Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, February 6, 2023

8,991 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $199.66/cwt +13.66 vs last sale · ≈ $1,244/hd at 623 lb · 319 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $203.36/cwt +13.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,366/hd at 672 lb · 318 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $210.17/cwt +20.40 vs last sale · ≈ $1,201/hd at 572 lb · 303 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 8,991 1,225 6,018
Feeder cattle 4,857 852 4,329
Slaughter cattle 761 263 1,135
Replacement cattle 3,373 110 554

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Quality this week was mixed from plain to very attractive. Most calves were weaned this week. Order buyers, buying for packers continue to show very good demand for heavy weight, feedlot ready cattle. Quality has been mostly attractive on heavy weight offerings. Most heavy weight offerings were out of grow lots this week. Despite this, many offerings remain fairly clean with limited amounts of tag. Demand for grass cattle was very strong this week as several local ranchers were present at sales. Sales were heavily attended this week as a large crowd was seen at all sales this week. Market activity was active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly very good demand for light offerings. Last weeks extremely cold weather passed and supplies were slightly heavier this week as a result. Packers continue to show good demand for cows and bulls but were not as aggressive as last week. Feeding cow buyers were more active this week after being pushed out of the market last week. Breaking cows sold steady to 3.00 lower, boning cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower and lean cows sold 3.00-6.00 lower. Quality was mostly average. Feeding cows were not well tested last week, no comparison is available. Slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were not well tested last week no comparisons and me made. Public auction yards held their annual Blue ribbon 2 sale this week. Demand for bred cows was good to very good.

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
343 343 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,029 —
373 373 5 297.50 $297.50 $1,110 —
405–448 430 47 261.00–289.00 $273.23 $1,175 +33.23
463–492 483 93 230.00–260.00 $241.40 $1,166 +8.58
510–548 525 146 227.50–255.00 $238.49 $1,252 +13.18
553–599 584 235 210.00–226.50 $219.09 $1,279 +5.66
602–630 615 173 199.00–216.50 $214.39 $1,318 +18.05
650–695 671 310 187.00–210.00 $203.76 $1,367 +14.22
692 692 8 188.00 $188.00 $1,301 -1.54
700–739 722 129 186.00–196.00 $190.95 $1,379 —
755–783 761 22 177.50–185.00 $179.10 $1,363 -7.90
786–797 790 28 178.00–180.00 $179.28 $1,416 -7.72
816–846 839 128 180.00–189.50 $184.56 $1,548 —
854–885 870 157 179.00–185.00 $182.60 $1,589 —
942 942 12 167.50 $167.50 $1,578 —
962–984 970 50 164.75–177.50 $173.07 $1,679 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 3 267.50 $267.50 $915 —
381–390 385 12 217.50–255.00 $241.32 $929 +6.32
400–439 423 33 250.00–265.00 $253.19 $1,071 +25.91
450–499 481 66 216.00–256.00 $223.42 $1,075 —
501–549 528 43 210.00–222.50 $219.47 $1,159 —
560–598 585 37 196.00–214.00 $210.23 $1,230 +9.23
615–645 637 76 190.00–201.00 $195.52 $1,245 —
655–695 680 27 185.00–190.00 $188.99 $1,285 +8.99
720–745 741 20 176.50–180.00 $177.06 $1,312 —
789 789 13 173.00 $173.00 $1,365 —
867 867 3 160.50 $160.50 $1,392 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
466 466 11 230.00 $230.00 $1,072 +25.00
636 636 11 202.00 $202.00 $1,285 —
818 818 43 178.75 $178.75 $1,462 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 4 252.50 $252.50 $962 —
410–443 435 13 182.50–236.00 $210.36 $915 —
470–495 483 2 185.00–190.00 $187.44 $905 —
544–545 545 10 187.50–205.00 $194.49 $1,060 —
585 585 4 195.00 $195.00 $1,141 —
663 663 4 175.00 $175.00 $1,160 —
729 729 6 169.00 $169.00 $1,232 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
646 646 4 187.00 $187.00 $1,208 —
660 660 7 174.00 $174.00 $1,148 —
867 867 3 162.00 $162.00 $1,405 —
1121 1121 21 145.00 $145.00 $1,625 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
441 441 8 151.00 $151.00 $666 —
532 532 15 141.00 $141.00 $750 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378 378 2 220.00 $220.00 $832 —
420–444 426 20 210.00–221.00 $211.61 $901 —
475–497 489 138 207.50–227.00 $219.81 $1,075 +9.31
504–545 520 233 194.00–219.00 $213.89 $1,112 +10.85
562–569 fancy 567 74 213.00–219.00 $218.13 $1,237 —
551–593 573 229 200.00–211.50 $207.60 $1,190 +17.83
601–648 623 319 181.00–206.00 $199.66 $1,244 +13.66
664 fancy 664 4 208.00 $208.00 $1,381 —
654–692 665 37 175.00–197.00 $185.12 $1,231 +12.66
710–714 fancy 711 95 185.00–191.00 $186.33 $1,325 —
730 730 12 168.50 $168.50 $1,230 —
713–741 738 52 171.00–183.00 $172.34 $1,272 —
762–784 769 32 171.00–183.00 $179.14 $1,378 —
810–844 840 56 172.00–176.50 $174.16 $1,463 —
863–885 867 17 149.00–174.00 $169.50 $1,470 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361–388 373 31 204.00–211.50 $208.36 $777 +9.12
406–448 428 94 200.00–210.00 $207.31 $887 +14.31
457–499 483 71 172.50–212.50 $196.26 $948 —
510–548 539 135 185.00–203.00 $194.11 $1,046 —
555–590 582 11 180.00–196.00 $187.24 $1,090 +11.24
602–635 625 40 179.50–190.00 $186.17 $1,164 +7.17
658–698 670 14 174.50–176.00 $175.36 $1,175 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 344 6 207.50 $207.50 $714 —
398 398 23 201.00 $201.00 $800 +16.00
410–445 425 25 193.00–213.00 $203.34 $864 —
462–468 463 17 189.00–208.00 $204.61 $947 +26.99
500 500 2 190.00 $190.00 $950 +19.00
690 690 4 171.00 $171.00 $1,180 +10.00
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
467–499 476 33 140.00 $140.00 $666 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 4 207.00 $207.00 $710 —
448 448 6 160.00 $160.00 $717 —
494 494 4 191.00 $191.00 $944 —
556–558 557 12 130.00–169.00 $155.97 $869 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
459 459 8 170.00 $170.00 $780 —
510–511 511 7 174.00 $174.00 $889 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
592 592 10 182.00 $182.00 $1,077 —
813 813 2 166.00 $166.00 $1,350 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 5 140.00 $140.00 $626 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
394 394 5 235.00 $235.00 $926 —
595 595 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,145 —
785 785 1 157.00 $157.00 $1,232 —
805 805 5 156.00 $156.00 $1,256 —
867 867 6 146.00 $146.00 $1,266 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
592 592 7 160.00 $160.00 $947 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
848–950 874 85-90% 4 62.50–71.00 $64.81 $566 —
1020–1305 1172 85-90% 3 59.00–64.00 $60.79 $712 -24.06
1120–1270 1179 85-90% 6 83.50–91.00 $86.94 $1,025 +2.09
940–1315 1189 85-90% 51 63.00–77.50 $73.34 $872 -3.33
855–1288 1191 85-90% 80 71.00–84.00 $78.57 $936 -8.20
920–1274 1191 85-90% 66 77.00–85.75 $80.83 $963 -5.94
885–1326 1218 85-90% 57 64.00–77.00 $74.59 $909 —
1190–1245 1227 85-90% 3 85.50–88.00 $86.31 $1,059 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1312–1480 1348 80-85% 13 86.00–93.00 $89.93 $1,212 —
1287–1480 1373 80-85% 49 72.00–81.50 $78.11 $1,072 -5.77
1226–1710 1381 80-85% 76 79.00–88.00 $82.56 $1,140 -1.32
1245–1587 1405 80-85% 80 80.25–88.50 $83.56 $1,174 +4.02
1405 1405 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $843 -19.54
1275–1775 1421 80-85% 44 67.50–80.00 $75.78 $1,077 -3.76
1368–1715 1458 80-85% 4 89.00–90.50 $89.94 $1,311 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1538–1940 1628 75-80% 19 81.50–86.00 $83.46 $1,359 —
1498–1928 1635 75-80% 46 74.50–83.00 $79.81 $1,305 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990 990 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,218 —
1017–1410 1200 14 78.00–95.00 $91.89 $1,103 —
1150–1328 1273 6 100.50–105.00 $101.56 $1,293 +11.35
1390 1390 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,070 —
1270–2205 1672 32 79.00–99.50 $91.82 $1,535 —
1434–2260 1753 37 96.00–107.50 $100.89 $1,769 —
1835–1988 1950 4 108.50–109.00 $108.62 $2,118 +4.96
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2000 2000 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,920 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
740–1325 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 102 76.00–118.00 $98.17 $982
845–1280 1076 (<2 yrs)Open 21 120.00–145.00 $129.96 $1,398
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–1220 1043 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 15 90.00–98.50 $95.79 $999
973–1190 1103 (<2 yrs)Open 5 104.00–115.00 $111.12 $1,226
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
778 778 (<2 yrs)Open 2 142.00 $142.00 $1,105

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
957–1071 thin fleshed 988 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 36 1,700.00–1,850.00 $1,812.55
1075 1075 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 2 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1202 1202 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,725.00 $1,725.00
1150–1244 thin fleshed 1210 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 11 1,225.00–1,325.00 $1,259.57
1070–1381 1216 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 105 1,625.00–2,150.00 $2,006.12
1107–1391 1224 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 442 1,825.00–2,300.00 $2,024.25
1266 1266 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 8 1,775.00 $1,775.00
1135–1350 thin fleshed 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 41 1,210.00–1,375.00 $1,244.80
1213–1605 1306 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 14 1,875.00–1,900.00 $1,881.58
1160–1522 1351 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 472 1,650.00–2,075.00 $1,898.39
1147–1644 1371 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 431 1,300.00–1,585.00 $1,417.73
1362–1393 1380 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,310.00–1,325.00 $1,316.35
1407 1407 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,450.00 $1,450.00
1239–1766 1409 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 370 1,400.00–1,850.00 $1,598.98
1414 1414 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,350.00 $1,350.00
1304–1573 1480 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 24 1,575.00–1,825.00 $1,664.14
1636 1636 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,475.00 $1,475.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1097–1350 1242 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 62 1,675.00–1,750.00 $1,737.93
1356–1423 1383 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 15 1,350.00–1,375.00 $1,366.59

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
938–1036 thin fleshed 953 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 45 1,875.00–1,900.00 $1,886.59
964–1243 1085 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 1,350.00–1,600.00 $1,527.16
954–1177 1090 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 589 1,850.00–2,135.00 $2,005.18
1249 1249 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 1,300.00 $1,300.00
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
935 935 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 17 1,650.00 $1,650.00

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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.