Cattle Market Pulse

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 22, 2023

3,555 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 $260.77/cwt -1.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,518/hd at 582 lb · 149 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $226.02/cwt -13.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,537/hd at 680 lb · 104 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $197.66/cwt -11.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,617/hd at 818 lb · 83 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,555 5,266 4,615
Feeder cattle 1,639 2,547 2,386
Slaughter cattle 1,212 140 1,177
Replacement cattle 704 199 1,052

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Demand was mostly good to very good again, this week. Quality was mixed from plain to attractive. A couple of load lots were offered this week and these were met with very good demand. Packages sold on good demand as well, as offerings were light and buyers had to bid aggressively to fill loads. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to run on grass. Additional Spring rains continue to fall intermediately and grass fever has hit buyers. CME feeder cattle positions traded mixed this past week which struggled to gain any traction following a surge in the corn market. New crop corn traded over 40 cents higher for the week to close Friday at 5.3450. Market activity was mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Packers showed need for cows for immediate harvest as they pushed cow prices higher in order to secure offerings. Slaughter cows sold 3.00-5.00 higher on all offerings in a narrow comparison. Rain in the southern plains helped slow the marketing of cows in the south, this coupled with slowing of spring culling in the north has shortened up the cow supply. Packers were force to be aggressive as they pushed to find cattle to meet needs. High quality cows continue to be purchased to feed, however fewer feeding cows were purchased this week compared to last. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Cow and bull quality was mostly average this week. Weigh up conditions were mixed as some cows had been out on grass and were very empty, while others were very full. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady to 10.00 lower. Fewer takers were seen for this class of cows this week. Quality was mostly average and part of the reason for lighter buyer participation.

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
480 480 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,440 +9.35
508–540 525 8 290.00–295.00 $293.19 $1,539 +7.79
575 575 4 272.50 $272.50 $1,567 -5.64
579 thin fleshed 579 33 300.00 $300.00 $1,737 —
587 unweaned 587 9 257.00 $257.00 $1,509 —
605–635 623 10 262.50–272.50 $267.05 $1,664 +5.12
656 thin fleshed 656 7 277.00 $277.00 $1,817 —
688 688 4 250.00 $250.00 $1,720 -13.06
713 713 9 225.00 $225.00 $1,604 -10.98
705–733 721 14 231.00–236.00 $232.79 $1,678 -3.19
755–791 780 11 218.00–231.00 $221.85 $1,730 -17.65
800–813 809 23 205.00–212.00 $209.97 $1,699 +2.38
841 841 23 200.00 $200.00 $1,682 -7.59
865 865 4 204.00 $204.00 $1,765 +2.81
1030 1030 106 186.50 $186.50 $1,921 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464–467 466 15 250.00–260.00 $253.32 $1,180 —
531 531 4 262.50 $262.50 $1,394 —
566–587 579 14 257.00–263.00 $261.46 $1,514 +2.46
615–647 628 17 234.00–257.50 $248.40 $1,560 +5.36
690–697 695 4 221.00–239.00 $234.53 $1,630 -10.47
729 729 7 223.00 $223.00 $1,626 +8.68
825–828 827 15 193.00–198.00 $194.33 $1,607 -2.67
883 883 17 189.50 $189.50 $1,673 —
1029 1029 8 175.00 $175.00 $1,801 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 unweaned 495 2 255.00 $255.00 $1,262 —
1006 1006 4 181.00 $181.00 $1,821 —
1204 1204 18 175.00 $175.00 $2,107 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
613 613 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,471 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–509 505 26 268.00–270.00 $269.16 $1,359 +13.81
564–587 582 149 229.00–263.50 $260.77 $1,518 +6.79
605–639 623 72 224.00–257.00 $243.05 $1,514 +3.14
655–688 680 104 220.00–232.00 $226.02 $1,537 -13.91
702–740 709 31 213.00–224.50 $220.61 $1,564 -16.72
758–784 765 29 193.00–211.00 $204.26 $1,563 -0.75
809–833 818 78 191.00–202.50 $198.15 $1,621 -11.20
821 821 5 190.00 $190.00 $1,560 -19.35
863 863 6 184.00 $184.00 $1,588 +11.94
973 973 6 170.00 $170.00 $1,654 -1.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463–473 471 8 230.00–260.00 $252.62 $1,190 +10.40
520–542 535 47 230.00–251.00 $248.25 $1,328 +4.25
582 582 10 230.00 $230.00 $1,339 +1.19
603–641 625 27 202.00–224.00 $218.05 $1,363 -11.95
678–694 685 12 212.50–217.00 $214.20 $1,467 -0.90
713–728 722 16 190.00–192.00 $190.25 $1,374 -30.09
760 760 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,459 +10.83
765 765 2 174.00 $174.00 $1,331 -7.17
832 832 3 184.50 $184.50 $1,535 +4.04
850–852 851 5 175.00–181.50 $177.60 $1,511 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
494 494 11 217.50 $217.50 $1,074 —
565 565 14 212.50 $212.50 $1,201 +10.00
626–645 628 35 193.00–210.00 $208.01 $1,306 +3.01
685 685 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,233 -17.50
775–793 787 6 176.00–179.00 $178.02 $1,401 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 4 227.00 $227.00 $779 —
461 461 11 261.00 $261.00 $1,203 —
525 525 3 226.00 $226.00 $1,186 —
572–596 589 35 204.00–243.00 $227.50 $1,340 —
603 603 15 204.00–218.00 $216.13 $1,303 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
655–665 659 7 189.00–190.00 $189.71 $1,250 —
897 897 6 176.00 $176.00 $1,579 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
551 551 11 185.00 $185.00 $1,019 —
Medium 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464 464 4 185.00 $185.00 $858 —
636 636 5 155.00 $155.00 $986 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 5 215.00 $215.00 $834 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
108 108 1 175.00 $175.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505–532 521 5 240.00–255.00 $249.19 $1,298 -2.81
585 585 8 250.00 $250.00 $1,462 +2.00
770 770 2 188.00 $188.00 $1,448 —
854 854 4 172.00 $172.00 $1,469 —
970–995 987 3 148.00–155.00 $150.29 $1,483 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,496 —
1030 1030 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,607 —
1075 1075 1 161.00 $161.00 $1,731 —
1125–1148 1140 4 140.50–152.00 $146.91 $1,675 —
1178 1178 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,649 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 523 3 275.00 $275.00 $1,438 —
575 575 2 280.00 $280.00 $1,610 +2.50
760 760 1 184.00 $184.00 $1,398 —
800 800 1 188.00 $188.00 $1,504 —
950 950 1 166.00 $166.00 $1,577 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100 100 3 225.00 $225.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
90 90 1 150.00 $150.00 —
100 100 1 175.00 $175.00 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060 1060 1 142.00 $142.00 $1,505 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1525 1345 80-85% 37 79.00–96.00 $89.81 $1,208 -4.09
1230–1670 1371 80-85% 82 94.00–105.00 $98.32 $1,348 —
1210–1595 1386 80-85% 25 103.00–109.00 $105.68 $1,465 —
1190–1735 1389 80-85% 181 92.00–105.00 $100.55 $1,397 —
1252–1617 1435 80-85% 153 103.00–112.00 $105.10 $1,508 —
1370–1780 1512 80-85% 3 88.00–92.00 $90.01 $1,361 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–985 913 85-90% 3 88.00–96.00 $91.02 $831 —
850–990 923 85-90% 10 77.00–89.00 $85.10 $785 —
1025–1145 1080 85-90% 3 78.00–80.00 $79.04 $854 —
980–1243 1161 85-90% 17 85.00–92.00 $89.43 $1,038 +5.23
1010–1490 1163 85-90% 64 81.00–93.00 $87.91 $1,022 +3.71
1050–1257 1178 85-90% 45 97.50–106.50 $102.41 $1,206 +18.21
950–1285 1179 85-90% 97 92.00–99.00 $95.62 $1,127 +11.42
1010–1345 1212 85-90% 86 92.00–97.00 $94.72 $1,148 —
1085–1300 1233 85-90% 26 97.00–108.00 $99.71 $1,229 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1448–1590 1515 75-80% 19 100.50–104.00 $101.66 $1,540 —
1415–1905 1573 75-80% 13 106.00–113.00 $108.64 $1,709 —
1446–1910 1593 75-80% 14 93.50–100.00 $97.52 $1,553 —
1438–1835 1618 75-80% 25 101.00–107.00 $105.10 $1,701 —
2050 2050 75-80% 1 107.00 $107.00 $2,194 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1216 1216 5 134.50 $134.50 $1,636 —
1280–1370 1314 5 92.00–105.00 $97.96 $1,287 —
1135–1445 1327 11 102.00–113.00 $107.35 $1,425 —
1325–1362 1344 6 120.00–124.00 $121.66 $1,635 —
1375 1375 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,554 —
1475 1475 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,534 —
1305–2295 1635 55 96.00–118.00 $109.15 $1,785 —
1325–2430 1815 58 116.00–129.00 $121.12 $2,198 —
2025 2025 1 136.00 $136.00 $2,754 +15.17
1760–2495 2113 26 125.00–137.00 $130.72 $2,762 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
725–1205 968 (<2 yrs)Open 194 130.00–190.00 $160.91 $1,558
805–1440 1081 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 262 94.00–182.00 $126.25 $1,365
1070–1335 1220 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 18 95.00–109.00 $105.08 $1,282
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
760–1140 884 (<2 yrs)Open 36 115.00–167.00 $141.02 $1,247
775–1175 938 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 10 90.00–125.00 $108.19 $1,015
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
920–967 948 (<2 yrs)Open 5 152.50–155.00 $153.47 $1,455
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
675–720 705 (<2 yrs)Open 3 156.00–165.00 $162.13 $1,143

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1025 1025 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1072–1450 1126 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,560.00–1,625.00 $1,571.96
1020–1210 1128 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,750.00–1,850.00 $1,802.41
1280 1280 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1385 1385 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1390 1390 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1468–1503 1486 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,500.00–1,550.00 $1,524.71

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1310 1310 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 2,250.00 $2,250.00 —
1320 1320 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
1567–1595 1571 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 7 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1351–1590 1417 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 10 1,725.00–2,050.00 $1,964.37 -285.63

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
954 954 (<2 yrs)Open 4 2,200.00 $2,200.00 —

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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.