Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, June 21, 2021

7,725 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 heifers $157.20/cwt -1.92 vs last sale · ≈ $910/hd at 579 lb · 158 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $153.00/cwt ≈ $747/hd at 488 lb · 109 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.18/cwt +5.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,000/hd at 670 lb · 105 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,725 3,179 6,390
Feeder cattle 1,188 864 1,342
Slaughter cattle 2,528 1,694 589
Replacement cattle 679 621 1,800

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on steers and steady to firm undertones were noticed on heifers. Quality this week was plain to average. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Most cattle were very green and coming off grass as dry conditions are driving them to market. The August CME feeder cattle contract closed 4.525 higher than last Fridays close at 159.55. Weigh up cows comprised the majority of the sales last week. Demand was mostly moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Breaking cows sold fully steady, boning and lean cows sold steady to 1.00 lower. Feeding cows took the biggest hit this week as packers showed lighter demand for feeding type cows. Feeding cows sold mostly 4.00-6.00 lower with instances of 8.00 lower seen at times. Packers have been very aggressive over the past few weeks pushing heavy volumes of cows into feedlots but with no improvement in the drought and a large quantity of cows already in the feedlot, packers took a back seat this week allowing these offerings to sell lower. Slaughter bulls generally steady to firm, however demand was better in places for bulls as quality remains good to very good. The cutter cow cutout continues to move higher. The weekly cutter cow cutout closed at 228.27, 2.69 higher than last week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady on like quality. Feeding demand has improved slightly as several buyers purchased two year old heifers to put away on feed. Replacement buyers are starting to slow as we are getting late in the breeding season to purchased cows and get them bred for spring born calves.

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
553 553 6 170.00 $170.00 $940 -15.00
670–675 675 13 155.00–164.00 $163.31 $1,102 —
712–746 727 21 153.50–156.00 $154.74 $1,125 -5.37
756–785 779 36 144.00–147.00 $144.71 $1,127 -2.05
853 853 22 141.00 $141.00 $1,203 +5.51
911 911 7 130.00 $130.00 $1,184 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
576–596 585 27 153.00–161.00 $158.33 $926 -12.67
603–623 611 12 151.00–168.00 $159.06 $972 +1.89
660 660 3 157.50 $157.50 $1,040 +6.50
668 668 5 138.50 $138.50 $925 -12.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 8 157.00 $157.00 $702 —
554 554 7 144.00 $144.00 $798 —
714 714 4 128.50 $128.50 $917 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 12 157.00 $157.00 $816 —
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
661 661 7 77.50 $77.50 $512 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 unweaned 333 2 135.00 $135.00 $450 —
363 unweaned 363 2 142.50 $142.50 $517 —
488 488 109 153.00 $153.00 $747 —
570–599 579 158 150.00–159.00 $157.20 $910 +1.39
639 639 30 157.50 $157.50 $1,006 +4.47
664–688 670 105 144.50–152.00 $149.18 $1,000 +5.18
704 704 9 148.00 $148.00 $1,042 +8.74
770 770 53 131.50 $131.50 $1,013 +0.69
813 813 2 124.00 $124.00 $1,008 -3.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472 472 6 139.00 $139.00 $656 -11.00
558–576 565 30 130.00–148.00 $135.58 $766 -9.42
626 626 5 133.00 $133.00 $833 +5.03
630 630 6 123.00 $123.00 $775 -4.97
658–661 659 17 130.00–132.00 $131.38 $866 -0.52
700–732 717 19 129.00–137.00 $132.70 $951 +6.70
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 11 135.00 $135.00 $688 —
599 599 7 131.00 $131.00 $785 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
129 thin fleshed 129 4 200.00 $200.00 —
180–190 181 8 425.00–435.00 $433.69 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561 561 8 129.00 $129.00 $724 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
103 103 4 150.00 $150.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391–395 unweaned 391 10 152.00–152.50 $152.05 $595 —
729 729 4 116.00 $116.00 $846 —
964 964 15 106.50 $106.50 $1,027 -10.25
1230 1230 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,181 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
729 729 7 92.00 $92.00 $671 —
858 858 14 96.00 $96.00 $824 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
129 thin fleshed 129 3 200.00 $200.00 —
155–180 175 5 435.00–460.00 $439.43 —
230–248 242 3 450.00–475.00 $457.92 —
272–295 278 4 450.00–475.00 $456.64 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
103 103 —— 2 150.00 $150.00 —
968 968 (<2 yrs)N/A 5 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095 1095 4 94.00 $94.00 $1,029 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150 1150 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,288 +5.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975 975 1 97.00 $97.00 $946 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290 1290 80-85% 19 59.00 $59.00 $761 —
1218–1695 1383 80-85% 350 60.00–70.00 $65.82 $910 -7.71
1223–1600 1383 80-85% 159 60.50–67.50 $63.15 $873 -10.38
1165–1583 1393 80-85% 339 67.50–76.50 $71.51 $996 +4.25
1290–1790 1431 80-85% 8 55.50–63.00 $59.20 $847 -12.56
1365–1585 1452 80-85% 23 67.50–72.50 $70.29 $1,021 +11.25
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760 760 85-90% 1 45.00 $45.00 $342 —
760–993 928 85-90% 11 52.75–60.00 $54.84 $509 —
975 975 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $556 -4.00
935–1140 1032 85-90% 6 59.00–65.00 $62.34 $643 +20.76
1013–1465 1157 85-90% 83 50.00–61.00 $57.09 $661 -10.46
1015–1368 1205 85-90% 51 60.00–68.00 $64.79 $781 -7.18
1068–1335 1211 85-90% 139 66.00–75.00 $70.46 $853 -1.51
1055–1343 1214 85-90% 139 59.00–67.00 $62.69 $761 -2.25
1060–1363 1256 85-90% 12 65.00–72.50 $68.76 $864 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1402–1537 1481 75-80% 36 71.50–73.25 $72.60 $1,075 +1.62
1323–1750 1562 75-80% 15 62.00–67.50 $63.84 $997 -6.89
1529–1860 1586 75-80% 8 73.50–76.00 $73.90 $1,172 +3.17
1315–1825 1606 75-80% 69 66.75–73.50 $70.64 $1,134 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1214–1490 1282 8 71.00–82.00 $74.83 $959 -3.17
1250–1555 1393 3 83.50–90.00 $86.92 $1,211 +10.57
1410–1925 1639 6 76.00–82.50 $80.24 $1,315 —
1738–1743 1739 7 93.00–95.50 $94.78 $1,648 —
1205–2120 1794 53 84.50–94.00 $89.10 $1,598 +0.73
1813–2405 1979 77 94.50–104.00 $98.62 $1,952 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735 thin fleshed 735 (<2 yrs)Open 2 72.50 $72.50 $533
960 thin fleshed 960 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 72.00 $72.00 $691
780–1318 1084 (<2 yrs)Open 121 70.00–109.00 $85.37 $925
750–1490 1128 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 145 60.00–80.00 $72.50 $818
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
760 760 (<2 yrs)Open 1 88.00 $88.00 $669
1093 1093 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 67.00 $67.00 $732

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Bucks

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
175 175 2 137.50 $137.50 $241 —
180–185 183 2 108.00 $108.00 $198 —
200–205 203 3 115.00 $115.00 $233 —
215–220 218 4 79.00–86.00 $81.24 $177 —
225–235 229 5 92.00–104.00 $100.55 $230 —
255–295 268 14 89.00–99.00 $93.84 $251 —

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
73 73 2 175.00 $175.00 $128 —
95 95 1 227.50 $227.50 $216 —
98 98 2 270.00 $270.00 $265 —
115–140 122 5 202.50–215.00 $206.78 $252 —
140–145 143 3 235.00–255.00 $248.49 $355 —
165 165 1 185.00 $185.00 $305 —
175 175 1 230.00 $230.00 $402 —
225 225 1 230.00 $230.00 $518 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1334 1334 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 21 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
1383 1383 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 30 1,100.00 $1,100.00 -75.00
1418 1418 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 3 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —
1353–1508 1419 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 7 1,050.00–1,150.00 $1,095.53 —
1429 thin fleshed 1429 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 17 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
1446 1446 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 10 1,275.00 $1,275.00 —
1402–1571 1468 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 14 1,325.00–1,475.00 $1,420.90 +320.90
1250–1640 1473 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 7 1,000.00–1,410.00 $1,260.87 +160.87
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1034 thin fleshed 1034 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 6 1,035.00 $1,035.00 —

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Ewes

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
120–143 132 20 71.00–74.00 $73.73 $97 —
135–148 145 66 82.00–92.00 $84.07 $122 —
150–169 158 286 82.00–92.00 $89.44 $141 —
168 168 4 89.00 $89.00 $150 —
150–174 169 35 71.00–79.00 $73.98 $125 —
155–198 177 268 74.00–85.00 $81.48 $144 —
173–185 184 46 70.00–73.00 $70.21 $129 —
200–215 206 4 84.00–89.00 $86.24 $178 —
203–228 216 4 83.00–92.00 $87.24 $188 —
225 225 4 75.00 $75.00 $169 —
218–240 230 12 70.00–79.00 $74.64 $172 —
250 250 1 83.00 $83.00 $208 —
300 300 2 59.00 $59.00 $177 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
98 98 Yearlings (1-2 yrs)Open 2 125.00 $125.00 $122 —
115–130 120 Yearlings (1-2 yrs)Open 35 137.50–185.00 $168.85 $203 —
129 129 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 95.00 $95.00 $123 —
141 141 Middle Aged (4-6 yrs)Open 6 73.00 $73.00 $103 —
150–160 155 Yearlings (1-2 yrs)Open 2 95.00–105.00 $100.16 $155 —

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Hair Breeds

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
61–65 62 10 237.50–242.50 $240.93 $149 —
66 66 8 255.00 $255.00 $168 —
74 74 37 255.00 $255.00 $189 —
90–98 94 16 232.50–237.00 $234.85 $221 —

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Hair Bucks

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
88 88 2 75.00 $75.00 $66 —
155 155 3 130.00 $130.00 $202 —
157–195 167 4 102.50–108.00 $104.11 $174 —
215 215 1 112.00 $112.00 $241 —

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Hair Ewes

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
88 88 5 85.00 $85.00 $75 —
108–138 116 8 89.00–95.00 $93.21 $108 —
168 168 6 88.00 $88.00 $148 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
118 118 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 108.00 $108.00 $127 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1093–1127 1097 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 25 1,350.00–1,525.00 $1,371.57 —

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Kids

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
32–37 33 105 310.00–335.00 $324.66 $107 —
33 33 3 305.00 $305.00 $101 —
38 38 3 285.00 $285.00 $108 —
45 45 17 322.50 $322.50 $145 —
45 45 1 200.00 $200.00 $90 —
46 46 4 315.00 $315.00 $145 —
48 48 4 270.00 $270.00 $130 —
48 48 3 275.00 $275.00 $132 —
50–52 50 33 245.00–275.00 $259.90 $130 —
52 52 3 235.00 $235.00 $122 —
53 53 5 300.00 $300.00 $159 —
56 56 7 200.00 $200.00 $112 —
58 58 3 330.00 $330.00 $191 —
58 58 2 245.00 $245.00 $142 —
62 62 11 285.00 $285.00 $177 —
60–68 63 17 265.00–337.50 $320.04 $202 —
65–67 66 8 340.00–350.00 $345.00 $228 —
70–77 75 9 330.00–360.00 $339.38 $255 —
80 80 3 190.00 $190.00 $152 —
80–82 82 6 280.00–310.00 $284.90 $234 —
83 83 2 310.00 $310.00 $257 —
85 85 1 330.00 $330.00 $280 —
90 90 1 250.00 $250.00 $225 —
90 90 1 330.00 $330.00 $297 —
100 100 2 300.00 $300.00 $300 —
105 105 1 350.00 $350.00 $368 —
110 110 1 290.00 $290.00 $319 —

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Lambs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
51 51 18 295.00 $295.00 $150 —
59 59 4 265.00 $265.00 $156 —
63–69 67 286 275.00–288.00 $282.74 $189 —
71–79 78 369 274.00–287.00 $283.19 $221 —
80 80 2 260.00 $260.00 $208 —
82 fancy 82 16 286.00 $286.00 $235 —
83 83 8 232.50 $232.50 $193 —
80–89 86 142 275.00–283.00 $279.17 $240 —
90–92 fancy 91 64 276.00 $276.00 $251 —
93 93 14 266.00 $266.00 $247 —
108 108 26 252.00 $252.00 $272 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
52–54 52 43 247.50–260.00 $250.20 $130 —
62–69 68 23 257.50–265.00 $264.41 $180 —

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
60–65 62 —— 3 95.00–145.00 $112.57 $70 —
70 70 —— 1 170.00 $170.00 $119 —
73–74 74 —— 11 180.00 $180.00 $133 —
75–77 76 —— 11 182.00–195.00 $185.61 $141 —
85 85 —— 1 182.50 $182.50 $155 —
90–95 91 —— 4 177.50–205.00 $184.66 $168 —
90–93 92 —— 6 215.00–220.00 $217.54 $200 —
95 95 —— 5 160.00 $160.00 $152 —
104–135 115 —— 44 170.00–240.00 $210.30 $242 —
105–126 116 —— 13 120.00–140.00 $131.14 $152 —
106–133 121 —— 27 145.00–170.00 $151.86 $184 —
120–140 130 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 160.00–185.00 $171.54 $223 —
155–185 166 —— 6 150.00–169.00 $158.52 $263 —

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Wethers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
60 60 2 185.00 $185.00 $111 —
80 80 1 287.50 $287.50 $230 —
100 100 1 222.50 $222.50 $222 —
125–145 137 3 227.50–252.50 $242.80 $333 —
160 160 3 150.00 $150.00 $240 —
203 203 2 160.00 $160.00 $325 —

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Wooled & Shorn

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
61 61 5 252.50 $252.50 $154 —
62–68 65 9 248.00–250.00 $249.07 $162 —
70 70 27 252.50 $252.50 $177 —
70–76 75 17 257.50–274.00 $260.22 $195 —
79 79 22 237.50 $237.50 $188 —
83 83 21 232.50 $232.50 $193 —
80–89 85 82 250.00–282.00 $271.69 $231 —
90–99 94 171 258.00–274.50 $268.84 $253 —
93–94 94 43 235.00–246.00 $239.69 $225 —
104 104 28 272.00 $272.00 $283 —
101–122 108 108 228.00–260.00 $252.08 $272 —

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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.