweaned 482 9 282.00–292.00 $287.90 $1,388 -0.58
523 unweaned 523 2 264.00 $264.00 $1,381 —
538–548 545 11 265.00–272.00 $266.80 $1,454 —
560 560 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,372 —
563 unweaned 563 2 242.50 $242.50 $1,365 —
605 unweaned 605 1 247.00 $247.00 $1,494 —
623 623 5 247.00 $247.00 $1,539 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
446 446 16 307.00 $307.00 $1,369 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
567 567 5 262.00 $262.00 $1,486 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
339 unweaned 339 8 302.50 $302.50 $1,025 —
340 340 1 302.50 $302.50 $1,028 —
355–390 unweaned 363 50 286.00–311.00 $294.30 $1,068 -2.01
355–391 383 10 302.00–308.00 $306.28 $1,173 -9.72
400–430 414 34 278.00–302.00 $293.60 $1,216 +17.60
413–440 unweaned 434 40 286.00–298.00 $290.69 $1,262 +9.98
463–484 481 13 277.00–281.00 $277.59 $1,335 +8.59
490 unweaned 490 74 260.00–268.00 $263.78 $1,293 -12.82
514–515 unweaned 515 10 241.00–258.00 $249.51 $1,285 -17.65
509–535 522 32 249.00–264.00 $256.31 $1,338 -8.69
555–591 583 9 231.00–235.00 $231.85 $1,352 —
561–599 unweaned 583 56 226.00–247.00 $234.33 $1,366 -10.29
604 unweaned 604 5 211.00 $211.00 $1,274 -14.40
608–645 640 33 212.00–215.50 $212.28 $1,359 —
813 813 12 206.00 $206.00 $1,675 -5.62
918 918 8 194.00–200.00 $196.25 $1,802 +0.25
955 955 7 181.00 $181.00 $1,729 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 unweaned 278 5 260.00 $260.00 $723 —
293 293 3 270.00 $270.00 $791 —
382 unweaned 382 8 282.50 $282.50 $1,079 +13.34
405 405 3 262.50 $262.50 $1,063 —
448 unweaned 448 6 259.00 $259.00 $1,160 -4.60
490–499 unweaned 496 9 252.50–258.00 $254.31 $1,261 —
498–499 498 44 252.00–255.50 $253.59 $1,263 —
509–542 unweaned 523 7 240.00–242.00 $241.11 $1,261 —
593 593 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,245 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 unweaned 465 4 265.00 $265.00 $1,232 —
519 519 15 246.00 $246.00 $1,277 —
686 686 7 212.00 $212.00 $1,454 -9.75
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
272 unweaned 272 5 227.50 $227.50 $619 —
401 unweaned 401 4 212.50 $212.50 $852 —
529 529 6 219.50 $219.50 $1,161 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
681 unweaned 681 4 185.00 $185.00 $1,260 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 unweaned 438 3 132.50 $132.50 $580 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
638 638 3 185.00 $185.00 $1,180 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 unweaned 410 2 311.00 $311.00 $1,275 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895–975 938 85-90% 3 60.00–64.00 $61.94 $581 -2.41
985 985 85-90% 1 51.00 $51.00 $502 —
1005 1005 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $583 +1.58
1073–1128 1098 85-90% 17 74.00–80.00 $76.54 $840 —
1003–1540 1109 85-90% 155 59.00–73.50 $65.45 $726 -26.57
825–1526 1145 85-90% 171 62.50–76.00 $71.77 $822 -20.25
1178–1200 1183 85-90% 5 45.00–59.00 $55.90 $661 -20.74
1034–1395 1199 85-90% 208 76.00–88.00 $81.95 $983 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1339 1339 80-85% 49 97.75 $97.75 $1,309 +11.75
1290–1489 1352 80-85% 120 83.00–90.50 $85.77 $1,160 —
1334–1580 1360 80-85% 42 72.00–82.50 $79.36 $1,079 -1.47
1300–1440 1381 80-85% 5 69.00–82.50 $77.64 $1,072 -3.19
1435 1435 80-85% 1 62.50 $62.50 $897 -34.00
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1570 1570 75-80% 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,397 +4.09
1585 1585 75-80% 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,426 +4.06
1770 1770 75-80% 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,478 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1905 1603 8 95.00–102.00 $100.03 $1,603 -1.94
1300–2055 1611 10 80.00–103.50 $95.78 $1,543 -6.19
1170–1830 1632 13 102.00–105.50 $102.72 $1,676 +0.75
1365–2240 1806 7 103.50–110.00 $105.18 $1,900 -12.82

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
711 thin fleshed 711 (<2 yrs)Open 4 140.00 $140.00 $995
780–1250 897 (<2 yrs)Open 218 100.00–161.00 $144.48 $1,296
780–1395 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 119 84.50–153.00 $115.45 $1,178
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
713–875 767 (<2 yrs)Open 3 114.00–147.50 $134.76 $1,034

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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.