Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 2, 2021

4,869 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $143.69/cwt +1.66 vs last sale · ≈ $1,259/hd at 876 lb · 292 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $154.91/cwt -2.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,041/hd at 672 lb · 126 head

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $165.61/cwt -2.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,212/hd at 732 lb · 87 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale
Total receipts	4,869	2,747
Feeder cattle	2,135	1,243
Slaughter cattle	1,572	972
Replacement cattle	1,162	532

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers calves were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on a higher quality offering this week. Yearling steers were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were notices on all offerings, with the biggest gains noticed on steers over 900 lbs. Heifer calves sold mostly 7.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was more attractive than last and buyers had more offerings to work with. Yearling heifers all sold steady to 2.00 higher. Yearling heifers were of mostly average to very attractive quality this week with many selling out of rancher's replacements. Ranchers continue to offer to abort these heifers at their expense if buyers want to feed them. All heifers were purchased to feed again this week. CME positions continue to push higher with the nearby August contract closing at 159.85 on Friday and the September closing at 163.325, the October closed at 165.775. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows continue to sell on very good demand. A 3 way race to purchase cows is being seen as packers, feeding cow buyers and buyers looking for replacement cattle all fought to secure offerings this week. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to firm, with the exception of fleshy breaking cows, which sold steady to 3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 1.00 higher with only very high quality cows seeing the price advance. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 1.00 higher, however high dressing bulls sold with a larger advance, with most selling 2.00-3.00 higher. Demand for replacement stock was stronger this week as buyers searched for cows that might be bred which were being sold as weigh ups. Demand for cow-calf pairs and bred cows was also stronger this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady in a narrow comparison. Demand for rebreed offerings was moderate this week.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
204 unweaned	204	16	200.00	$200.00	$408	—
250–273 unweaned	255	13	187.50–188.00	$187.88	$479	—
323 unweaned	323	20	187.00	$187.00	$604	—
361–391 unweaned	380	22	177.50–185.00	$180.09	$684	+7.33
406–447 unweaned	423	22	171.00–180.00	$176.11	$745	+12.01
475–495 unweaned	477	25	160.00–173.50	$171.82	$820	+15.23
608–640	623	24	171.00–183.00	$177.35	$1,105	+7.35
672	672	12	171.50	$171.50	$1,152	+4.50
730	730	13	158.50	$158.50	$1,157	-9.25
713–749	732	74	163.50–174.00	$166.86	$1,221	-0.89
757–788	772	50	158.00–164.50	$162.37	$1,253	—
770–784	777	14	147.50–153.00	$150.23	$1,167	—
848	848	6	152.00	$152.00	$1,289	+5.74
851–884	875	34	147.50–155.00	$150.65	$1,318	—
902–928	921	84	145.75–153.00	$151.14	$1,392	—
963	963	3	139.50	$139.50	$1,343	+1.53
987	987	7	133.00	$133.00	$1,313	-4.97

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
481	481	12	165.00	$165.00	$794	—
559–582	572	9	169.00–171.00	$170.13	$973	—
607–645	635	25	164.50–172.00	$167.27	$1,062	—
682–691	689	18	163.00	$163.00	$1,123	—
822	822	3	139.00	$139.00	$1,143	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
466 unweaned	466	7	145.00	$145.00	$676	—
487	487	8	156.00	$156.00	$760	—
518 unweaned	518	5	145.00	$145.00	$751	—
651	651	11	168.50	$168.50	$1,097	+4.50
720	720	5	163.00	$163.00	$1,174	+2.34
768–774	771	7	145.00–155.00	$149.27	$1,151	+3.43
855	855	1	135.00	$135.00	$1,154	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
342	342	3	150.00	$150.00	$513	—
373	373	6	147.50	$147.50	$550	—
788	788	3	127.00	$127.00	$1,001	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
616	616	10	131.00	$131.00	$807	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1005–1039	1034	7	133.00–136.00	$133.42	$1,380	+11.41

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
189	189	5	375.00	$375.00	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315 unweaned	315	5	155.00	$155.00	$488	-2.50
370 unweaned	370	14	160.00	$160.00	$592	+5.00
405–442 unweaned	429	73	150.00–158.50	$156.15	$670	+7.77
459–495 unweaned	460	61	150.50–159.50	$159.18	$732	+18.40
535 unweaned	535	18	148.00–151.50	$150.53	$805	—
635–649	645	21	156.00–156.50	$156.14	$1,007	—
661–694	672	126	151.00–156.50	$154.91	$1,041	-2.32
708–749	733	37	150.00–157.50	$153.17	$1,123	+1.43
748	748	3	144.00	$144.00	$1,077	-7.74
754	754	4	143.00	$143.00	$1,078	-12.00
750–782	780	65	145.50–150.50	$148.83	$1,161	-6.17
800–829	809	57	141.00–148.00	$146.26	$1,183	+2.25
813–840	827	6	141.00	$141.00	$1,166	-3.01
853–899	876	292	139.00–147.50	$143.69	$1,259	+1.66
901 fancy	901	24	143.00	$143.00	$1,288	—
905–944	928	32	134.50–138.00	$136.00	$1,262	-0.65
959–998	976	34	130.00–134.25	$133.29	$1,301	+1.96
978–993	983	6	122.50–129.00	$126.81	$1,247	-4.52

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
481	481	15	152.00	$152.00	$731	—
542	542	9	144.00	$144.00	$780	-6.50
568–593	581	47	151.00–154.00	$152.03	$883	+2.83
623–634	632	34	141.00–150.00	$142.57	$901	-4.43

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
239	239	7	165.00	$165.00	$394	—
293	293	9	155.00	$155.00	$454	—
399	399	12	145.50	$145.50	$581	—
661–695	691	40	147.50–150.00	$149.70	$1,034	+2.70
708–738	722	6	146.00–147.50	$146.84	$1,060	+8.42
760–798	765	25	139.00–143.00	$140.32	$1,073	-1.58
903	903	4	133.00	$133.00	$1,201	+15.50

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1007–1045	1012	65	130.00–134.50	$133.47	$1,351	+2.26
1031 fancy	1031	9	135.00	$135.00	$1,392	—
1055–1075	1062	3	116.00–133.50	$127.59	$1,355	—
1110	1110	4	128.00	$128.00	$1,421	—
1195	1195	2	111.00	$111.00	$1,326	—

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
525	525	12	155.50	$155.50	$816	+10.50

Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
483	483	7	143.00	$143.00	$691	—

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1000	1000	1	122.00	$122.00	$1,220	+23.00
1080–1099	1096	7	116.00–117.00	$116.14	$1,273	—
1115 fancy	1115	4	120.00	$120.00	$1,338	—
1122–1137	1129	14	108.00–115.00	$111.70	$1,261	+5.70
1180–1190	1185	5	85.50–107.00	$92.69	$1,098	—
1200	1200	4	95.00	$95.00	$1,140	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
378	378	3	160.00	$160.00	$605	—
550 unweaned	550	1	160.00	$160.00	$880	—
1015 thin fleshed	1015	2	88.00	$88.00	$893	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
969	969	6	128.00	$128.00	$1,240	+29.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1338–1470	1364	80-85%	7	58.50–63.00	$59.85	$816	—
1296–1533	1366	80-85%	65	64.50–72.50	$67.83	$927	—
1231–1583	1436	80-85%	73	63.00–69.50	$66.95	$961	-5.64
1193–1539	1441	80-85%	99	69.50–79.50	$74.98	$1,080	+2.39
1272–1618	1448	80-85%	14	71.00–78.00	$74.63	$1,081	+2.04
1332–1730	1472	80-85%	11	52.50–63.00	$60.86	$896	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
875–995	919	85-90%	10	51.00–60.00	$55.55	$511	—
915–961	952	85-90%	5	61.50–66.00	$62.37	$594	+0.88
1015–1309	1141	85-90%	55	53.00–62.00	$59.21	$676	—
1113–1265	1147	85-90%	31	70.00–79.50	$77.27	$886	—
1150	1150	85-90%	1	47.00	$47.00	$540	-11.71
995–1385	1157	85-90%	22	56.00–63.00	$60.12	$696	+1.41
1010–1225	1170	85-90%	29	62.00–66.50	$63.53	$743	+4.82
1063–1300	1196	85-90%	55	62.00–66.50	$64.41	$770	+5.70

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1398–1750	1491	75-80%	72	73.00–77.50	$75.94	$1,132	—
1580	1580	75-80%	1	63.50	$63.50	$1,003	-8.41
1510–1830	1669	75-80%	12	75.50–81.50	$78.60	$1,312	+12.38
1565–1885	1695	75-80%	9	66.00–72.00	$68.96	$1,169	+2.74

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1215	1215	1	77.00	$77.00	$936	-15.00
1333–1345	1337	3	83.00–90.00	$85.35	$1,141	—
1440	1440	1	78.00	$78.00	$1,123	+1.42
1335–1785	1515	24	64.00–83.00	$78.39	$1,188	—
1450–2245	1755	93	82.50–91.50	$87.22	$1,531	+0.94
1525–2360	1949	46	91.00–104.50	$95.21	$1,856	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
820–1299	1130	(<2 yrs)	Open	75	70.00–101.00	$79.70	$901
935–1273	1131	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	35	62.00–79.00	$69.29	$784
1366	1366	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	5	63.00	$63.00	$861

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1035	1035	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	84.00	$84.00	$869
1105–1290	1273	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	11	66.00–80.00	$78.90	$1,004

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
935	935	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	69.00	$69.00	$645
1075–1137	1127	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	58.00–63.00	$62.20	$701

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1015–1355 thin fleshed	1120	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	78	54.00–62.50	$59.12	$662
1017–1251	1142	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	15	72.50–79.50	$75.41	$861
1224	1224	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	10	64.50	$64.50	$789
1238–1395	1289	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	6	62.00–68.00	$64.94	$837

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1020	1020	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	11	1,275.00	$1,275.00
1099	1099	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	6	1,000.00	$1,000.00
978–1369	1296	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	16	1,000.00–1,300.00	$1,257.54
1426	1426	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	17	1,275.00	$1,275.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
792–1040	882	(<2 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	85	1,235.00–1,475.00	$1,338.16

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1172–1286	1234	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	59	1,485.00–1,900.00	$1,765.03	—
1290–1505	1411	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	24	1,525.00–1,725.00	$1,685.80	—
1385–1565	1475	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	24	1,460.00–1,550.00	$1,507.75	+255.93
1496	1496	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	7	1,325.00	$1,325.00	+73.18
1595–1645	1620	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	26	1,400.00–1,435.00	$1,417.77	-0.96
1554–1753	1674	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	50	1,300.00–1,600.00	$1,534.58	—
1478–1852	1682	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	27	1,500.00–1,800.00	$1,684.53	—
1750	1750	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	1,375.00	$1,375.00	—

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
513	513	19	66.00	$66.00	$339	—
710	710	14	67.00	$67.00	$476	—

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
420	420	3	60.00	$60.00	$252	—

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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.