Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, February 15, 2021

3,254 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $181.31/cwt +21.31 vs last sale · ≈ $1,008/hd at 556 lb · 273 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $159.96/cwt ≈ $987/hd at 617 lb · 258 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $138.73/cwt +11.23 vs last sale · ≈ $916/hd at 660 lb · 219 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,254 5,387 3,142
Feeder cattle 2,028 586 1,944
Slaughter cattle 821 111 470
Replacement cattle 405 55 728

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: The best test for steers was 650-699 lbs which sold steady to 5.00 lower. Too few cattle of any other weigh were marketed the previous week to develop an accurate market trend, however generally steady undertones were noticed. Quality this week was average to attractive. Several load lots were seen this week and sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Packages of calves sold on light to moderate demand. Cattle were mostly in light flesh as extremely cold temperatures help make cattle even greener. CME positions moved mostly sideways this week showing losses midweek and gaining most of it back on Friday. To close the week the March contract settled at 139.125, the April at 142.675 and the May at 145.725. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packers continued to show need for cows for immediate harvest, especially early in the week. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm compared to last weeks light run. Feeding buyers were back in the market this week and showed good demand for high quality, young age cows. Feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly moderate to good demand this past week. Demand for this class of cow was significantly higher this week compared to the past few weeks. Most of the offerings this week had freshly lost calves and were of attractive quality.

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
403–430 418 30 186.00 $186.00 $777 -5.00
463–478 474 34 188.00–193.00 $191.85 $909 +1.34
508–544 530 30 177.00–188.00 $180.85 $959 +10.01
550–585 556 273 160.00–185.75 $181.31 $1,008 +21.31
600–645 617 258 154.00–162.25 $159.96 $987 —
655–692 685 199 138.50–151.00 $147.37 $1,009 -4.16
701–732 718 104 140.50–148.00 $146.71 $1,053 +8.23
813–828 820 46 132.00–135.00 $133.79 $1,097 —
862–890 866 7 129.50–132.00 $131.63 $1,140 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
584 584 4 153.00 $153.00 $894 —
659 659 20 147.00 $147.00 $969 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376–387 380 14 177.50–188.00 $184.22 $700 —
400–418 406 6 182.00–182.50 $182.17 $740 —
463 463 2 179.00 $179.00 $829 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
497 497 8 179.00 $179.00 $890 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
399 399 11 170.00 $170.00 $678 —
439–441 440 23 165.00–167.00 $166.31 $732 —
451–491 479 78 156.00–173.50 $163.33 $782 +6.62
505–547 515 100 152.00–160.00 $157.79 $813 +10.79
550–596 572 135 135.50–151.50 $146.10 $836 -4.74
600–646 627 81 138.00–144.00 $140.28 $880 +1.28
655 655 94 143.00 $143.00 $937 +15.50
660–682 664 125 133.50–137.00 $135.52 $900 +8.02
702–734 714 67 124.00–135.00 $127.36 $909 —
791 791 24 123.00 $123.00 $973 +8.00
794 794 6 117.00 $117.00 $929 +2.00
902 902 3 112.00 $112.00 $1,010 —
981 981 9 104.00 $104.00 $1,020 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
427 427 6 160.00 $160.00 $683 —
453–475 467 14 146.00–154.00 $150.85 $704 +10.85
592–593 592 8 130.00–134.00 $131.50 $778 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 14 185.00 $185.00 $773 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1238–1620 1332 80-85% 8 69.50–71.50 $70.46 $939 —
1272–1495 1378 80-85% 106 55.00–62.00 $59.69 $823 —
1237–1610 1389 80-85% 69 63.50–68.25 $65.68 $912 —
1250–1570 1395 80-85% 131 61.00–69.50 $64.17 $895 —
1180–1478 1399 80-85% 20 58.50–61.00 $59.74 $836 —
1555 1555 80-85% 1 48.00 $48.00 $746 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–975 870 85-90% 3 35.50–46.00 $39.69 $345 -12.31
900 900 85-90% 1 59.00 $59.00 $531 —
965–985 975 85-90% 2 52.00–56.50 $54.27 $529 +13.27
1045 1045 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $502 —
1165 1165 85-90% 2 71.00 $71.00 $827 +9.21
1165–1210 1168 85-90% 14 65.00–68.00 $67.78 $792 +5.99
1030–1313 1176 85-90% 49 56.00–61.00 $57.47 $676 -4.32
1025–1329 1191 85-90% 100 52.00–61.50 $57.33 $683 -4.46
1000–1380 1229 85-90% 73 60.50–68.75 $62.45 $768 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1518 1396 75-80% 22 63.00–65.00 $64.29 $897 —
1406–2000 1532 75-80% 83 64.00–68.50 $66.47 $1,018 —
1449–1788 1568 75-80% 39 58.00–63.75 $60.38 $947 —
1570 1570 75-80% 3 61.50 $61.50 $966 —
1685 1685 75-80% 1 67.50 $67.50 $1,137 +1.91

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 1 74.00 $74.00 $847 -9.00
1305 1305 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,090 —
1593–2165 1755 6 74.00–81.50 $76.88 $1,349 —
1910 1910 1 99.50 $99.50 $1,900 —
1760–2193 1968 9 85.00–92.00 $89.12 $1,754 —
2425 2425 1 86.00 $86.00 $2,086 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2475 2475 1 85.00 $85.00 $2,104 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
785–1442 1031 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 167 61.00–91.00 $78.03 $804
860–5983 1840 (<2 yrs)Open 30 88.00–108.50 $96.09 $1,768
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
798–904 851 (<2 yrs)Open 12 91.00–99.50 $94.99 $808
975 975 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 63.00 $63.00 $614

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1166–1187 1170 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 27 975.00 $975.00
1273 1273 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 10 1,025.00 $1,025.00
1289 1289 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 12 1,075.00 $1,075.00
1318 1318 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 8 800.00 $800.00
1319 1319 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,150.00 $1,150.00
1272–1418 1380 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 83 825.00–950.00 $882.62
1270–1478 1395 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 925.00–1,060.00 $1,010.83
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1317 1317 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 9 60.00 $60.00 $790
1420 1420 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 59.50 $59.50 $845
1496 1496 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 7 59.00 $59.00 $883

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1001 1001 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 17 1,350.00 $1,350.00

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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.