Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 24, 2021

5,135 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 $163.94/cwt +12.62 vs last sale · ≈ $850/hd at 518 lb · 229 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $160.36/cwt +11.93 vs last sale · ≈ $911/hd at 568 lb · 189 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $178.16/cwt +17.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,115/hd at 626 lb · 106 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,135 6,886 0
Feeder cattle 2,034 814 0
Slaughter cattle 1,578 1,498 0
Replacement cattle 1,523 951 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison, heifers over 600 lbs sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was mostly average and better overall than last week. Demand was moderate with moderate to good demand seen at times. Several ranchers were in the market this week looking for grass cattle and competed with order buyers throughout the week over offerings. Most cattle were offered in small packages or as singles this week. No full load lots were seen. The May feeder contract closed out on Thursday at 136.30 while the August closed at 153.70, 0.925 and 2.35 lower respectfully. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for heavy offerings. The cutter cow cutout continues to inch higher as ground beef demand reaches its seasonal high. The weekly cutter cow cutout value was up 2.19 to 211.53. Packers purchased the majority of the cow offering to feed this week opting to only slaughter cows not suitable to feed. Packers continue to show a desire to acquire more market share as cows inched higher throughout the week. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold unevenly steady. Good demand continues to be seen for high quality rebreed type cows, while average to plain feeding cows sold with lighter demand.

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
445–447 unweaned 446 23 150.00–162.50 $156.54 $698 —
481 unweaned 481 7 157.50 $157.50 $758 —
499 499 23 184.00 $184.00 $918 —
505–547 533 60 178.00–186.00 $183.25 $977 -4.75
551–588 564 37 170.00–183.00 $172.19 $971 +7.57
566 unweaned 566 16 180.00 $180.00 $1,019 —
613–634 626 106 173.50–179.50 $178.16 $1,115 +17.71
658–674 661 27 160.00–167.50 $166.18 $1,098 +14.68
701–732 718 58 140.50–148.00 $144.47 $1,037 -3.09
753–789 778 101 137.00–148.00 $141.39 $1,100 +2.38
825–844 833 14 127.00–135.00 $132.68 $1,105 +8.68
861–891 874 28 128.50–134.50 $130.72 $1,142 —
905 905 4 128.00 $128.00 $1,158 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 3 160.00 $160.00 $709 —
480 480 2 177.00 $177.00 $850 +8.01
500–526 506 26 164.00–178.00 $172.27 $872 +4.95
552–590 578 15 160.00–165.00 $162.42 $939 +8.92
628–643 639 9 157.00–163.00 $159.31 $1,018 —
650–670 662 5 139.00–145.00 $141.36 $936 +3.32
705–743 721 14 131.00–138.00 $136.21 $982 +2.21
813–845 829 5 116.00–125.00 $120.07 $995 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
593 593 4 152.00 $152.00 $901 —
615 615 4 157.50 $157.50 $969 —
921 921 6 116.00 $116.00 $1,068 —
1067 1067 8 107.50 $107.50 $1,147 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409 409 7 150.00 $150.00 $614 —
675 675 2 125.00 $125.00 $844 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 4 178.00 $178.00 $890 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
416 unweaned 416 4 157.50 $157.50 $655 —
475 unweaned 475 15 145.00 $145.00 $689 —
486 486 11 166.00 $166.00 $807 +13.00
503–507 unweaned 506 25 146.00–151.00 $149.21 $755 —
506–549 520 204 150.00–168.00 $165.75 $862 +14.43
558–580 568 189 151.00–163.50 $160.36 $911 +11.93
600–644 628 87 140.00–156.00 $147.45 $926 +2.84
630 630 6 127.00 $127.00 $800 -17.61
650–685 661 46 134.00–141.00 $137.14 $906 -2.08
678–698 692 13 123.00–127.00 $124.21 $860 -15.01
704–728 713 30 125.00–138.00 $131.41 $937 +2.09
729 thin fleshed 729 71 144.00 $144.00 $1,050 —
758 758 3 118.00 $118.00 $894 -3.00
771 771 6 121.00 $121.00 $933 ±0.00
807–840 829 11 114.00–115.50 $114.78 $952 -3.21
857 857 25 117.00 $117.00 $1,003 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 3 145.00 $145.00 $638 —
450–465 459 26 140.00–145.00 $140.57 $645 -6.43
500 500 6 145.00 $145.00 $725 +8.54
606–638 613 14 121.00–134.00 $128.58 $788 +2.91
653–685 676 7 121.00–124.00 $123.17 $833 —
795 795 6 108.00 $108.00 $859 —
799 799 4 113.00 $113.00 $903 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428–445 439 17 130.00–140.00 $133.44 $586 -1.56
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
504 504 17 102.50 $102.50 $517 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
457 457 6 134.00 $134.00 $612 ±0.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
541 541 6 143.00 $143.00 $774 —
645 645 14 126.00 $126.00 $813 —
702 702 3 118.00 $118.00 $828 —
787–796 793 23 112.00–118.50 $115.71 $918 —
973–988 981 11 102.00–110.00 $103.99 $1,020 -1.01
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1040 1023 3 104.00–105.00 $104.66 $1,071 —
1053 thin fleshed 1053 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,158 —
1095 1095 2 99.00 $99.00 $1,084 +1.00
1135 1135 17 95.00 $95.00 $1,078 -1.00
1166–1178 1170 9 95.00–101.00 $97.88 $1,145 —
1200–1235 1216 5 85.00–94.00 $88.99 $1,082 -5.01
1295 1295 4 93.00 $93.00 $1,204 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
837 837 3 100.00 $100.00 $837 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 3 137.00 $137.00 $637 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
80 80 2 250.00 $250.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–975 894 85-90% 4 55.00–65.00 $59.93 $536 -1.40
820–995 932 85-90% 19 47.00–58.00 $53.56 $499 -0.84
965–975 970 85-90% 2 39.00–44.00 $41.51 $403 —
1080–1153 1135 85-90% 4 42.00–50.50 $48.48 $550 —
1005–1375 1167 85-90% 125 49.50–62.00 $57.09 $666 -0.41
1040–1325 1169 85-90% 6 66.00–72.00 $69.06 $807 +11.56
965–1345 1184 85-90% 104 54.00–62.00 $58.57 $693 +1.07
955–1355 1226 85-90% 114 59.00–66.00 $62.48 $766 +1.29
1155–1285 1229 85-90% 8 67.00–72.00 $68.99 $848 +7.80
1015–1399 1248 85-90% 254 60.00–68.50 $63.83 $797 -6.25
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1555 1356 80-85% 17 53.00–62.50 $59.03 $800 -5.84
1301–1513 1359 80-85% 21 57.00–62.00 $59.47 $808 -5.40
1265–1655 1394 80-85% 10 67.00–75.00 $71.11 $991 -1.17
1323–1540 1398 80-85% 45 68.25–74.50 $69.99 $978 -2.29
1271–1628 1406 80-85% 285 62.00–68.50 $65.88 $926 +2.05
1305–1605 1434 80-85% 61 61.00–66.50 $63.62 $912 +4.67
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1454–1700 1528 75-80% 12 66.50–71.00 $68.90 $1,053 +10.40
1493–1640 1529 75-80% 11 62.50–65.00 $64.05 $979 +5.55
1315–1705 1596 75-80% 13 61.50–65.50 $64.55 $1,030 -3.90
1465–1903 1615 75-80% 23 66.00–72.00 $69.29 $1,119 —
1585–2060 1734 75-80% 12 69.00–76.00 $72.34 $1,254 +0.56
2245 2245 75-80% 1 58.00 $58.00 $1,302 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1653 1653 65-75% 2 78.00 $78.00 $1,289 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1385 1182 6 61.00–74.50 $66.93 $791 —
1275–1550 1415 14 73.00–84.00 $78.21 $1,107 —
1160–2045 1440 10 84.00–94.00 $88.86 $1,280 —
1445–1665 1547 3 81.50–85.00 $83.58 $1,293 —
1395–1923 1645 36 73.00–83.50 $77.67 $1,278 —
1375–2295 1705 54 81.00–91.00 $87.23 $1,487 —
1580–1965 1779 17 88.00–95.00 $93.10 $1,656 +5.07
1680–2280 1921 63 97.50–106.00 $99.57 $1,913 —
1590–2388 2061 47 92.50–103.00 $95.88 $1,976 —
2565 2565 1 93.50 $93.50 $2,398 +11.50
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2093–2220 2114 6 86.00–88.00 $87.65 $1,853 —
2605 2605 2 86.00 $86.00 $2,240 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
760 thin fleshed 760 (<2 yrs)Open 3 80.00 $80.00 $608
755–1310 991 (<2 yrs)Open 309 70.00–110.00 $90.28 $895
825–1475 1118 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 200 58.00–88.50 $74.09 $828
1148 thin fleshed 1148 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 59.00 $59.00 $677
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735–970 832 (<2 yrs)Open 62 60.00–84.00 $74.49 $620
785–1025 918 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 55.00–73.00 $60.88 $559
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930 930 (<2 yrs)Open 1 65.50 $65.50 $609

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1251 1251 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 925.00 $925.00
1065–1295 1269 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 25 1,025.00–1,100.00 $1,038.90
1269 thin fleshed 1269 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 750.00 $750.00
1338–1443 1391 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 1,000.00–1,050.00 $1,024.06
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1445–1503 1482 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 10 58.00–64.00 $62.24 $922
1520 1520 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 69.00 $69.00 $1,049

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1111 1111 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,460.00 $1,460.00 -40.00
1158–1293 1219 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 22 1,435.00–1,450.00 $1,442.23 —
1244–1331 1284 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 55 1,485.00–1,500.00 $1,499.21 +580.04
1318–1441 1390 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 27 1,200.00–1,250.00 $1,222.85 +212.85
1361–1533 1441 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 40 1,350.00–1,460.00 $1,405.94 —
1510 1510 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 6 1,210.00 $1,210.00 —
1313–1719 1528 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 37 1,275.00–1,400.00 $1,343.93 —
1510–1540 fancy 1531 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 103 1,375.00–1,400.00 $1,382.42 —
1566 fancy 1566 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 25 1,500.00 $1,500.00 —
Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1736 1736 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 7 1,385.00 $1,385.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 2 60.00 $60.00 $630 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
913 913 (<2 yrs)Open 13 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —
1037 1037 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 1,425.00 $1,425.00 —

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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.