Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

The state in one line

Counts as USDA filed them

Montana reported 146 priced lines covering 6,567 head across feeder cattle, slaughter cattle, replacement cattle. USDA puts feeder cattle receipts at 5,713 head. slaughter cattle receipts at 714 head. replacement cattle receipts at 2,063 head. Counted as USDA files them — 395 of those are cow-calf pairs, each counted once.

Mon Apr 27, 2020

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Billings, MT (LS-BL)

Feeder CattleReceipts 5,713Last week 2,677Year ago 4,164

Slaughter CattleReceipts 714Last week 355Year ago 537

Replacement CattleReceipts 2,063Last week 442Year ago 2,137

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 550 lbs sold steady to 5.00 lower in a narrow comparison, 550-699 lbs sold unevenly steady from

5.00 lower to 3.00 higher, 700 lbs and heavier sold mostly 2.00-6.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 550 lbs were too lightly tested to develop

an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. 550-599 lbs heifers sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower, 600-799 lbs sold mostly

steady to 3.00 higher, heifers over 800 lbs sold with higher to sharply higher undertones in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was mixed

from plain to attractive, and overall not as attractive as last week. Cattle were offered in all size packages with many load lots seen

throughout the week. Demand was mostly moderate, with moderate to good demand seen for heavy weight cattle. Flesh conditions were

mostly light to moderate, with a few backgrounded offerings showing moderate to fleshy conditions. CME positions posted positive gains

throughout the week before Thursdays triple digit selloff. As of Thursdays settlements the expiring April contract closed at 119.175, May at

117.10, and August at 126.50 which is 0.25 lower, 0.175 lower, and 0.125 higher respectfully from last Thursdays close to this Thursdays

close. Market activity this week was mostly active with many bidders and buyers ringside and on the internet actively bidding on offerings.

Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Packers continue to show need for cows for immediate

harvest and bought cows on moderate to good demand. Packers were particularly aggressive in purchasing higher quality cows away from

feeding buyers this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher on boning and lean cows breaking cows were too lightly tested

last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher.

Feeding buyers picked around the edges this week as they tried to buy cows steady, however with strong demand from packer buyers seen

on all classes of cows, feeding buyers allowed packers to purchase the majority of the offering. Weigh up conditions on cows and bulls this

week was mostly below average as warm weather seen throughout the week had all offerings pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls

sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Cow and bull quality was mostly average this week. Weekly beef slaughter continues to fall, through Thursday

week to date slaughter was 301,000 head compared to 339,000 head last week and 485,000 head last year. Young age cows suitable to feed

or re-breed sold steady to 3.00 higher.

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	2	—	805	75.00–81.00	77.91
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,106	47.50	47.50
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,052	46.50–52.00	50.01
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	13	—	1,084	52.00–57.00	54.23
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	35	—	1,360	49.00–58.50	54.73
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	128	—	1,369	51.00–63.00	57.40
(<2 yrs)	Open	244	—	982	70.50–107.00	87.24
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	200	—	1,115	56.00–86.00	68.31
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,563	1,475.00	1,475.00
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	45	—	1,449	1,275.00–1,625.00	1,534.00
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	25	—	1,539	1,525.00–1,700.00	1,653.76
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	45	—	1,311	1,700.00–1,900.00	1,882.01
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	43	—	1,379	1,850.00–1,950.00	1,911.73
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	51	—	1,391	1,160.00–1,200.00	1,165.97
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,341	1,060.00	1,060.00
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	10	—	1,233	1,000.00	1,000.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	N/A	16	—	1,029	1,300.00–1,650.00	1,496.04
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	—	1,187	1,375.00	1,375.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	9	—	1,033	1,400.00	1,400.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	56	—	1,294	1,360.00–1,575.00	1,469.38
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	9	—	1,363	1,425.00–1,550.00	1,522.33
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	14	—	1,396	1,125.00–1,500.00	1,319.09
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	—	1,266	1,000.00	1,000.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	8	—	1,173	800.00	800.00
Heifer Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	10	—	1,101	1,500.00–1,650.00	1,574.69
Heifer Pairs — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	66	—	1,106	1,675.00–1,875.00	1,773.14
(<2 yrs)	Open	89	—	1,279	1,900.00–2,025.00	1,977.79
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	27	—	1,120	1,300.00–1,500.00	1,433.95

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Replacement$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	730	129.00	129.00
32	—	816	115.00–120.00	116.85
48	—	860	112.00	112.00
76	—	784	125.00	125.00
29	—	654	140.75	140.75
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Natural$ per cwt · actual wt
39	—	564	146.25	146.25
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	525	138.50	138.50
25	—	481	140.00	140.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	798	116.00	116.00
7	—	882	103.00	103.00
29	—	734	111.00–118.00	116.03
Heifers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	462	118.00	118.00
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
50	—	550	134.50	134.50
26	—	620	124.50	124.50
15	—	443	146.00	146.00
2	—	690	119.00	119.00
14	—	800	117.00	117.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	441	120.00	120.00
3	—	307	131.00	131.00
14	—	692	105.00–110.00	107.48
19	—	573	116.00–126.00	120.29
27	—	525	118.00–130.00	122.29
32	—	472	130.00–133.00	131.38
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	533	143.00–146.00	144.93
30	—	850	105.00	105.00
8	—	410	145.50	145.50
299	—	627	129.50–144.00	138.44
319	—	570	137.50–148.00	144.85
12	—	814	107.00–119.00	115.15
28	—	783	119.00–122.00	120.13
34	—	496	145.50	145.50
49	—	924	109.00	109.00
229	—	720	121.00–128.50	124.29
262	—	670	125.50–137.00	133.38
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
113	—	613	120.00–134.00	131.88
35	—	691	117.00–131.00	129.40
52	—	570	129.00–135.00	132.35
86	—	472	136.00–143.00	141.10
206	—	530	133.00–141.00	138.14
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	407	135.00	135.00
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	653	118.00	118.00
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	726	116.50	116.50
66	—	634	146.00	146.00
25	—	536	149.00	149.00
19	—	767	126.50	126.50
7	—	1,040	95.00	95.00
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	585	142.00	142.00
9	—	469	145.00	145.00
13	—	1,020	79.50	79.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	837	108.00	108.00
20	—	787	117.00–126.00	124.34
34	—	730	125.00–131.00	128.05
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	878	120.00–124.00	121.96
5	—	903	120.00	120.00
35	—	965	106.00	106.00
252	—	716	130.00–143.00	139.48
292	—	622	144.00–155.00	148.28
293	—	782	124.00–139.00	130.18
242	—	581	150.00–160.75	154.93
17	—	475	160.00–180.00	171.35
60	—	525	160.00–164.50	160.85
142	—	818	124.00–127.00	125.39
240	—	677	137.00–148.00	141.74
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	607	155.50	155.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
38	—	514	147.00–156.00	153.34
23	—	596	146.00–149.00	147.09
20	—	684	130.00–138.50	134.47
3	—	783	114.50	114.50
16	—	444	161.50	161.50
7	—	741	123.00	123.00
8	—	462	151.00	151.00
17	—	637	138.00–143.00	140.24
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	660	126.00	126.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	671	127.00	127.00
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
39	—	824	110.00	110.00
64	—	985	100.50	100.50
Steers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
30	—	920	88.50	88.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	564	172.00	172.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
95	—	600	157.00	157.00
154	—	659	153.00	153.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	604	140.00	140.00
6	—	576	147.00	147.00
18	—	783	127.00	127.00
33	—	858	107.50–119.00	109.95
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	440	167.50	167.50
23	—	515	162.00	162.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	574	147.00	147.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	917	95.00–101.00	96.64
5	—	624	127.00	127.00
2	—	808	102.00	102.00
6	—	86	225.00–400.00	293.70
6	—	100	250.00	250.00
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,008	92.00	92.00
5	—	1,081	93.50–98.00	96.21
Bulls — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,035	87.00	87.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	718	105.00	105.00
3	—	585	121.00	121.00
20	—	477	140.00–141.00	140.43
Bulls — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	430	142.50	142.50

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	900	52.50	52.50
7	—	934	43.00–52.50	46.52
1	—	935	41.00	41.00
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	1,691	53.00–54.50	53.48
19	—	1,666	55.50–59.00	58.69
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
66	—	1,436	54.50–61.00	57.90
62	—	1,459	50.00–56.50	54.39
1	—	1,465	44.50	44.50
2	—	1,533	63.00–64.00	63.52
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
149	—	1,235	44.50–56.00	51.68
88	—	1,251	52.50–61.00	56.44
16	—	1,085	40.00–45.00	42.68
3	—	1,269	61.50–63.50	62.16
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	2,035	53.50	53.50
Bulls — Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,293	61.00–71.00	67.11
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
64	—	1,830	77.00–86.50	81.55
37	—	1,625	63.00–80.00	74.00
18	—	2,061	86.00–94.00	89.32
Bulls — Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,665	83.00	83.00

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.

Source: USDA AMS, as filed — nothing recomputed and nothing rounded. This summary aggregates the same sales the Montana barn reports cover, so it must never be added to a state total built from those barns.

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

Fed Cattle — the cash market and what quality pays

Beef & Retail — from the box to the grocery shelf

Feed & Hay — the cost side, cash not futures

Cows & Bred Stock — the rebuild market

More

Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

The state in one line