Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 25, 2021

5,522 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 steers $180.03/cwt +5.75 vs last sale · ≈ $925/hd at 514 lb · 391 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $151.79/cwt +4.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,025/hd at 675 lb · 314 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.49/cwt +6.04 vs last sale · ≈ $844/hd at 568 lb · 255 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,522 7,294 11,097
Feeder cattle 4,002 4,947 9,533
Slaughter cattle 1,034 1,153 475
Replacement cattle 486 1,194 1,089

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers sold mostly 6.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Steer calves all sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. All weights of heifer calves sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive and overall was not as attractive as last week. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light to moderate offerings. Several load lots were seen this week and these offerings were met with good demand, while packages of calves sold on mostly moderate demand. Calves continue to be in light flesh and most calves under 600 lbs are being purchased to develop into yearlings. CME positions traded lower most of the week as traders continue to react to the cattle on feed and steadily rising feed costs. The January feeder cattle contract settled on Thursday at 135.70 and the March closed Friday at 137.725 a loss of 1.55 and 6.425 respectfully. The April contract closed Friday at 140.75. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for mostly light offerings. Packers were very active again this week as they pushed to obtain the majority of the cow offering. A snow storm across much of the central plains states mid week lightened supplies delivered to slaughter plants and packers were forced bid up offerings in order to obtain supplies. Breaking cows sold 1.00-2.00 higher; Boning and lean cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Feeding cow demand improved as well this week, as packers pushed all cow prices higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly good demand this week. Bulls sold mostly 1.00-3.00 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 to moderate demand for mostly light offerings. This class of cows sold steady to 3.00 higher on slightly better demand than was seen last 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
320–346 336 15 190.00–196.00 $195.16 $656 +6.83
350–398 388 41 182.50–197.00 $191.85 $744 -9.43
400–446 428 169 180.00–198.00 $191.18 $818 +2.00
463 fancy 463 52 205.00 $205.00 $949 —
458–498 481 171 172.00–194.00 $186.70 $898 +1.62
500–542 514 391 172.00–187.50 $180.03 $925 +5.75
550–593 573 197 158.50–178.00 $166.14 $952 +1.13
565–598 unweaned 592 54 158.00–159.50 $159.11 $942 —
611 611 15 146.00 $146.00 $892 -8.22
601–649 624 114 148.75–160.00 $154.48 $964 +0.26
655–696 675 314 145.00–157.50 $151.79 $1,025 +4.30
703 unweaned 703 13 143.50 $143.50 $1,009 —
718–720 719 10 143.00–143.50 $143.15 $1,029 +3.67
765–782 781 29 130.00–134.75 $134.59 $1,051 +1.17
809 809 4 129.00 $129.00 $1,044 +2.50
865 865 10 126.00 $126.00 $1,090 +2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353–367 365 37 177.50–187.00 $185.49 $677 +1.14
400–444 420 77 171.00–182.00 $178.16 $748 —
459–493 470 32 167.50–177.50 $174.68 $821 -0.73
505–540 522 20 155.00–169.00 $161.29 $842 -6.19
575 575 2 146.00 $146.00 $840 -5.06
611–630 619 25 142.50–145.00 $144.29 $893 +3.44
665–674 670 10 141.00–142.00 $141.60 $949 +4.60
730 730 9 133.50 $133.50 $975 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 523 4 172.00 $172.00 $900 —
578 578 4 157.00 $157.00 $907 —
623–644 642 23 148.00 $148.00 $950 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
528 528 4 151.00 $151.00 $797 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–370 363 19 167.50–174.00 $170.33 $618 +1.75
416–442 431 229 162.00–176.50 $171.05 $737 +7.84
456–498 487 235 153.00–168.50 $164.47 $801 +4.46
500–543 516 147 145.00–165.00 $156.81 $809 +5.53
551–597 568 247 141.00–155.00 $148.93 $846 +6.48
578 unweaned 578 8 135.00 $135.00 $780 —
602–641 620 95 130.50–148.00 $139.70 $866 +2.84
645 unweaned 645 8 136.00 $136.00 $877 —
650–683 655 113 131.00–141.00 $139.14 $911 +8.38
696 696 6 126.00 $126.00 $877 -4.76
700–720 712 19 128.50–130.50 $129.33 $921 +2.88
810–812 810 17 121.00–122.50 $122.23 $990 +6.48
987 987 22 116.50 $116.50 $1,150 +12.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
363–394 383 31 155.00–164.00 $157.20 $602 -3.51
418–448 429 43 150.00–162.00 $156.00 $669 +10.27
455 455 14 156.00 $156.00 $710 +8.60
462 unweaned 462 6 149.00 $149.00 $688 —
513–544 530 25 139.00–149.00 $145.39 $771 +2.72
559–582 566 13 130.00–137.00 $134.38 $761 +5.42
610–648 636 13 128.00–131.00 $128.44 $817 -1.38
668–673 671 7 120.50–121.00 $120.71 $810 -3.53
830–842 839 23 106.00–111.00 $109.71 $920 +5.38
915 915 2 103.50 $103.50 $947 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
499 499 65 150.00 $150.00 $748 —
1060 1060 8 111.50 $111.50 $1,182 +6.50
1100 1100 4 102.50 $102.50 $1,128 —
1139 1139 6 94.00 $94.00 $1,071 —
1305 1305 5 96.50 $96.50 $1,259 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
449 449 9 139.00 $139.00 $624 —
454 454 7 122.00 $122.00 $554 —
537 537 8 125.00 $125.00 $671 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 424 11 154.00 $154.00 $653 +2.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
563 563 5 117.00 $117.00 $659 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 3 125.00 $125.00 $578 -9.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 5 189.00 $189.00 $739 +14.00
425 425 2 172.50 $172.50 $733 —
448 unweaned 448 17 165.00 $165.00 $739 —
455–466 464 9 177.50–182.00 $179.95 $835 +0.64
523 523 2 159.00 $159.00 $832 +13.00
561 unweaned 561 34 150.50 $150.50 $844 —
613 613 3 145.00 $145.00 $889 —
685 unweaned 685 11 129.00 $129.00 $884 —
720–732 729 4 126.50–128.00 $126.87 $925 +7.87
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1001 1001 7 89.00 $89.00 $891 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–965 873 85-90% 2 40.00–44.00 $41.79 $365 —
855–1820 959 85-90% 26 43.00–55.00 $49.75 $477 —
835–1317 1091 85-90% 130 44.00–54.75 $52.97 $578 —
1040–1325 1119 85-90% 6 35.00–45.00 $39.20 $439 +1.15
1007–1330 1145 85-90% 74 54.00–60.00 $55.18 $632 —
1026–1370 1161 85-90% 37 54.00–58.50 $55.45 $644 +6.28
940–1450 1183 85-90% 241 45.00–54.25 $51.99 $615 -2.16
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1550 1339 80-85% 69 55.00–61.50 $56.51 $757 —
1325–1440 1360 80-85% 24 51.00–55.50 $52.82 $718 -2.30
1203–1680 1384 80-85% 57 54.00–62.50 $56.98 $789 +4.43
1375–1473 1428 80-85% 11 61.75–62.00 $61.89 $884 +13.38
1320–1590 1436 80-85% 33 47.00–55.00 $52.69 $757 +4.18
1385–1494 1458 80-85% 6 60.00–61.50 $60.48 $882 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1423–1465 1437 75-80% 3 55.00–56.25 $55.83 $802 —
1383–1845 1481 75-80% 62 57.50–61.50 $58.43 $865 +1.39
1253–1885 1486 75-80% 12 58.00–60.00 $58.53 $870 —
1545–1723 1648 75-80% 8 50.00–57.50 $53.66 $884 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1745 1745 65-75% 6 59.25 $59.25 $1,034 +1.35

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 1 73.00 $73.00 $902 —
1328–1387 1350 8 76.50–77.00 $76.81 $1,037 —
1448 1448 2 84.00 $84.00 $1,216 —
1413–2010 1650 12 76.50–83.50 $80.06 $1,321 —
1553–1728 1650 6 77.00–83.50 $80.60 $1,330 —
1660–1905 1783 2 90.00–91.50 $90.80 $1,619 —
1760–1856 1837 5 87.00–87.50 $87.10 $1,600 +4.37
1512–2370 1856 37 82.00–90.50 $85.05 $1,579 —
1781–1931 1891 15 89.75–90.25 $89.88 $1,700 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
820–1423 1011 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 254 50.00–86.00 $68.74 $695
935–1090 1014 (<2 yrs)Open 4 82.00–92.00 $86.86 $881
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
963 963 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 54.50 $54.50 $525

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1079–1165 thin fleshed 1134 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 600.00–650.00 $621.91
1203 1203 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1323 1323 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 34 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1230–1582 1446 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 42 725.00–910.00 $864.99

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
939–1004 957 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 22 1,025.00–1,235.00 $1,174.90

↑ Back to top

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.