Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 18, 2021

7,294 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $151.28/cwt +1.54 vs last sale · ≈ $793/hd at 524 lb · 485 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $165.01/cwt +8.12 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 573 lb · 393 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.63/cwt +7.13 vs last sale · ≈ $755/hd at 467 lb · 388 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,294 13,350 7,740
Feeder cattle 4,947 6,988 4,785
Slaughter cattle 1,153 1,699 714
Replacement cattle 1,194 1,359 2,241

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers sold steady to 4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Steer calves under 400 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed. 400-649 lbs steers sold mostly 4.00-8.00 higher. Steers over 650 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher, heifers over 500 lbs sold steady to 3.00 higher. Demand was mostly moderate to good for moderate offerings. Quality this week was average to attractive. Many long strings of weaned calves were on offer this week with most calves were weaned 60-90 days. Despite mild winter weather most calves continue to offer buyers light flesh with many sets marketed strictly for grass. Demand for cattle suitable to run on grass was mostly good. CME feeder cattle positions gained some ground this last week as grain markets adjusted lower. The January feeder cattle contract closed at 137.25 and the March closed at 144.15 a gain of 2.675 and 8.325 respectfully since last Friday. Market activity this week was mostly active to very active with many buyers actively bidding on offerings. Some sales this week had as many as 15 order buyers in the stands actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for mostly moderate offerings. Packers were very active this week as they pushed to obtain as many offerings as possible. The cutter cow cutout inched higher much of the week as is the seasonal trend, usually due to lighter supplies. The cutter cow cutout as of Fridays close was 180.32, 2.37 higher than Thursdays close. Slaughter cows sold mostly, 2.00-4.00 higher on all classes. Feeding cow demand improved as well this week, as packers pushed all cow prices higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly very good demand this week. Bulls sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher as feeding buyers pushed packer buyers in order to buy offerings. Most bulls sold to slaughter this week. 2 year old to young age cows sold on light demand for mostly light offerings. This class of cows sold 2.00-5.00 lower.

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
310–343 331 11 185.00–192.50 $188.33 $623 +2.99
358–391 383 82 182.00–211.00 $201.28 $771 +10.10
400–447 421 72 182.00–200.00 $189.18 $796 +4.00
465–470 thin fleshed 469 25 198.00–199.00 $198.48 $931 —
450–498 474 198 178.00–192.00 $185.08 $877 +5.27
501–545 519 326 160.00–185.00 $174.28 $905 +1.12
550–599 573 393 155.00–173.00 $165.01 $946 +7.52
601–641 625 150 146.50–163.00 $154.22 $964 +5.11
650–697 664 167 135.50–154.50 $147.49 $979 +4.82
706 fancy 706 19 149.00 $149.00 $1,052 —
705–748 718 58 135.00–140.50 $139.48 $1,001 +2.84
767–799 789 92 129.50–134.00 $133.42 $1,053 +4.88
813 813 20 126.50 $126.50 $1,028 -2.82
870 870 11 124.00 $124.00 $1,079 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382–395 389 26 180.00–187.50 $184.35 $717 +2.20
460–497 493 32 165.00–180.00 $175.41 $865 +7.73
505–543 532 44 145.00–171.50 $167.48 $891 +10.01
558–599 591 27 145.00–155.50 $151.06 $893 +8.70
618–646 632 13 135.00–147.00 $140.85 $890 —
653 653 2 137.00 $137.00 $895 —
765 765 2 129.00 $129.00 $987 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 3 152.50 $152.50 $706 —
505 505 14 133.00 $133.00 $672 -6.00
580 580 4 143.00 $143.00 $829 —
708–715 713 6 113.00–124.00 $116.64 $832 —
810 810 3 113.00 $113.00 $915 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373 373 6 172.00 $172.00 $642 —
422 422 7 180.00 $180.00 $760 —
519 519 4 163.00 $163.00 $846 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012 1012 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,154 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
363–396 377 124 161.00–172.00 $168.58 $636 +8.14
406–445 425 143 155.00–169.50 $163.21 $694 +3.22
452–494 467 343 152.00–165.00 $160.01 $747 +5.48
467 fancy 467 45 174.00 $174.00 $813 —
503–543 524 485 145.00–159.00 $151.28 $793 +2.04
551–598 579 333 134.00–152.00 $142.45 $825 +1.34
600–649 636 322 128.00–144.00 $136.86 $870 +3.85
661–696 680 141 124.50–134.00 $130.76 $889 +1.08
701–749 722 53 123.50–130.50 $126.45 $913 -2.04
759–796 783 11 115.00–124.50 $118.35 $927 -0.95
800 800 28 115.75 $115.75 $926 +2.75
873–878 877 13 109.00–111.50 $109.38 $959 -4.57
905–940 918 12 109.00–113.00 $112.06 $1,029 +4.98
976–983 980 10 103.50–106.00 $104.50 $1,024 -1.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317–322 319 16 155.00–159.00 $156.77 $500 +4.64
357–393 377 14 157.50–163.50 $160.71 $606 +7.25
422–449 438 15 140.00–151.00 $145.73 $638 -7.44
463–499 486 35 140.00–153.00 $147.40 $716 +3.79
508–549 526 54 137.00–144.50 $142.67 $750 +2.94
558–595 582 21 119.00–136.00 $128.96 $751 -1.61
600–636 605 33 120.00–132.00 $129.82 $785 +4.86
650–657 656 17 120.00–125.00 $124.24 $815 +1.74
839–840 839 6 103.50–106.00 $104.33 $875 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
352–378 372 21 160.00 $160.00 $595 —
401 401 8 152.00 $152.00 $610 -2.00
546 546 52 139.00 $139.00 $759 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
476 476 5 134.00 $134.00 $638 +3.00
784 784 11 104.00 $104.00 $815 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008 1008 2 104.50 $104.50 $1,053 —
1083 1083 2 105.00 $105.00 $1,137 +12.50
1205–1223 1210 8 94.00–98.00 $95.01 $1,150 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 175.00 $175.00 $691 —
465–467 466 10 177.50–183.50 $179.31 $836 +27.70
542 542 3 146.00 $146.00 $791 —
700 700 5 119.00 $119.00 $833 —
824–842 829 15 110.00–122.00 $117.08 $971 -1.92
862 862 7 111.00 $111.00 $957 -4.00
905–947 926 6 91.00–113.00 $101.75 $942 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 2 141.00 $141.00 $747 -3.50
572–576 575 11 124.00–126.00 $124.54 $716 +4.54
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 1 83.00 $83.00 $896 —
1105–1118 1115 5 85.00–93.00 $86.59 $965 —
1160–1196 1189 5 90.00–92.50 $92.01 $1,094 —
1220 1220 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,000 -6.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730–745 741 85-90% 4 35.00–38.00 $37.26 $276 —
915 915 85-90% 1 47.50 $47.50 $435 +6.47
800–990 930 85-90% 20 35.00–48.50 $44.83 $417 +3.80
1013–1245 1103 85-90% 32 32.00–43.00 $38.05 $420 +1.11
830–1305 1175 85-90% 18 44.00–52.50 $49.17 $578 +4.84
1050–1330 1178 85-90% 73 51.00–59.50 $54.15 $638 -4.24
1005–1348 1192 85-90% 221 42.00–52.50 $47.63 $568 +2.34
1013–1370 1220 85-90% 103 50.00–55.00 $52.19 $637 +1.35
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260 1260 80-85% 1 42.00 $42.00 $529 —
1249–1638 1370 80-85% 175 51.00–60.00 $55.12 $755 +1.06
1295–1625 1385 80-85% 34 51.00–54.50 $52.55 $728 +6.67
1345–1525 1398 80-85% 36 47.00–53.50 $50.95 $712 +5.07
1395–1490 1419 80-85% 4 60.00–61.50 $60.75 $862 +14.66
1273–1635 1422 80-85% 32 45.00–51.50 $48.51 $690 +2.42
1325–1675 1500 80-85% 2 59.00–60.00 $59.56 $893 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1705 1450 75-80% 12 55.00–60.00 $57.04 $827 —
1495–1725 1532 75-80% 11 54.50–59.50 $55.63 $852 —
1545 1545 75-80% 1 62.50 $62.50 $966 —
1556–1810 1587 75-80% 28 52.00–56.00 $52.39 $831 -0.21
1535–1750 1692 75-80% 9 59.00–63.00 $62.02 $1,049 —
1785 1785 75-80% 1 55.50 $55.50 $991 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625–1900 1739 65-75% 21 57.75–60.50 $57.90 $1,007 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1930 1523 8 71.00–78.50 $75.05 $1,143 —
1470–1945 1633 18 64.00–79.50 $72.98 $1,192 —
1660–1967 1806 17 79.50–89.50 $82.73 $1,494 —
1625–2360 1935 23 80.00–89.00 $84.96 $1,644 +4.04
1805–2470 2004 12 85.00–98.00 $91.15 $1,827 —
2440–2560 2495 3 84.00–90.00 $86.29 $2,153 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2205 2205 1 72.00 $72.00 $1,588 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
730–793 thin fleshed 784 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 65.00 $65.00 $510
793–1103 981 (<2 yrs)Open 13 81.00–96.00 $92.72 $910
808–1450 1019 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 204 51.00–85.50 $67.32 $686

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1064–1212 1089 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 64 1,375.00–1,600.00 $1,555.53
1225 1225 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 985.00 $985.00
1255–1339 1279 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 44 975.00–1,360.00 $1,284.73
1148–1455 1286 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 246 750.00–1,075.00 $865.55
1208–1572 1342 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 51 810.00–1,375.00 $1,058.92
1374 1374 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 1,200.00 $1,200.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1066–1240 1078 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 1,075.00–1,100.00 $1,076.92
1259 1259 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,175.00 $1,175.00
1290 1290 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 12 750.00 $750.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1228 thin fleshed 1228 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 54.00 $54.00 $663

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
895–1143 957 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 253 1,200.00–1,400.00 $1,320.28
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
782 782 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 11 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.