Miles City Livestock Commission Auction Market Report

Miles City, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 15, 2024

4,529 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 $313.58/cwt -3.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,662/hd at 530 lb · 404 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $294.26/cwt +18.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,677/hd at 570 lb · 363 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $326.38/cwt +0.16 vs last sale · ≈ $1,541/hd at 472 lb · 329 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	4,529	1,784	3,692
Feeder cattle	3,707	1,317	2,595
Slaughter cattle	682	386	902
Replacement cattle	140	81	195

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer calves under 450 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower, 450-549 lbs steers sold fully steady, steer calves over 550 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Heifer calves under 400 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. 400-449 lbs heifer calves sold mostly 10.00 lower. 450-499 lbs heifers sold fully steady, heifers over 500 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers sold fully steady in a narrow comparison. Demand for calves was mostly good, while demand for yearlings mostly moderate to good. Demand for light weight calves suitable to run on wheat pasture in the south or out west was very good. CME Feeder cattle positions sold off today with triple digit losses seen today. Quality this sale was mostly average to attractive on calves and plain to average on yearlings. Market activity was mostly active today with a large buyer pool noticed. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was light, but stronger than last sale as packer buyers were forced to pick around in order to buy cows away from feeding buyers. Slaughter cows sold steady to 5.00 higher on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cow demand was very good with multiple private ranchers and order buyers buying cows to feed. Even slightly lame or slightly blemished cows found their way to onto feeding buyers orders this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher. Demand for feeding cows did diminish slightly as buyers filled loads and exited the market. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly moderate demand for light offerings. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly average this week. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 10.00 higher. Young age cow quality was mostly average to attractive today. Demand for young cows to rebreed was good to very good with several buyers looking for this class of cows.

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
271–298 unweaned	279	39	409.00–420.00	$413.45	$1,154	—
334 unweaned	334	59	422.00	$422.00	$1,409	+10.90
357–385 unweaned	374	100	392.50–432.50	$410.23	$1,534	-7.02
408–447 unweaned	442	152	346.00–399.00	$351.81	$1,555	-8.37
457–486 unweaned	472	329	311.00–341.00	$326.38	$1,541	+0.16
501–546 unweaned	530	404	302.00–317.00	$313.58	$1,662	-1.00
556–591 unweaned	570	363	285.00–298.50	$294.26	$1,677	+18.83
607–640 unweaned	614	20	262.00–275.00	$267.57	$1,643	-5.30
744	744	31	262.00	$262.00	$1,949	-5.98
800–819	812	19	244.00–250.00	$246.69	$2,003	+1.66
869	869	46	231.50–233.50	$232.33	$2,019	-7.67

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
320 unweaned	320	2	400.00	$400.00	$1,280	—
365–398 unweaned	388	80	330.00–385.00	$348.46	$1,352	-31.44
405–426 unweaned	419	16	331.00–342.00	$334.09	$1,400	-5.91
477–499 unweaned	487	108	290.00–306.00	$304.94	$1,485	+12.94
512–547 unweaned	530	26	286.00–300.00	$295.07	$1,564	-7.93
644 unweaned	644	11	258.00	$258.00	$1,662	—
709 unweaned	709	6	240.00	$240.00	$1,702	—
733	733	4	257.00	$257.00	$1,884	—
799	799	13	237.00	$237.00	$1,894	—
1037	1037	15	219.50	$219.50	$2,276	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
480–483 unweaned	481	10	301.00–310.00	$304.61	$1,465	—
515 unweaned	515	3	295.00	$295.00	$1,519	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
679	679	9	264.00	$264.00	$1,793	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
301–320 unweaned	305	49	360.00–371.00	$369.56	$1,127	-10.44
357–392 unweaned	375	97	335.00–370.00	$346.29	$1,299	-26.42
400–449 unweaned	425	123	320.00–338.00	$323.82	$1,376	-13.84
463–499 unweaned	480	235	292.00–309.00	$301.35	$1,446	-0.66
500–543 unweaned	532	179	269.50–295.00	$281.86	$1,499	+10.47
565–580 unweaned	571	21	268.00–274.00	$271.68	$1,551	+4.68
612 unweaned	612	9	245.00	$245.00	$1,499	—
698	698	4	252.00	$252.00	$1,759	—
702–725	707	147	246.00–250.50	$248.61	$1,758	—
750–791	761	112	238.00–242.00	$241.07	$1,835	-0.32
801–844	827	63	234.00–238.50	$236.10	$1,953	-0.40
866–887	873	43	229.00–235.50	$232.60	$2,031	+1.33
975–977	976	11	220.00	$220.00	$2,147	+11.00
1003–1015	1009	6	215.00	$215.00	$2,169	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
600–626	607	32	255.00–258.00	$255.77	$1,553	—
674–685	683	91	249.00–251.00	$249.39	$1,703	+1.89
719	719	9	243.00	$243.00	$1,747	-1.50

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
299 unweaned	299	7	345.00	$345.00	$1,032	+15.00
308–341 unweaned	331	14	330.00–340.00	$335.88	$1,112	—
387–395 unweaned	388	25	324.00–327.50	$326.76	$1,268	-13.24
403–430 unweaned	419	7	303.00–307.50	$306.26	$1,283	—
478–491 unweaned	485	13	287.00–293.00	$291.64	$1,414	—
535 unweaned	535	3	262.00	$262.00	$1,402	+8.00
798	798	5	226.00	$226.00	$1,803	-10.00
812	812	5	233.00	$233.00	$1,892	+4.00
892	892	7	225.00	$225.00	$2,007	—
920–940	928	5	218.00–220.00	$219.19	$2,034	-2.81

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
588	588	15	254.00	$254.00	$1,494	—
653	653	6	243.00	$243.00	$1,587	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
900	900	85-90%	1	111.00	$111.00	$999	—
795–1000	904	85-90%	5	85.00–107.00	$95.06	$859	—
1060–1135	1098	85-90%	2	82.50–91.00	$86.90	$954	—
1055–1375	1153	85-90%	23	92.00–108.00	$101.21	$1,167	-31.64
1050–1305	1169	85-90%	83	103.00–123.00	$114.96	$1,344	+1.55
1015–1270	1185	85-90%	3	111.00–116.00	$112.43	$1,332	+16.97
1094–1269	1193	85-90%	46	130.00–135.50	$132.85	$1,585	+37.39
1123–1300	1198	85-90%	126	117.00–128.00	$123.96	$1,485	+28.50

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1295	1295	80-85%	1	129.00	$129.00	$1,671	—
1305–1375	1325	80-85%	12	111.00–123.00	$114.48	$1,517	-0.42
1313–1560	1329	80-85%	28	135.00–137.00	$136.00	$1,807	+21.10
1245–1580	1355	80-85%	114	124.00–134.50	$129.63	$1,756	+2.68
1298–1670	1368	80-85%	10	111.00–125.00	$121.22	$1,658	-5.73
1300–1540	1421	80-85%	4	103.00–111.00	$107.67	$1,530	-26.40

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1507	1507	75-80%	14	133.00	$133.00	$2,004	—
1520–1995	1758	75-80%	2	128.00–130.00	$128.86	$2,265	—
1940	1940	75-80%	1	123.00	$123.00	$2,386	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1375–1640	1475	5	134.00–147.00	$141.91	$2,093	—
1635–1915	1697	7	135.00–146.00	$139.66	$2,370	—
1733–2085	1820	6	148.00–164.00	$153.32	$2,790	+6.25
1820	1820	1	167.00	$167.00	$3,039	+19.93
1855–1925	1890	2	152.00–155.00	$153.53	$2,902	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
840–975	907	(<2 yrs)	Open	24	186.00–215.00	$209.41	$1,899
943–1268	1044	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	61	138.00–191.00	$173.19	$1,808

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
901–1080	938	(<2 yrs)	Open	5	150.00–199.00	$169.98	$1,594
887–1183	986	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	10	131.00–140.00	$137.30	$1,354

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1121–1288	1230	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	23	127.50–135.00	$132.62	$1,631

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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.