Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 21, 2024

824 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $241.00/cwt ≈ $1,964/hd at 815 lb · 29 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $246.00/cwt -3.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,712/hd at 696 lb · 21 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	824	1,363	751
Feeder cattle	109	309	178
Slaughter cattle	481	580	334
Replacement cattle	234	474	239

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly good for light offerings. Feeder cattle quality was mostly plain to average. One small set of attractive, replacement quality heifers was seen today and demand was mostly good to very good. Boxed beef values surged throughout the week last week, and have continued to inch higher this week. Choice closed today at 313.02 and select at 300.87, that's 8.63 and 7.05 higher on choice and select respectfully, compared to last Tuesdays close. This has continued to support to CME live cattle and feeder cattle contracts. CME positions pushed sharply higher again today with most contracts showing triple digit gains. Market activity was mostly active this week despite light offerings. Bidding was active both ringside as well as on the internet for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was good again this week as packer buyers showed good demand for cow for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00 to 3.00 higher on breaking and boning cows; lean cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher. Demand for feeding cows was very good today. Packers and private buyers both showed very good demand for cows as tight supplies and high demand continue to be seen. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher. Cow quality was mostly average to very attractive this week. Slaughter bulls sold steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average today with most cows emptied out from being out grazing. Weigh conditions this sale were even better than last week. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand for these offerings was good to very good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
480	480	3	355.00	$355.00	$1,704	—
549	549	4	348.00	$348.00	$1,911	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
815	815	29	241.00	$241.00	$1,964	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
586	586	4	281.00	$281.00	$1,647	+8.22
696	696	21	246.00	$246.00	$1,712	-3.00

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
516	516	8	300.00	$300.00	$1,548	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
673	673	2	250.50	$250.50	$1,686	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
80	80	1	475.00	$475.00	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
442	442	3	342.50	$342.50	$1,514	—
623	623	2	264.00	$264.00	$1,645	—
735	735	2	255.00	$255.00	$1,874	—
760	760	1	240.00	$240.00	$1,824	—
805–825	810	4	231.00–235.00	$232.02	$1,879	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
85	85	4	375.00	$375.00	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1105	1105	1	186.00	$186.00	$2,055	—
1170	1170	1	177.00	$177.00	$2,071	+6.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–1463	1317	80-85%	97	131.50–142.00	$138.35	$1,822	—
1293–1415	1340	80-85%	8	120.00–129.00	$126.93	$1,701	—
1241–1545	1353	80-85%	18	142.00–147.00	$143.47	$1,941	+3.29
1220–1540	1357	80-85%	41	134.00–142.00	$137.91	$1,871	-2.27
1235–1490	1423	80-85%	40	141.00–146.00	$142.33	$2,025	+19.78
1385–1550	1456	80-85%	4	121.00–132.00	$128.62	$1,873	-11.85

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
870–925	905	85-90%	4	94.00–97.00	$95.01	$860	—
1045–1260	1147	85-90%	5	99.00–117.00	$108.26	$1,242	—
1077–1295	1167	85-90%	97	136.00–142.50	$139.20	$1,624	+11.31
1105–1320	1168	85-90%	5	130.00–135.00	$132.34	$1,546	+4.45
1145–1280	1190	85-90%	18	136.00–139.00	$136.61	$1,626	+6.75
1195	1195	85-90%	1	110.00	$110.00	$1,314	-25.75
1045–1295	1206	85-90%	55	127.00–135.00	$130.37	$1,572	-4.24

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1465–1530	1511	75-80%	6	139.00–141.00	$139.83	$2,113	+2.49
1423–1785	1583	75-80%	9	143.00–147.00	$145.08	$2,297	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1255	1255	1	145.00	$145.00	$1,820	+9.69
1280–1340	1300	3	127.50–142.00	$135.93	$1,767	—
1330	1330	1	141.00	$141.00	$1,875	—
1260–1430	1345	6	142.00–152.00	$146.75	$1,974	—
1480	1480	1	127.50	$127.50	$1,887	—
1475–1920	1651	7	143.00–156.00	$148.46	$2,451	—
1680–2230	2010	10	157.00–169.00	$161.94	$3,255	+5.28

YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
2505	2505	1	151.00	$151.00	$3,783	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
778 thin fleshed	778	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	207.50	$207.50	$1,614
688–1280	991	(<2 yrs)	Open	98	146.00–246.00	$200.46	$1,987
1023–1250	1128	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	31	138.00–158.00	$150.33	$1,696
905–1293	1133	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	63	140.00–198.00	$157.50	$1,784
1197	1197	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	3	145.00	$145.00	$1,736

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
830–1010	932	(<2 yrs)	Open	6	164.00–195.00	$181.40	$1,691
1070–1220	1097	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	135.00–146.00	$143.31	$1,572

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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.