Name: Miles City Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2019-05-14
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-05-14

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were all to lightly tested to develop any market trend. Cattle were mostly offered in small packages and buyers were reluctant to start loads with limited offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Demand was mostly light on light offerings. CME positions continue to struggle again today as August through November all traded 0.60-0.875 lower, while January-May 2020 all sold with triple digit losses. The current May contract sold 0.95 higher. Market activity this week was slow. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand again this sale. Feeding buyers continue to be the driver in the market as they continue to fill pens with cows for late summer harvest. Packers also put some cows away on feed as cow prices are running higher than packers are willing to give for slaughter cows given current market conditions. Cow quality was mostly attractive to very attractive this week. Most cows are blemish free as many are simply open cull cows ranchers are selling after they have branded. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-5.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-4.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady to firm. Weigh up conditions were mostly attractive to buyers this week as most cows have been eating fresh green grass and are yielding significantly higher than the last few weeks. Young age 2-3 year olds sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher. Demand for re-breed cows pushed offerings higher this week as quality was mostly attractive. More market participants also helped give support to this class of cattle. Demand for these offerings was mostly moderate to good this week.

Weight class

Bulls · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb bulls averaged $121.19/cwt on 223 head. That ranks 1 of 27 comparable sales and sits −78.71 against this barn's trailing median of $199.90.

Average price

$121.19

223 head · 887 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,075

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$158

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Large 1

$6.85/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+8.70

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	878	121.53	1,067	212
Large 1	1,068	114.68	1,224	11thin

One grade step is worth $6.85/cwt here — about −$158 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 0–100 lb

27 sales

Bulls 0–100 lb: high $217.49, low $160.10, median $199.90 across 27 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale223 hd

121.19

—

MT average3 barns · 420 hd

112.49

+8.70

This barn, trailing median27 sales

199.90

−78.71

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	Average	1,880	89.66	1,685	44
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,715	75.50	1,295	1thin
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Average	1,405	73.21	1,029	22
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,458	69.21	1,009	13
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,091	62.31	680	44

Every lot, as filed

52 lots · USDA AMS · Miles City Livestock Commission Auction - Miles City, MT

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added.

Class	Grade / description	Weight	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Bulls	Large 1Fancy	—	1,046	121.50/cwt	121.50–121.50	1,271	8
Heifers	Medium 1	—	573	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	799	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	985	117.50/cwt	117.50–117.50	1,157	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	773	128.50/cwt	128.50–128.50	993	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	944	117.09/cwt	116.00–117.25	1,105	56
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	884	119.11/cwt	119.00–119.50	1,053	68
Bulls	—	—	1,650	84.50/cwt	84.50–84.50	1,394	1
Bulls	—	—	1,452	78.83/cwt	73.50–84.50	1,145	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,165	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	757	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,146	60.58/cwt	60.00–62.00	694	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,281	68.14/cwt	63.50–73.50	873	72
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,371	71.03/cwt	64.50–74.50	974	176
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	899	110.05/cwt	89.00–123.50	989	122
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,105	79.07/cwt	69.00–98.00	874	79
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,284	71.61/cwt	66.00–75.00	919	83
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	960	95.30/cwt	89.00–95.75	915	21
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	915	83.00/cwt	83.00–83.00	759	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,273	1,800.00/cwt	1,800.00–1,800.00	22,914	39
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,582	1,800.00/cwt	1,800.00–1,800.00	28,476	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium 1	—	969	1,650.00/cwt	1,650.00–1,650.00	15,989	5
Heifer Pairs	Medium 1	—	938	1,689.27/cwt	1,675.00–1,700.00	15,845	16
Heifer Pairs	Medium 1-2	—	869	1,525.00/cwt	1,525.00–1,525.00	13,252	5
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	954	1,544.57/cwt	1,535.00–1,550.00	14,735	11
Heifers	Medium 1	—	625	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	863	3
Heifers	Medium 1	—	438	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	701	4
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	481	148.50/cwt	148.50–148.50	714	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	732	125.12/cwt	124.00–127.50	916	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	638	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	874	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	818	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	982	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,133	65.97/cwt	63.00–68.50	747	19
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	668	131.38/cwt	130.00–132.00	878	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	774	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	944	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	516	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	769	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	850	119.50/cwt	119.50–119.50	1,016	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,715	75.50/cwt	75.50–75.50	1,295	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,335	73.00/cwt	73.00–73.00	975	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,113	60.09/cwt	55.50–64.50	669	17
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,485	64.01/cwt	63.50–64.50	951	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,458	72.40/cwt	70.50–75.00	1,056	5
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,405	73.21/cwt	72.00–73.50	1,029	22
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,155	95.00/cwt	95.00–95.00	1,097	2
Bulls	—	—	2,060	94.43/cwt	93.00–97.00	1,945	7
Bulls	—	—	1,844	87.61/cwt	84.50–92.00	1,616	14
Bulls	—Natural	—	2,133	95.86/cwt	94.50–98.50	2,045	10
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,864	92.55/cwt	88.00–95.00	1,725	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	985	64.50/cwt	64.50–64.50	635	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	919	57.59/cwt	55.50–59.00	529	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	783	49.31/cwt	46.00–53.00	386	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,378	1,299.94/cwt	1,275.00–1,310.00	17,913	60
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,448	68.28/cwt	63.50–70.50	989	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	827	126.50/cwt	126.50–126.50	1,046	78
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,065	99.50/cwt	99.50–99.50	1,060	1

How this sale compares

Montana weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every Montana auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

Montana feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →