Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 13, 2024

7,048 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 $299.22/cwt ≈ $1,732/hd at 579 lb · 349 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $273.85/cwt +3.85 vs last sale · ≈ $1,807/hd at 660 lb · 308 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $291.61/cwt ≈ $1,802/hd at 618 lb · 72 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	7,048	1,787	5,256
Feeder cattle	2,299	525	2,547
Slaughter cattle	1,513	591	140
Replacement cattle	1,047	671	199

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Too few sales were seen the previous week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on all feeders on offer. Cattle were mostly offered in larger package sizes this week as Sale yards were hosting turn out to grass specials. Several large packages of cattle could be purchased this week and buyers showed very good demand as a result. Most of these offerings were cattle out of a grow yard or already out on grass and had been put together earlier this year or last fall. Quality this week was mostly plain to average, with a limited offering of attractive cattle seen. Cattle suitable to develop on grass continue to sell with the best demand. Demand was mostly good for light to moderate offerings. CME positions pushed higher this week as boxed beef values saw a solid run up for retailer buying for the upcoming holiday. The May feeder cattle contract closed Friday at 246.725, up 7.925 from last Friday. August closed at 259.85 up 8.95 from last Friday. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packers showed mostly very good demand for slaughter cows for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Demand from private feeders forced packers to bid up lean cows in order to secure offerings. Feeding cow demand was very good this week as many buyers were in the seats, as well as on the internet, at all the sales actively buying cows. Feeding cows all sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher with the biggest increase coming from thin cow offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive with many high quality reputation offerings seen. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 4.00 to 8.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 10.00-15.00 higher. Demand was good to very good for high quality offerings which buyers are looking to rebreed. Young two year old heifers which have not calved yet sold with a 8.00-12.00 discount to ones which lost calves.

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
310	310	1	390.00	$390.00	$1,209	—
460–480	464	55	365.00–370.00	$367.26	$1,704	—
532–540	537	56	334.00–340.00	$335.36	$1,801	—
557–580	561	56	314.00–336.00	$330.21	$1,852	—
606–628	614	33	309.00–321.00	$316.06	$1,941	—
655–695	671	19	277.00–292.50	$281.49	$1,889	-8.01
705	705	2	272.00	$272.00	$1,918	—
749	749	7	255.00	$255.00	$1,910	—
777	777	5	253.00	$253.00	$1,966	±0.00
824	824	10	239.00	$239.00	$1,969	—
922	922	10	226.00	$226.00	$2,084	+13.00
925	925	5	234.00	$234.00	$2,164	+21.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
400–408	407	7	335.00–340.00	$339.30	$1,381	—
453–497	481	27	324.00–355.00	$335.84	$1,615	—
500–548	519	16	298.25–325.00	$312.61	$1,622	-8.46
573–598	588	13	300.00–310.00	$303.99	$1,787	-9.46
611–649	623	36	271.00–303.00	$282.85	$1,762	+20.54
650–690	672	17	254.00–277.00	$269.49	$1,811	+17.49
700–735	727	16	249.00–263.00	$251.09	$1,825	+6.09
780	780	1	249.00	$249.00	$1,942	+5.00
805–820	816	17	243.00–244.00	$243.71	$1,989	-6.29

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
353	353	2	325.00	$325.00	$1,147	—
437	437	8	300.00	$300.00	$1,311	—
500–548	528	9	295.00–305.00	$301.83	$1,594	—
567	567	13	280.00	$280.00	$1,588	—
628–637	634	8	230.00–231.00	$230.37	$1,461	—
755–780	773	8	218.00–238.00	$233.03	$1,801	—
910	910	4	212.00	$212.00	$1,929	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
413	413	6	269.00	$269.00	$1,111	—
501–509	508	35	242.50–255.00	$243.91	$1,239	—

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
473–498	492	8	298.00–305.00	$299.68	$1,474	—
515	515	10	277.50	$277.50	$1,429	—
585	585	7	250.00	$250.00	$1,462	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
663	663	2	253.00	$253.00	$1,677	—
722	722	3	263.00	$263.00	$1,899	—
860	860	2	205.00	$205.00	$1,763	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
692	692	3	229.00	$229.00	$1,585	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
474	474	4	320.00	$320.00	$1,517	—
519–537	520	38	309.00–311.00	$310.84	$1,616	—
562	562	3	288.00	$288.00	$1,619	—
551–594	579	346	290.00–309.00	$299.32	$1,733	—
602–645	618	72	280.00–300.00	$291.61	$1,802	—
655–694	660	308	261.00–279.00	$273.85	$1,807	+3.85
709–730	727	64	249.00–255.00	$250.82	$1,823	-2.36
750–798	779	15	235.00–242.00	$239.62	$1,867	-4.38
885	885	6	234.50	$234.50	$2,075	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
360–394	374	10	302.50–317.00	$310.88	$1,163	+3.76
448	448	4	306.00	$306.00	$1,371	—
452–495	484	31	282.50–299.00	$294.83	$1,427	-11.67
510	510	2	282.50	$282.50	$1,441	-9.00
558–590	574	29	265.00–288.00	$277.62	$1,594	-1.77
617–645	640	68	251.00–274.00	$270.70	$1,732	+6.94
662–668	665	13	247.50–250.00	$248.88	$1,655	+5.38
743	743	2	235.00	$235.00	$1,746	-8.00
783	783	2	239.00	$239.00	$1,871	+6.00
846	846	10	222.00	$222.00	$1,878	—
850	850	4	223.00	$223.00	$1,896	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
468–494	481	19	265.00–283.00	$269.21	$1,295	—
501–548	529	42	261.00–277.00	$268.94	$1,423	+3.94
580–599	595	9	255.00–257.50	$255.54	$1,520	—
607–627	608	48	231.00–245.00	$231.90	$1,410	—
685	685	13	236.00	$236.00	$1,617	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
310	310	12	305.00	$305.00	$946	—
361	361	15	290.00	$290.00	$1,047	—
412–436	423	11	284.00–292.50	$287.98	$1,218	+18.55
494	494	9	272.00	$272.00	$1,344	—
518	518	43	229.00	$229.00	$1,186	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
363	363	5	312.50	$312.50	$1,134	—
500–535	512	49	280.00–299.00	$289.97	$1,485	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
735–748	740	10	240.00–244.00	$242.38	$1,794	-5.62
782	782	5	242.00	$242.00	$1,892	—
913–948	935	8	210.00–222.50	$215.58	$2,016	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
750	750	5	227.50	$227.50	$1,706	—
849	849	7	219.00	$219.00	$1,859	—
897	897	3	217.50	$217.50	$1,951	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
631	631	6	263.00	$263.00	$1,660	+13.00
745	745	2	236.00	$236.00	$1,758	+10.00
759	759	4	216.00	$216.00	$1,639	—
960	960	1	190.00	$190.00	$1,824	—
1065	1065	1	160.00	$160.00	$1,704	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1175–1185	1180	2	171.00–187.50	$179.28	$2,116	—
1220 fancy	1220	4	190.00	$190.00	$2,318	—
1200–1245	1223	2	172.00–184.00	$177.89	$2,176	+7.89
1254	1254	4	160.00	$160.00	$2,006	-1.24
1345	1345	1	155.00	$155.00	$2,085	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
840–995	883	85-90%	5	90.00–97.50	$94.76	$837	-7.22
840–990	933	85-90%	19	102.50–117.50	$110.25	$1,029	+20.74
990	990	85-90%	2	122.00	$122.00	$1,208	—
890–1305	1095	85-90%	52	107.00–124.00	$118.78	$1,301	—
995–1290	1108	85-90%	12	75.00–104.00	$95.04	$1,053	—
1000–1460	1141	85-90%	49	100.00–121.00	$112.63	$1,285	—
990–1305	1187	85-90%	189	124.00–133.00	$129.79	$1,541	+9.95
1000–1310	1189	85-90%	26	122.00–131.00	$126.07	$1,499	+6.23
1025–1310	1195	85-90%	19	132.00–141.00	$134.79	$1,611	+8.42
1000–1300	1200	85-90%	117	133.00–139.00	$134.89	$1,619	+8.98

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–1770	1383	80-85%	105	127.00–140.00	$134.66	$1,862	—
1250–1570	1385	80-85%	75	139.00–146.00	$141.44	$1,959	—
1220–1600	1387	80-85%	226	127.00–140.00	$134.70	$1,868	—
1270–1565	1425	80-85%	34	115.00–127.00	$122.27	$1,742	-10.47
1265–1645	1489	80-85%	31	139.50–146.00	$140.59	$2,093	+1.24
1355–1610	1502	80-85%	11	115.00–127.00	$123.27	$1,852	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1398–1735	1455	75-80%	35	135.50–142.00	$138.60	$2,017	—
1485	1485	75-80%	8	145.00	$145.00	$2,153	—
1401–1770	1554	75-80%	77	135.00–141.50	$137.50	$2,137	+1.98
1454–1733	1578	75-80%	28	142.00–145.00	$144.00	$2,272	+8.48
1515–1650	1583	75-80%	3	142.00–147.00	$144.43	$2,286	+8.91
1525–1730	1583	75-80%	21	129.00–135.00	$132.76	$2,102	-2.76
1565–1935	1651	75-80%	6	125.00–134.00	$131.75	$2,175	—
2010	2010	75-80%	1	135.00	$135.00	$2,714	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1445	1445	65-75%	1	147.00	$147.00	$2,124	—
1386–1700	1498	65-75%	56	141.00–143.00	$141.22	$2,115	—
1655	1655	65-75%	10	139.00	$139.00	$2,300	—
2075	2075	65-75%	1	136.00	$136.00	$2,822	—

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1110–1400	1291	4	130.00–142.00	$133.61	$1,725	—
1260–1335	1298	2	142.00–144.00	$143.03	$1,857	—
1240–1453	1338	15	120.00–141.00	$127.53	$1,706	+7.53
1385	1385	1	137.00	$137.00	$1,897	—
1305–2135	1640	33	122.00–144.00	$136.26	$2,235	+5.51
1350–2215	1750	64	140.00–159.00	$149.04	$2,608	—
1595–2375	2036	43	154.00–175.00	$163.41	$3,327	+4.00

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
2395	2395	1	154.00	$154.00	$3,688	—
2685	2685	1	141.00	$141.00	$3,786	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
710–795 thin fleshed	753	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	211.00–213.00	$211.94	$1,596
755–1385	961	(<2 yrs)	Open	327	150.00–233.50	$206.42	$1,984
815–1570	1028	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	177	137.00–221.00	$178.09	$1,831
1093–1320	1193	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	8	131.00–137.00	$134.16	$1,601
1320–1545	1469	(<2 yrs)	Open	7	150.00–156.00	$154.94	$2,276
1630	1630	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	134.00	$134.00	$2,184

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
880 thin fleshed	880	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	130.00	$130.00	$1,144
700–1165	914	(<2 yrs)	Open	47	141.00–205.00	$178.12	$1,628
880–1195	1050	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	8	117.50–150.00	$135.35	$1,421

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
746–790	762	(<2 yrs)	Open	7	181.00–215.00	$193.95	$1,478
790 thin fleshed	790	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	175.00	$175.00	$1,382
840–888	876	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	155.00	$155.00	$1,358

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1060–1165	1095	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	3	139.00–150.00	$146.10	$1,600
1135–1230	1183	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	142.00–145.00	$143.56	$1,698

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
990–1063	1056	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	10	2,175.00–2,200.00	$2,177.34
1235	1235	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	1,550.00	$1,550.00
1080–1505	1240	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	11	2,200.00–2,375.00	$2,319.24
1315	1315	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	2,300.00	$2,300.00
1370–1459	1441	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	2,050.00–2,075.00	$2,070.25

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
168–175	170	4	99.00–116.00	$110.73	$188	—
175–195	184	5	74.00–90.00	$78.53	$144	—
200–225	213	7	94.00–108.00	$102.32	$218	—
215	215	1	77.00	$77.00	$166	—
215–225	217	6	109.00–110.00	$109.83	$238	—
255	255	14	97.00	$97.00	$247	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
210–245	234	Lambs (<1 yr)	N/A	5	94.00–113.00	$102.87	$241	—
250–270	256	Lambs (<1 yr)	N/A	4	100.00–121.00	$107.32	$275	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
83–85	84	2	85.00–90.00	$87.47	$73	—
125	125	1	147.50	$147.50	$184	—
125–140	135	4	147.50–215.00	$172.20	$232	—
155–160	158	2	135.00–160.00	$147.70	$233	—
170–185	178	3	180.00–190.00	$183.46	$327	—
180	180	1	115.00	$115.00	$207	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1378	1378	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	9	2,600.00	$2,600.00	-200.00
1316–1575	1395	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	38	2,585.00–2,635.00	$2,595.70	-204.30
1403	1403	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	4	2,875.00	$2,875.00	—
1614–1650	1623	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	8	2,725.00–2,750.00	$2,731.35	—
1775	1775	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	1	2,675.00	$2,675.00	—

Receipts

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder Steers

Feeder Heifers

Feeder Bulls

Slaughter Cows

Slaughter Bulls

Stock Cows

Bred Cows

Bred Heifers

Bucks

Bucks Billies

Cow-Calf Pairs

Ewes

Families

Hair Breeds

Hair Bucks

Hair Ewes

Heifer Pairs

Kids

Lambs

Nannies Does

Sheep

Wethers

Wooled & Shorn

Reading this report

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1416	1416	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	4	2,600.00	$2,600.00	—
1530	1530	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	1	2,350.00	$2,350.00	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
108–126	118	27	30.00–35.00	$32.97	$39	—
120–132	127	48	45.00–46.00	$45.68	$58	—
124–145	129	34	50.00–67.00	$55.68	$72	—
138–148	142	29	73.00–74.00	$73.57	$104	—
144	144	8	96.00	$96.00	$138	—
150–175	157	97	72.00–85.00	$76.61	$120	—
151–170	159	23	56.00–70.00	$66.04	$105	—
150–175	160	37	86.00–99.00	$89.89	$144	—
180–195	182	32	94.00–107.00	$99.81	$182	—
154–197	186	103	82.00–93.00	$88.58	$165	—
207	207	10	97.00	$97.00	$201	—
200–222	210	22	88.00–95.00	$92.39	$194	—
211	211	14	98.00	$98.00	$207	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
47	47	3	185.00	$185.00	$87	—
48	48	8	225.00	$225.00	$108	—
50–57	55	4	228.00–229.00	$228.77	$126	—
64–69	68	31	222.50–229.00	$225.15	$153	—
72–78	74	8	232.00–237.50	$236.04	$175	—
81	81	18	225.00	$225.00	$182	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
90	90	1	52.50	$52.50	$47	—
118–143	128	5	84.00–85.00	$84.55	$108	—
130	130	36	89.00	$89.00	$116	—
158	158	2	82.00	$82.00	$130	—
205	205	1	79.00	$79.00	$162	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
28	28	12	70.00	$70.00	$20	—
28	28	2	225.00	$225.00	$63	—
30–35	32	3	200.00–225.00	$209.21	$67	—
37	37	9	100.00	$100.00	$37	—
40	40	2	215.00–225.00	$220.00	$88	—
41–48	43	12	280.00–295.00	$289.46	$124	—
43	43	3	180.00	$180.00	$77	—
42–45	44	37	272.50–290.00	$280.65	$123	—
44	44	8	312.50	$312.50	$138	—
50–53	51	13	300.00–317.50	$310.36	$158	—
55	55	3	255.00	$255.00	$140	—
55	55	1	185.00	$185.00	$102	—
50–59	58	53	320.00–331.00	$330.03	$191	—
60	60	2	325.00	$325.00	$195	—
60–62	62	35	320.00	$320.00	$198	—
60–65	62	54	295.00–320.00	$314.08	$195	—
70	70	1	325.00	$325.00	$228	—
70–73	72	4	300.00–305.00	$301.21	$217	—
75	75	2	310.00	$310.00	$232	—
83	83	2	240.00	$240.00	$199	—
85	85	1	320.00	$320.00	$272	—
80–89	87	8	240.00–300.00	$253.56	$221	—
88	88	3	305.00	$305.00	$268	—
95	95	1	285.00	$285.00	$271	—
96	96	6	310.00	$310.00	$298	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
63	63	6	200.00	$200.00	$126	—
70	70	1	235.00	$235.00	$164	—
70	70	2	80.00	$80.00	$56	—
80–88	86	9	102.50–185.00	$124.80	$107	—
95	95	4	180.00–195.00	$191.25	$182	—
100	100	4	80.00	$80.00	$80	—
100	100	1	20.00	$20.00	$20	—
100–120	109	5	102.50–170.00	$132.48	$144	—
103–136	125	38	170.00–230.00	$181.59	$227	—
160–165	163	4	182.50	$182.50	$297	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
99 thin fleshed	99	7	47.50	$47.50	$47	—
105	105	22	87.50	$87.50	$92	—
127 thin fleshed	127	50	48.00	$48.00	$61	—
138 thin fleshed	138	6	62.50	$62.50	$86	—
139	139	48	89.00	$89.00	$124	—
146	146	75	89.00	$89.00	$130	—
176	176	10	90.00	$90.00	$158	—

Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
43	43	5	215.00	$215.00	$92	—
46	46	5	240.00	$240.00	$110	—
51	51	18	212.50	$212.50	$108	—
50–59	58	36	225.00–237.50	$235.98	$137	—
58	58	17	220.00	$220.00	$128	—
63–66	64	81	231.00–242.50	$233.60	$150	—
65	65	1	190.00	$190.00	$124	—
68	68	20	219.00	$219.00	$149	—
71	71	14	222.50	$222.50	$158	—
70–77	74	98	227.50–240.00	$235.44	$174	—
71–79	74	65	215.00–225.00	$221.54	$164	—
82–89	86	164	227.50–235.00	$231.13	$199	—
92–99	94	47	231.00–232.50	$232.06	$218	—
95	95	3	240.00	$240.00	$228	—
95–98	97	3	212.50–220.00	$214.95	$209	—
101–103	101	13	234.00–244.00	$242.44	$245	—
100–105	103	2	215.00–220.00	$217.44	$224	—
103	103	20	224.00	$224.00	$231	—
106–108	107	12	195.00	$195.00	$209	—
111	111	5	190.00	$190.00	$211	—
168	168	12	165.00	$165.00	$277	—