Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 1, 2021

6,874 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 $164.75/cwt +1.79 vs last sale · ≈ $851/hd at 517 lb · 366 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $144.89/cwt -1.21 vs last sale · ≈ $903/hd at 623 lb · 273 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $155.26/cwt +0.47 vs last sale · ≈ $890/hd at 573 lb · 266 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 6,874 9,154 2,619
Feeder cattle 3,216 7,442 1,631
Slaughter cattle 1,512 913 480
Replacement cattle 2,146 799 508

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers weighing less than 450 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed on a lower quality offering than was seen last week. Steers 450-649 lbs sold steady to firm, steers over 650 lbs sold steady to 4.00 lower. Heifers under 650 lbs sold steady to firm, heifers over 650 lbs sold mostly 4.00-6.00 lower on a lower quality offering than was seen last week. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand overall, was mostly good throughout the week. Demand for grass cattle continues to be very good as local ranchers are the driving force behind higher grass cattle prices. Many buyers continue to push the market higher despite lower CME contract prices. The March contract closed Friday at 134.60 while the April closed at 139.025. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packers purchased slaughter cows on mostly moderate demand. Boning and lean cows sold fully steady. Breaking cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 lower as heavy offerings of fed cows were seen this week. Packers showed very good demand for feeding cows this week purchasing the majority of the cow offering to put on feed. Feeding and packer buyers competed over very attractive offerings all week. Cow quality was attractive to very attractive this week. Weight up conditions were mostly average to above average and buyers gave a slight premium for cows with exceptional weigh conditions this week. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Several load lots of open coming 3 and coming 4 year old cows were seen this week these cattle were very attractive and sold on very good demand. Overall, this class of cows sold higher but comparisons are difficult due to differences in quantity and 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
383–397 392 9 191.00–199.00 $196.30 $769 -16.18
400–423 407 10 193.00–202.00 $200.03 $814 -11.98
470–498 488 84 187.50–196.00 $192.09 $937 -3.68
522 522 6 165.00 $165.00 $861 -20.19
500–549 528 64 178.00–191.00 $185.94 $982 +0.75
553–596 578 157 159.50–177.50 $172.10 $995 -1.81
607 thin fleshed 607 13 171.00 $171.00 $1,038 —
600–646 622 181 155.50–168.00 $162.45 $1,010 -0.42
650–695 670 176 144.00–154.00 $149.11 $999 -2.46
700–734 724 62 142.50–148.00 $144.42 $1,046 -6.09
760–778 764 36 137.00–141.00 $140.32 $1,072 +10.17
819–843 829 12 129.00–135.50 $131.75 $1,092 -9.90
855–890 857 35 130.00–132.00 $131.88 $1,130 -1.39
903 903 4 123.00 $123.00 $1,111 +3.00
903–905 thin fleshed 904 15 134.50–136.00 $134.90 $1,219 —
988 988 3 123.50 $123.50 $1,220 +2.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 13 181.00 $181.00 $634 —
418 unweaned 418 6 173.00 $173.00 $723 —
416–442 427 7 183.00–186.00 $184.33 $787 -6.74
451–498 474 41 174.00–182.00 $180.37 $855 -0.01
500–535 527 18 173.00–180.00 $175.75 $926 +3.39
550–598 567 28 151.00–171.00 $163.16 $925 +9.58
601–640 613 25 148.50–159.50 $153.48 $941 +3.86
675 675 1 136.00 $136.00 $918 -8.71
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502 502 3 168.00 $168.00 $843 —
556 556 29 140.00 $140.00 $778 —
616 616 14 135.00 $135.00 $832 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428–445 432 24 179.00–189.00 $185.82 $803 —
528–532 530 5 171.00–173.00 $172.20 $913 -1.54
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 10 152.50 $152.50 $729 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407 407 6 171.00 $171.00 $696 —
546 546 4 144.00 $144.00 $786 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
608 608 9 157.00 $157.00 $955 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 3 132.00 $132.00 $660 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 10 175.00 $175.00 $600 —
364–399 383 43 167.00–179.00 $171.82 $658 -0.72
407–446 431 101 164.00–171.00 $165.40 $713 -6.92
457 unweaned 457 3 161.00 $161.00 $736 -0.38
454–498 476 199 159.00–169.00 $165.75 $789 +0.09
503–517 thin fleshed 506 40 171.00–175.00 $174.34 $882 +4.53
501–545 518 326 155.00–166.50 $163.57 $847 +1.39
566 thin fleshed 566 25 163.00 $163.00 $923 —
555–595 574 241 152.50–159.00 $154.46 $887 -0.52
600 thin fleshed 600 14 152.00 $152.00 $912 -2.40
601–635 624 251 139.00–150.50 $144.78 $903 +0.85
638 638 8 136.00 $136.00 $868 -7.93
652–696 681 68 128.00–140.00 $133.59 $910 -6.99
715–745 728 46 115.00–132.00 $126.67 $922 -12.80
763–778 776 32 126.00–128.00 $126.31 $980 -0.16
815 815 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,043 -1.22
920 920 7 116.50 $116.50 $1,072 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
336 336 8 160.00 $160.00 $538 +2.50
405–415 409 5 155.00–164.00 $160.35 $656 +2.95
478–485 482 13 149.00–156.00 $153.01 $738 -5.51
566–581 575 13 141.00–143.00 $142.24 $818 -5.11
600–645 640 18 131.00–139.00 $137.02 $877 +1.59
668 668 6 131.00 $131.00 $875 -1.89
721 721 6 124.00 $124.00 $894 +7.00
768 768 4 125.00 $125.00 $960 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
419–425 421 17 162.00–165.00 $164.11 $691 +6.61
455 455 4 155.00 $155.00 $705 —
543 543 30 148.00 $148.00 $804 —
716 716 9 127.50 $127.50 $913 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 7 143.50 $143.50 $603 —
480 480 7 137.50 $137.50 $660 -2.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
514 514 4 156.00 $156.00 $802 —
747 747 3 127.50 $127.50 $952 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418–435 424 3 195.00–200.00 $198.29 $841 —
510–547 529 6 157.50–165.00 $162.24 $858 -5.33
560 560 2 159.00 $159.00 $890 —
610–648 617 11 136.00–142.00 $138.44 $854 —
656 656 25 130.00–140.00 $136.80 $897 —
796 796 4 117.00 $117.00 $931 —
830 830 2 123.50 $123.50 $1,025 —
875–885 878 3 121.00–122.00 $121.34 $1,065 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 157.00 $157.00 $738 -0.50
510 510 1 162.50 $162.50 $829 —
695 695 1 128.00 $128.00 $890 +1.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1053 1053 2 113.00 $113.00 $1,190 -4.99

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875 875 85-90% 1 57.50 $57.50 $503 —
870–995 956 85-90% 11 45.00–53.00 $49.49 $473 —
895–976 972 85-90% 18 40.75–44.00 $40.92 $398 —
1025–1253 1125 85-90% 15 42.00–47.50 $45.62 $513 +6.98
1120–1201 1142 85-90% 108 54.50–56.50 $54.60 $624 +15.96
1010–1375 1151 85-90% 237 48.00–58.00 $52.58 $605 —
1005–1355 1208 85-90% 68 56.75–63.00 $59.73 $722 +5.16
1090–1290 1222 85-90% 109 57.00–64.50 $60.30 $737 +0.17
1205–1250 1222 85-90% 3 64.00–65.00 $64.51 $788 +4.38
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280 1280 80-85% 1 57.00 $57.00 $730 —
1220–1650 1360 80-85% 99 65.00–68.00 $66.84 $909 +10.43
1153–1740 1375 80-85% 108 57.00–65.50 $61.99 $852 +1.63
1183–1675 1383 80-85% 88 52.00–58.50 $56.77 $785 -3.59
1400 1400 80-85% 1 43.00 $43.00 $602 -23.59
1296–1640 1446 80-85% 35 57.00–64.25 $60.63 $877 +4.12
1340–1795 1568 80-85% 2 64.50–65.00 $64.79 $1,016 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1404–1576 1498 75-80% 11 66.00–67.00 $66.57 $997 +3.02
1379–1831 1514 75-80% 132 59.50–65.00 $61.95 $938 —
1585 1585 75-80% 1 49.50 $49.50 $785 -9.59
1495–1890 1639 75-80% 33 53.50–60.00 $57.36 $940 -0.16
1487–2020 1669 75-80% 28 60.00–63.75 $61.94 $1,034 —
1580–1775 1678 75-80% 2 66.00–66.50 $66.26 $1,112 —
1612–1833 1708 75-80% 9 57.00–60.50 $59.36 $1,014 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1595 1595 65-75% 43 63.00 $63.00 $1,005 —
1648–2020 1769 65-75% 55 57.75–60.50 $59.18 $1,047 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265 1265 2 72.00 $72.00 $911 -11.50
1305 1305 2 83.25 $83.25 $1,086 —
1330–2355 1735 35 83.75–90.50 $86.61 $1,503 —
1385–2140 1751 21 65.00–83.00 $74.98 $1,313 —
1725–2515 2125 19 90.00–94.50 $92.17 $1,959 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2000 2000 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,680 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
770 thin fleshed 770 (<2 yrs)Open 1 85.00 $85.00 $654
767–1075 thin fleshed 853 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 36 55.00–79.00 $72.18 $616
830–1280 999 (<2 yrs)Open 117 90.00–115.00 $101.01 $1,009
818–1385 1072 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 230 59.00–104.75 $83.21 $892
1251–1396 1283 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 23 62.00–65.00 $64.29 $825
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
890–940 923 (<2 yrs)Open 3 82.00–90.00 $87.43 $807

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1144–1338 1209 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 231 1,350.00–1,675.00 $1,545.75
1128–1300 thin fleshed 1237 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 41 700.00–835.00 $789.47
1221–1248 1243 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 27 1,200.00–1,385.00 $1,351.35
1155–1470 thin fleshed 1251 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 23 1,275.00–1,300.00 $1,291.06
1263–1388 1303 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 183 860.00–1,025.00 $900.82
1145–1508 1313 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 71 1,300.00–1,575.00 $1,458.48
1192–1430 1318 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 16 1,350.00–1,425.00 $1,392.40
1238–1470 1336 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 121 1,025.00–1,350.00 $1,197.39
1343 thin fleshed 1343 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 775.00 $775.00
1346 thin fleshed 1346 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 735.00 $735.00
1330–1364 1353 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 81 985.00–1,060.00 $1,031.61
1281–1515 1354 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 31 910.00–1,075.00 $989.18
1364–1458 fancy 1394 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 100 1,350.00 $1,350.00
1398 1398 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 1,350.00 $1,350.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1229 thin fleshed 1229 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 54.00 $54.00 $664
1110–1351 1297 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 9 56.50–59.50 $57.07 $740
1763 1763 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 11 59.50 $59.50 $1,049
Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1572 1572 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,275.00 $1,275.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
874 thin fleshed 874 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 76 1,260.00–1,300.00 $1,288.95
923–1105 1045 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 277 1,335.00–1,600.00 $1,452.36
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
857 857 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 12 1,185.00 $1,185.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1295 1295 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 6 1,700.00 $1,700.00 —

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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.