Cattle Market Pulse

Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 30, 2024

672 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 $249.08/cwt ≈ $1,848/hd at 742 lb · 44 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $243.50/cwt -6.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,851/hd at 760 lb · 31 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $258.69/cwt -1.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,733/hd at 670 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 672 995 588
Feeder cattle 267 544 222
Slaughter cattle 204 163 177
Replacement cattle 201 288 189

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate 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. Replacement quality heifers sold on good demand again this week. CME positions sold off sharply today as all contracts sold with triple digit losses. Market activity was mostly moderate this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was stronger this week. Packers were forced to become more aggressive as the sale progressed. More cows were destined for slaughter this week than last week. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher on all offerings. Demand for feeding cows was good to very good today. Several private feeders and packer buyers both pushed to own high quality offerings. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to firm. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold unevenly steady, light weight offerings under 1100 lbs sold mostly higher and heavyweight offerings over 1100 lbs sold mostly lower. Demand for these offerings was moderate to good. Demand from buyers looking for wet bagged cows was very good as these offerings sold with the best demand. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
498 498 2 322.50 $322.50 $1,606 —
528–540 532 4 320.00–325.00 $322.49 $1,716 +1.04
638 638 2 286.50 $286.50 $1,828 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
673 unweaned 673 2 267.00 $267.00 $1,797 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
564 564 8 285.00 $285.00 $1,607 -11.35
603 unweaned 603 5 274.50 $274.50 $1,655 —
605 605 3 279.50 $279.50 $1,691 +1.87
656–680 660 13 254.00–260.00 $257.98 $1,703 -2.52
688 688 7 260.00 $260.00 $1,789 -0.50
703–747 742 44 248.00–258.00 $249.08 $1,848 —
760 760 31 243.50 $243.50 $1,851 -6.50
873 873 5 221.50 $221.50 $1,934 +12.50
973 973 16 213.50 $213.50 $2,077 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 3 292.50 $292.50 $1,346 -4.34
570–599 595 15 277.00–279.00 $277.80 $1,653 +15.80
605–615 609 5 265.00–271.00 $267.42 $1,629 —
653–691 678 6 248.50–252.00 $249.62 $1,692 +20.62
708 708 2 233.00 $233.00 $1,650 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
773 773 5 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115 1115 14 176.00 $176.00 $1,962 —
1175 1175 1 174.00 $174.00 $2,044 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 3 299.00 $299.00 $1,510 —
668 668 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,637 —
715 715 2 251.00 $251.00 $1,795 —
884 884 4 191.00 $191.00 $1,688 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
90 90 2 400.00 $400.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
743 743 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,672 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635–915 758 85-90% 3 105.00–112.50 $110.11 $835 —
1003–1170 1081 85-90% 5 135.00–136.00 $135.41 $1,464 —
1050–1305 1144 85-90% 9 120.00–133.00 $125.61 $1,437 +40.40
1085–1270 1151 85-90% 14 129.50–134.00 $132.60 $1,526 —
1105–1185 1152 85-90% 7 105.00–115.00 $109.57 $1,262 —
1040–1261 1196 85-90% 30 134.50–139.50 $136.85 $1,637 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1660 1352 80-85% 20 132.50–136.00 $134.92 $1,824 +14.08
1274–1505 1364 80-85% 20 130.00–137.00 $133.74 $1,824 +12.90
1365 1365 80-85% 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,665 +1.16
1260–1650 1401 80-85% 9 138.00–144.00 $139.09 $1,949 —
1448–1455 1450 80-85% 4 138.00 $138.00 $2,001 +2.78
1445–1585 1503 80-85% 4 122.00–129.00 $125.85 $1,892 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1810 1574 75-80% 7 135.50–139.50 $137.26 $2,160 —
1720 1720 75-80% 1 139.00 $139.00 $2,391 —
1790 1790 75-80% 1 141.00 $141.00 $2,524 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285 1285 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,799 —
1350–1365 1358 2 114.00–131.00 $122.55 $1,664 -3.45
1235–1525 1380 2 115.00–130.00 $123.29 $1,701 -2.71
1345–1795 1584 8 116.00–136.00 $124.97 $1,980 —
1400–2090 1782 17 136.00–146.00 $142.66 $2,542 +0.94
1710–1905 1808 2 135.00–144.00 $139.74 $2,526 —
1945–2265 2047 6 147.00–155.50 $149.40 $3,058 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
808–1220 1000 (<2 yrs)Open 114 149.00–212.00 $183.63 $1,836
960–1283 1126 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 35 135.00–188.00 $154.10 $1,735
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
818–1140 912 (<2 yrs)Open 10 148.00–184.00 $171.41 $1,563
740–1240 1048 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 130.00–162.50 $142.12 $1,489
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
708–835 775 (<2 yrs)Open 8 147.50–188.00 $178.66 $1,385
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
693 693 (<2 yrs)Open 2 117.50 $117.50 $814

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
891–960 898 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 10 2,300.00–2,350.00 $2,305.35
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1260 1260 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 2,175.00 $2,175.00

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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.