Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, February 13, 2024

748 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 heifers $279.36/cwt -11.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,587/hd at 568 lb · 92 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $244.64/cwt ≈ $1,622/hd at 663 lb · 67 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $307.06/cwt -7.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,495/hd at 487 lb · 59 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 748 1,862 672
Feeder cattle 532 1,546 360
Slaughter cattle 182 198 31
Replacement cattle 34 118 281

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Most cattle were weaned 45-100 days. Package sizes were small this week forcing buyers to piece together loads. CME positions sold off slightly today, however prices week over week continue to push higher. The March contract closed today at 248.00, 1.325 higher than last Tuesdays close. The April contract closed at 251.75 today, 0.05 higher than last Tuesdays close. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was good to very good as packers pushed to fill loads on light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher on breaking cows. Boning and lean cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher. Several buyers continue to buy feeding cows as many are betting the market continues to improve. Both packer and private feeding cow buyers both pushed high quality feeding cows higher with light supplies fueling higher prices. Feeding offerings sold mostly 5.00-6.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mixed today. Several sets of fed cows were pushing moderate amounts of tag. Young age cows sold on mostly good demand this week. Feeding buyers continue to buy coming 2 and some coming 3 year old cows to feed, especially ones who haven't calved and buyers can try to feed to choice. Quality this week was mostly average. This class of cows was too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, steady undertones were noticed.

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
393 393 3 360.00 $360.00 $1,415 —
419 419 5 351.00 $351.00 $1,471 -17.22
452–470 464 26 346.00–346.50 $346.13 $1,606 -8.97
503–547 534 38 326.00–333.00 $330.29 $1,764 -11.80
605–635 617 20 291.00–295.50 $293.75 $1,812 +4.28
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 3 351.00 $351.00 $1,334 -19.00
453 453 3 330.00 $330.00 $1,495 -16.65
526–528 526 9 321.00–325.00 $324.11 $1,705 +4.11
665–693 679 6 244.50–245.00 $244.74 $1,662 —
733 733 3 235.00 $235.00 $1,723 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 383 3 342.50 $342.50 $1,312 -28.50
403–416 411 14 335.00–348.00 $344.47 $1,416 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 7 338.00 $338.00 $1,166 —
369 369 5 342.00 $342.00 $1,262 +12.79
434 434 7 333.00 $333.00 $1,445 +15.59
452–494 487 59 301.00–313.00 $307.06 $1,495 -7.73
500–541 535 28 291.00–310.00 $296.45 $1,586 -9.49
552–584 568 92 276.50–285.00 $279.36 $1,587 -11.73
600–641 621 27 254.50–274.00 $263.57 $1,637 -8.43
661–667 663 67 240.00–246.50 $244.64 $1,622 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
593 593 6 257.00 $257.00 $1,524 —
765–767 767 4 202.50–212.50 $210.00 $1,611 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–391 387 7 311.00–314.00 $313.60 $1,214 +1.60
490 490 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,396 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 6 286.00 $286.00 $1,502 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 382 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,146 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518 518 3 303.00 $303.00 $1,570 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
843 843 2 199.00 $199.00 $1,678 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–920 898 85-90% 2 63.00–65.50 $64.22 $577 —
1095 1095 85-90% 1 74.00 $74.00 $810 —
1005–1280 1111 85-90% 15 81.00–96.00 $90.85 $1,009 -7.12
1090–1265 1178 85-90% 29 95.00–106.00 $104.33 $1,229 +11.20
1179 1179 85-90% 18 106.75 $106.75 $1,259 +13.62
1210–1270 1248 85-90% 3 96.50–98.00 $97.49 $1,217 -6.51
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–1500 1318 80-85% 23 97.50–107.50 $102.99 $1,357 —
1315–1355 1340 80-85% 3 91.00–95.00 $93.69 $1,255 —
1120–1540 1368 80-85% 6 87.00–98.00 $94.89 $1,298 -6.77
1295–1478 1417 80-85% 7 97.00–109.00 $104.39 $1,479 +10.45
1370–1650 1470 80-85% 3 110.00–111.00 $110.32 $1,622 +5.32
1660 1660 80-85% 1 109.50 $109.50 $1,818 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1497 1497 65-75% 6 117.00 $117.00 $1,751 —
1381–1655 1551 65-75% 19 107.00–113.00 $110.90 $1,720 —
1590–1780 1665 65-75% 4 101.00–105.50 $103.28 $1,720 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445 1445 75-80% 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,474 -2.95
1175–1615 1448 75-80% 10 104.00–108.00 $106.22 $1,538 +1.27
1300–1735 1459 75-80% 9 99.50–103.50 $101.71 $1,484 —
1465 1465 75-80% 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,553 —
1576 1576 75-80% 4 109.75 $109.75 $1,730 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365 1365 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,502 —
1685–1815 1730 5 118.00–131.00 $124.12 $2,147 +10.46
1585–1830 1733 3 94.00–116.50 $107.10 $1,856 -6.56
1885 1885 1 135.00 $135.00 $2,545 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2095 2095 1 132.00 $132.00 $2,765 —
2500 2500 1 123.00 $123.00 $3,075 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930–1170 1033 (<2 yrs)Open 9 132.00–190.00 $164.98 $1,704
940–1500 1052 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 107.00–148.00 $136.31 $1,434

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1163 1163 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 119.50 $119.50 $1,390

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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.