Name: Miles City Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2025-05-13
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-05-13

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were both too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop any market trend. Feeder quality this week was mostly plain to average. Demand for feeders was mostly good, despite a low quality and light offering. Quality limited demand at times. CME positions continue to push higher following the decision to close the southern border to Mexican cattle imports which was released Sunday 5/11/25 and effective immediately. CME positions were mixed today following sharply higher movement yesterday. Market activity was mostly moderate to active today. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was mostly light to moderate. Packers continue to try to buy slaughter cows lower, however demand from feeding buyers kept slaughter cow prices generally steady. Very few slaughter cows were purchased today as most cows were purchased to feed. Slaughter cows were all very poor in quality as most were lame or had major blemishes. Slaughter cows sold generally steady on all classes. Feeding cows sold on good to very good demand as private feeders and packer buyers both showed good demand for high quality cows to feed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to weak. Quality this week was average to attractive and overall better than last weeks sale. Slaughter bulls sold on moderate to good demand this week. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Bull quality was not as attractive this week. A large offering of fed bulls were seen this week. Fed bulls were met with light to moderate demand as many were very fleshy. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average this week for cows while bulls were average to below average. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Most offerings sold 5.00 higher on a slightly more attractive offering this week. Quality was mostly average to attractive today. A large portion of the young cows were baron and had never had a calf. Offerings with bags continue to sell with the best demand. Very little difference in price was seen between 2 and 3 year old cows which had lost calves as demand for rebreed and recip cows remains very good.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $353.39/cwt on 23 head. That ranks 2 of 16 comparable sales and sits −87.04 against this barn's trailing median of $440.43.

Average price

$353.39

23 head · 519 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,833

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

—

single grade reported

vs the market

+40.39

vs MT average

+13.51 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	519	353.39	1,833	23

Only one grade was reported at this weight, so there is no spread to compute.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

16 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $468.13, low $352.48, median $440.43 across 16 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale23 hd

353.39

—

MT average3 barns · 76 hd

313.00

+40.39

National average164 barns · 12,891 hd

339.88

+13.51

This barn, trailing median16 sales

440.43

−87.04

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	—	Low	1,922	172.51	3,315	68
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,400	153.10	2,143	85
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,588	148.01	2,350	6thin
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,163	144.85	1,684	68

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,285	$2,700	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,480	$2,300	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,289	$2,050	4thin
Bulls	N/A	(<2 yrs)	1,265	$3,360	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,315	$3,617	12
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,491	$3,360	15
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,650	$3,087	28
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,473	$2,788	17
Heifer Pairs	Open	(<2 yrs)	1,023	$3,354	13

Every lot, as filed

69 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
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	483	367.50/cwt	367.50–367.50	1,775	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	713	312.00/cwt	312.00–312.00	2,225	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	444	375.89/cwt	375.00–376.00	1,669	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	485	381.00/cwt	381.00–381.00	1,848	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	560	364.00/cwt	364.00–364.00	2,038	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,058	251.00/cwt	251.00–251.00	2,656	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	751	267.00/cwt	267.00–267.00	2,005	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	455	425.00/cwt	425.00–425.00	1,934	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,621	3,093.07/head	3,075.00–3,175.00	3,093	18
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,245	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	929	239.00/cwt	239.00–239.00	2,220	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	668	343.44/cwt	325.00–344.50	2,294	19
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	501	399.00/cwt	399.00–399.00	1,999	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,443	2,772.67/head	2,725.00–3,150.00	2,773	11
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	933	250.66/cwt	192.00–277.00	2,339	129
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,181	165.52/cwt	157.00–205.00	1,955	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	554	344.00/cwt	344.00–344.00	1,906	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	382	490.00/cwt	490.00–490.00	1,872	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	509	356.00/cwt	354.00–357.00	1,812	18
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,218	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,103	159.27/cwt	155.00–162.50	1,757	10
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,200	183.17/cwt	177.50–186.00	2,198	3
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,045	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,315	3,616.81/head	3,450.00–3,725.00	3,617	12
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,579	3,400.00/head	3,400.00–3,400.00	3,400	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,540	3,400.00/head	3,400.00–3,400.00	3,400	8
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,681	2,975.00/head	2,975.00–2,975.00	2,975	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,702	3,075.00/head	3,075.00–3,075.00	3,075	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,595	144.02/cwt	142.00–145.00	2,297	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	960	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,224	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,143	134.82/cwt	120.00–145.00	1,541	15
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,195	159.04/cwt	156.50–160.50	1,901	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,400	141.85/cwt	130.00–149.50	1,986	6
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,377	160.12/cwt	158.50–164.00	2,205	24
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,465	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	2,300	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,740	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	2,506	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,405	154.12/cwt	145.00–158.00	2,165	47
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,442	128.43/cwt	127.00–132.00	1,852	5
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,515	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	3,898	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	753	104.85/cwt	100.00–110.00	790	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,103	129.62/cwt	127.00–134.00	1,430	4
Bulls	—	—	1,717	159.64/cwt	142.00–168.00	2,741	6
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,611	160.60/cwt	151.00–168.00	2,587	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,196	151.03/cwt	146.00–155.50	1,806	34
Bulls	—	—	1,876	176.18/cwt	171.50–182.00	3,305	12
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,213	123.04/cwt	119.00–126.50	1,492	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,535	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	2,379	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,871	176.58/cwt	168.50–179.00	3,304	19
Bulls	—	—	2,059	186.72/cwt	182.50–191.50	3,845	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,427	144.71/cwt	143.50–145.50	2,065	3
Bulls	—	—	2,180	174.91/cwt	174.50–176.50	3,813	9
Bulls	—	—	2,196	170.74/cwt	167.50–173.00	3,749	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,480	2,300.00/head	2,300.00–2,300.00	2,300	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	928	219.50/cwt	180.00–242.50	2,037	8
Heifer Pairs	Medium 1	—	1,010	3,450.00/head	3,450.00–3,450.00	3,450	8
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	735	237.50/cwt	237.50–237.50	1,746	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1250–1300	1,268	177.98/cwt	175.00–181.00	2,257	2
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,285	192.00/cwt	192.00–192.00	2,467	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	643	321.00/cwt	321.00–321.00	2,064	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	680	287.50/cwt	287.50–287.50	1,955	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	1,265	3,360.18/head	3,250.00–3,750.00	3,360	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,104	200.57/cwt	163.00–258.00	2,214	93
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,285	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,289	2,050.00/head	2,050.00–2,050.00	2,050	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	730	267.50/cwt	267.50–267.50	1,953	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	490	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,789	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	443	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	1,772	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	626	361.44/cwt	354.00–364.50	2,263	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	596	369.00/cwt	369.00–369.00	2,199	8

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 →