Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 16, 2024

1,034 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $264.32/cwt ≈ $1,633/hd at 618 lb · 82 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $268.18/cwt ≈ $1,545/hd at 576 lb · 55 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $309.00/cwt ≈ $1,551/hd at 502 lb · 49 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,034 197 453
Feeder cattle 485 50 162
Slaughter cattle 386 55 144
Replacement cattle 163 92 147

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Package sizes were larger this week with a couple of partial load lots seen. CME positions pushed higher again today but have been very volatile over the last few weeks. All feeder cattle contracts closed with triple digit gains today. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was mostly good, however most offerings were purchased to feed this week. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand for feeding cows was very good today as several private feeders and packer buyers both pushed to own offerings. Lean cow offerings saw the largest advancement from last week, however offerings last week were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend. A very attractive offering of fed cows were seen this week. Several sets of fed cows were on feed over 120 days. Demand for these offerings was good to very good. Weigh up conditions were mixed today with both empty and full offerings noticed. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Most of these offerings were wet bagged cows which lost calves this week. Most of these offerings were purchased to rebreed this week. Young cow quality was mostly average to attractive this week.

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
483 483 4 331.00 $331.00 $1,599 —
551–579 571 23 325.00–329.00 $326.18 $1,862 +5.18
603–649 612 22 290.00–314.00 $307.94 $1,885 —
656–660 658 33 286.00–294.00 $290.62 $1,912 —
713–720 716 5 255.00–264.00 $258.62 $1,852 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376 376 4 330.00 $330.00 $1,241 —
405–447 441 23 315.00–325.00 $316.34 $1,395 —
450 450 3 310.00 $310.00 $1,395 —
502 502 49 309.00 $309.00 $1,551 —
558–586 576 55 265.00–274.00 $268.18 $1,545 —
611–648 618 82 256.00–269.00 $264.32 $1,633 —
666 666 9 254.50 $254.50 $1,695 —
703–715 704 13 231.00–232.00 $231.92 $1,633 —
759 759 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,746 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 2 322.50 $322.50 $1,080 —
415–433 422 5 302.50–305.00 $303.53 $1,281 —
460–488 475 6 295.00–302.00 $299.23 $1,421 -3.27
696 696 5 237.00 $237.00 $1,650 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,358 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
794 794 5 214.00 $214.00 $1,699 —
837 837 8 212.00 $212.00 $1,774 +2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
105 105 5 450.00 $450.00 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100–110 105 4 450.00–475.00 $462.50 -25.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
688 688 2 226.00 $226.00 $1,555 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1313–1485 1342 75-80% 6 143.50–144.00 $143.91 $1,931 —
1325–1420 1404 75-80% 21 141.00–142.00 $141.91 $1,992 —
1318–1670 1505 75-80% 49 132.00–140.00 $137.48 $2,069 +9.44
1485–1785 1573 75-80% 6 134.00–138.00 $135.78 $2,136 —
1505–1765 1598 75-80% 4 124.00–132.00 $128.54 $2,054 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1930 1522 65-75% 71 136.00–141.00 $139.01 $2,116 —
2125–2275 2200 65-75% 2 128.00–133.00 $130.59 $2,873 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–960 907 85-90% 3 100.00–115.00 $108.99 $989 —
1090 1090 85-90% 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,482 —
1025–1295 1095 85-90% 6 102.00–115.00 $109.75 $1,202 —
1010–1470 1114 85-90% 9 104.00–123.00 $114.63 $1,277 +20.81
1080–1185 1133 85-90% 2 95.00–96.00 $95.52 $1,082 -42.38
1055–1265 1182 85-90% 21 123.00–135.00 $129.00 $1,525 -6.50
1135–1273 1218 85-90% 20 133.00–138.00 $135.94 $1,656 —
1130–1318 1224 85-90% 2 132.00–133.00 $132.54 $1,622 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1205 1203 80-85% 2 141.00 $141.00 $1,696 —
1135–1490 1347 80-85% 16 128.00–138.50 $135.61 $1,827 —
1320–1430 1375 80-85% 2 128.00–129.00 $128.48 $1,767 -3.53
1320–1481 1460 80-85% 20 139.00–140.50 $140.32 $2,049 —
1415–1545 1492 80-85% 3 131.00–136.00 $133.06 $1,985 —
1460–1570 1515 80-85% 2 110.00–123.00 $116.26 $1,761 +0.97

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1415 1278 3 109.00–118.00 $114.90 $1,468 —
1285 1285 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,581 —
1325–1840 1567 15 119.00–137.00 $129.42 $2,028 —
1415–2325 1835 17 151.00–167.00 $154.34 $2,832 —
1325–2430 1843 20 137.00–150.00 $144.09 $2,656 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
786–1120 929 (<2 yrs)Open 112 171.00–214.00 $192.85 $1,792
700–1230 1076 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 32 133.00–203.00 $158.56 $1,706
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
805–850 824 (<2 yrs)Open 7 181.00–191.00 $185.39 $1,528
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
772–775 773 (<2 yrs)Open 4 172.50–181.00 $178.87 $1,383
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1258 1258 (<2 yrs)Open 2 144.00 $144.00 $1,812

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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.