Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 15, 2024

2,217 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $284.09/cwt +24.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,857/hd at 654 lb · 178 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $299.31/cwt -0.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,733/hd at 579 lb · 133 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $261.60/cwt +6.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,604/hd at 613 lb · 119 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	2,217	8,229	5,925
Feeder cattle	1,614	5,563	4,061
Slaughter cattle	450	1,496	862
Replacement cattle	153	1,170	1,002

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Weather limited the volume of cattle marketed this week as extreme cold gripped most of the state. Low temperatures ranged from 25 to 45 below 0 with highs 5 to 15 below 0 for much of last weekend and early week. Miles city canceled their sale on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursdays sales were very light. Friday saw larger numbers with warmer weather and a feeder special. Steers under 550 lbs were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. steers 550-699 lbs sold 10.00-20.00 higher, steers over 700 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher. Heifers under 450 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Heifers 450-649 lbs sold mostly 10.00-12.00 higher. Heifers over 650 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Demand was mostly good to very good this week for light offerings. Quality was mostly average to very attractive. Package sizes were mostly moderate this week, with a few load lots seen. The best demand continues to be for cattle light and green enough to go to grass. Flesh conditions were very green this week as the severe cold greened cattle up this past week, especially cattle that were hay fed and weaned on the meadows. CME positions continue to show mostly positive movement. The January contract closed Friday at 230.10, while the March closed at 231.95, 3.525 and 4.25 higher respectfully for the week. Market activity was mostly active this week as both order-buyers and farmer feeders bid aggressively over high quality offerings. Weigh up cows sold on very good demand for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Packers showed very good demand for slaughter cows this week as they pushed to purchase as many cows as possible for immediate harvest. Feeding buyers showed good demand for cows as well as they continue to bid aggressively right along with packers. Slaughter cows sold sharply higher with most sales 5.00-10.00 higher on breaking and boning cows, lean slaughter cows sold 10.00-12.00 higher. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold 5.00-8.00 higher. No thin feeding cows were purchased this week. Slaughter and feeding bulls sold 5.00-8.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand this week. Young age cows sold mostly steady. Quality was average.

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
360–385	370	3	352.50–370.00	$361.64	$1,338	+10.67
448	448	3	341.00	$341.00	$1,528	-12.32
463–480	468	24	326.00–338.00	$332.96	$1,558	+1.52
500–546	538	89	309.00–330.00	$314.96	$1,694	+16.96
550–596	579	133	294.00–309.00	$299.31	$1,733	+1.63
603–625	613	68	282.00–299.00	$295.19	$1,810	+17.76
650 thin fleshed	650	13	297.00	$297.00	$1,930	—
650–683	654	165	263.50–288.50	$283.07	$1,851	+36.07
712–745	727	107	242.50–261.00	$254.58	$1,851	+8.49
756–772	767	15	226.00–243.00	$237.41	$1,821	-2.98
806–840	820	51	224.00–231.50	$229.94	$1,886	+5.94

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
323	323	2	330.00	$330.00	$1,066	-35.00
431–448	440	8	320.00	$320.00	$1,408	-4.65
452–465	455	8	320.00–323.00	$320.77	$1,460	+14.05
535–543	538	11	293.00–303.00	$300.28	$1,616	+13.78
563–593	577	13	271.00–285.00	$281.18	$1,622	+5.57
619–630	622	12	252.50–274.00	$269.20	$1,674	+13.06
652–696	685	27	230.00–249.50	$244.63	$1,676	+3.70
705–733	726	4	225.00–235.00	$227.43	$1,651	-5.85
910	910	2	214.00	$214.00	$1,947	-0.50

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
388	388	2	310.00	$310.00	$1,203	—
450	450	16	290.00	$290.00	$1,305	—
551	551	6	230.00	$230.00	$1,267	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
408–441	427	7	320.00–337.50	$330.33	$1,411	+2.60

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
396	396	7	310.00	$310.00	$1,228	+0.13
410	410	4	307.00	$307.00	$1,259	+6.72
450–491	483	36	291.00–307.00	$299.42	$1,446	+10.83
503–536	521	114	290.50–301.00	$297.41	$1,550	+15.61
550–596	571	71	253.00–287.00	$278.02	$1,587	+12.15
601–635	613	119	253.00–265.50	$261.60	$1,604	-2.58
655 fancy	655	70	253.00	$253.00	$1,657	—
673–680	674	43	232.00–240.00	$238.90	$1,610	-4.08
701–710	702	8	215.00–224.00	$216.14	$1,517	-16.58
855	855	1	203.00	$203.00	$1,736	-0.36
904	904	16	200.25	$200.25	$1,810	+3.25
985	985	3	195.00	$195.00	$1,921	-4.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
393	393	6	305.00	$305.00	$1,199	+20.00
486	486	4	282.00	$282.00	$1,371	+15.59
563–570	565	8	252.00–256.00	$253.01	$1,430	+2.20
629	629	7	249.00	$249.00	$1,566	+6.88
678–681	680	6	215.00–221.00	$216.99	$1,476	-10.32
821	821	12	197.00	$197.00	$1,617	-4.00
938–945	940	3	184.00–194.00	$190.65	$1,792	—
970–974	974	25	184.00–188.00	$187.68	$1,828	—
1000	1000	3	184.50	$184.50	$1,845	+5.50
1055	1055	1	180.00	$180.00	$1,899	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
815	815	3	195.00	$195.00	$1,589	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
465	465	1	255.00	$255.00	$1,186	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
690	690	6	228.00	$228.00	$1,573	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
810	810	85-90%	1	61.00	$61.00	$494	—
823–995	889	85-90%	6	80.00–84.50	$83.16	$739	+23.09
930–957	950	85-90%	4	84.00–85.00	$84.24	$800	+7.25
800–1247	1091	85-90%	8	81.00–91.00	$86.33	$942	+22.74
840–1320	1110	85-90%	58	72.00–88.00	$84.38	$937	+5.84
1020–1193	1112	85-90%	9	59.00–72.00	$65.32	$726	-13.22
1111–1275	1153	85-90%	25	98.00–107.50	$102.62	$1,183	+8.80
855–1241	1170	85-90%	75	90.00–98.00	$95.02	$1,112	+22.33
1030–1310	1201	85-90%	15	87.00–100.00	$95.31	$1,145	—
1240	1240	85-90%	1	106.50	$106.50	$1,321	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1230–1459	1316	80-85%	51	94.00–104.75	$99.86	$1,314	—
1289–1562	1394	80-85%	10	105.00–107.00	$105.77	$1,474	+15.64
1320–1630	1444	80-85%	14	79.00–97.00	$87.47	$1,263	+8.02
1474–1525	1488	80-85%	10	104.00–110.00	$106.96	$1,592	+3.46
1320–1645	1489	80-85%	55	91.00–104.00	$100.16	$1,491	-3.34

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1493	1493	75-80%	2	99.00	$99.00	$1,478	—
1475–1720	1637	75-80%	8	99.00–104.50	$102.55	$1,679	+12.57

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1340–1445	1393	4	93.00–102.00	$99.67	$1,388	—
1420–1955	1674	28	98.00–111.00	$104.84	$1,755	—
1572–2100	1743	20	112.00–123.00	$116.27	$2,027	+21.00
1890–2235	2063	2	125.00–132.00	$128.79	$2,657	—

YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
2024–2320	2073	6	115.00–121.00	$119.88	$2,485	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
815–1210	959	(<2 yrs)	Open	50	125.00–182.50	$138.23	$1,326
899–1370	1159	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	32	105.50–122.50	$109.57	$1,270

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
885–900	893	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	110.00–121.00	$115.45	$1,031

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1046	1046	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	6	1,925.00	$1,925.00
1170	1170	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	2,010.00	$2,010.00
1218–1242	1232	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	15	1,360.00–1,385.00	$1,375.12
1393	1393	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	3	1,875.00	$1,875.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1295	1295	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	20	1,475.00	$1,475.00
1537	1537	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,600.00	$1,600.00

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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.