Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, September 19, 2022

3,153 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 steers $212.30/cwt +10.66 vs last sale · ≈ $1,139/hd at 536 lb · 297 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $167.36/cwt +1.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,476/hd at 882 lb · 178 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $227.69/cwt +11.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,050/hd at 461 lb · 140 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,153 7,150 11,861
Feeder cattle 2,051 1,841 7,598
Slaughter cattle 921 746 3,078
Replacement cattle 181 98 1,185

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 800 lbs. were steady to 10.00 higher, while feeder steers over 800 lbs were unevenly steady. Heifer calves were mostly steady to 5.00 higher. Yearling heifers sold mostly steady. Supply was mostly light to moderate with light to moderate demand. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Breaking cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower while boning cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. Lean cows sold steady to 4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Cows returning to feed or rebreed sold steady to firm.

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
313–326 322 7 240.00–242.50 $241.81 $779 —
360–385 377 3 230.00–235.00 $232.44 $876 —
425–445 433 32 210.00–223.50 $216.87 $939 —
457 457 106 233.00 $233.00 $1,065 —
453–488 475 34 205.00–215.00 $211.13 $1,003 —
502–549 523 97 198.00–222.00 $205.46 $1,075 —
540–546 543 200 214.50–216.75 $215.62 $1,171 —
551–591 578 50 193.00–200.00 $197.90 $1,144 —
600–621 619 42 190.00–202.00 $199.83 $1,237 —
653 fancy 653 3 208.00 $208.00 $1,358 —
650–690 658 39 181.00–200.50 $196.86 $1,295 —
741–748 743 9 189.50–192.00 $191.22 $1,421 -6.79
760–787 777 28 182.00–188.00 $185.53 $1,442 +4.22
817–840 829 19 178.00–182.00 $180.32 $1,495 -3.18
855–868 865 8 173.00–177.00 $173.74 $1,503 -3.89
900–939 930 48 169.00–176.50 $175.12 $1,629 +3.12
970–997 978 15 162.00–167.00 $165.26 $1,616 —
1005–1020 1010 3 155.00–161.50 $159.31 $1,609 —
1053–1060 1054 7 152.00–158.00 $157.14 $1,656 —
1178 1178 2 147.50 $147.50 $1,738 —
1200 1200 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,692 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
351 351 4 190.00 $190.00 $667 —
430 430 2 174.00 $174.00 $748 —
510 510 1 162.00 $162.00 $826 —
570 570 1 175.00 $175.00 $998 —
602–630 614 6 161.00–172.00 $169.44 $1,040 -39.56
678 678 2 146.00 $146.00 $990 -62.00
702–745 719 6 165.00–173.00 $169.92 $1,222 -22.08
750–785 768 2 168.00–171.00 $169.47 $1,302 —
800–843 829 3 160.00–172.00 $168.14 $1,394 —
875 875 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,409 -8.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 200.00 $200.00 $580 —
358–391 382 18 186.00–200.00 $190.63 $728 —
412–445 423 15 182.00–195.00 $191.32 $809 —
450–479 473 60 182.00–189.50 $186.35 $881 —
500–524 514 91 174.00–192.00 $184.88 $950 —
555–580 561 35 171.00–185.00 $182.31 $1,023 +14.31
608–640 618 4 168.00–176.00 $170.77 $1,055 —
654–697 669 24 168.00–180.00 $174.31 $1,166 —
701–739 727 39 170.00–180.00 $178.23 $1,296 -4.84
727 fancy 727 8 182.00 $182.00 $1,323 —
758–795 782 14 169.00–173.50 $172.34 $1,348 -5.91
805–840 811 12 168.00–172.50 $171.72 $1,393 +7.72
800–840 819 51 163.00–173.50 $171.06 $1,401 +7.06
855–895 878 127 162.00–172.75 $167.51 $1,471 +11.75
891 891 51 167.00 $167.00 $1,488 +11.24
902–947 928 57 154.00–166.00 $163.93 $1,521 -0.60
950–990 973 51 152.00–164.00 $161.83 $1,575 -1.28
1000–1045 1025 60 153.00–163.00 $159.21 $1,632 —
1070–1085 1076 8 146.00–151.00 $149.12 $1,605 —
1100–1145 1106 28 145.00–150.25 $148.64 $1,644 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–387 385 4 173.00–175.00 $173.49 $668 —
415 415 2 175.00 $175.00 $726 —
473–495 483 5 162.00–167.00 $164.57 $795 —
515–544 524 37 164.00–170.00 $166.93 $875 —
550–590 570 16 152.00–166.00 $162.58 $927 —
584 584 4 156.00 $156.00 $911 —
613 613 3 162.00 $162.00 $993 —
670–693 689 17 151.00–162.50 $159.78 $1,101 —
712–740 721 5 157.00–168.00 $159.43 $1,149 -12.07
788 788 3 158.00 $158.00 $1,245 -1.97
805–845 821 19 151.00–164.00 $156.55 $1,285 +0.55
855–885 875 10 142.50–158.00 $154.02 $1,348 +3.02
940 940 3 147.00 $147.00 $1,382 -6.00
958–985 965 4 150.00–152.00 $150.51 $1,452 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 2 185.00 $185.00 $620 —
410 410 4 185.00 $185.00 $758 —
480 480 12 170.00 $170.00 $816 —
527 527 3 160.00 $160.00 $843 -2.00
587 587 3 162.00 $162.00 $951 ±0.00
601–635 610 9 154.00–161.00 $158.71 $968 —
645 fancy 645 14 177.00 $177.00 $1,142 —
703–746 736 13 155.00–158.00 $157.49 $1,159 —
815 815 2 154.00–155.00 $154.50 $1,259 —
870 870 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,088 -25.40
1073 1073 3 129.00 $129.00 $1,384 —
1160–1196 1179 17 115.00–118.50 $116.63 $1,375 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
583 583 4 147.50 $147.50 $860 —
980 980 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,313 —
1075 1075 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,419 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1430 1304 80-85% 4 72.00–77.00 $75.75 $988 —
1220–1710 1325 80-85% 86 72.00–80.00 $75.91 $1,006 —
755–1685 1396 80-85% 159 74.00–91.00 $80.79 $1,128 +1.76
1085–1780 1427 80-85% 152 78.00–89.00 $85.11 $1,215 +0.56
1123–1680 1500 80-85% 42 89.25–94.00 $91.43 $1,371 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1184–1355 1241 75-80% 6 91.00–91.50 $91.32 $1,133 —
1470 1470 75-80% 1 85.50 $85.50 $1,257 -7.50
1505–1658 1592 75-80% 64 82.00–93.50 $86.67 $1,380 -2.33
1820 1820 75-80% 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,492 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1155 1078 85-90% 2 74.00–78.00 $76.14 $821 +18.04
880–1148 1115 85-90% 8 87.00–88.50 $88.35 $985 —
885–1298 1152 85-90% 34 70.00–80.00 $74.50 $858 -7.44
975–1330 1161 85-90% 25 75.00–86.50 $78.23 $908 -3.71

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1173–1295 1237 7 97.50–102.00 $100.79 $1,247 —
1150–1670 1389 14 75.00–84.00 $79.37 $1,102 -3.98
1152–2405 1702 43 95.00–106.50 $101.71 $1,731 —
1270–2175 1747 107 84.00–102.50 $92.02 $1,608 —
1892 1892 3 101.00 $101.00 $1,911 —
YG2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1785 1530 4 74.00–76.00 $74.85 $1,145 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
818–1345 960 (<2 yrs)Open 43 100.00–114.00 $109.61 $1,052
905–1630 1231 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 57 85.00–98.00 $89.95 $1,107
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
905 905 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 110.00 $110.00
965–1013 1003 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 104.00–117.50 $106.60

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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.