Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

The state in one line

Counts as USDA filed them

Montana reported 171 priced lines covering 12,752 head across feeder cattle, slaughter cattle, replacement cattle. USDA puts feeder cattle receipts at 9,486 head. slaughter cattle receipts at 6,371 head. replacement cattle receipts at 2,643 head.

Mon Nov 1, 2021

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 9,486Last week 10,690Year ago 12,934

Slaughter CattleReceipts 6,371Last week 5,546Year ago 4,397

Replacement CattleReceipts 2,643Last week 6,578Year ago 2,009

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Steer calves under 350 lbs sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. 350-599 lbs steers sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher, steers over 600 lbs sold uneven from 4.00 higher to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold steady to 3.00 lower, heifer calves over 500 lbs sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher. Quality this week was average to very attractive. Transportation continues to be the biggest factor limiting demand, however by late week trucks started to loosen up and demand was more consistent. Buyers continue to focus on buying front end cattle and passed or discounted calves with only one round of vaccinations or average quality calves. Calves with fall preconditioning shots sold at a solid 10.00-12.00 premium this week. Very wide price spreads continue to be seen however prices did narrow slightly this week. Local yard space remains tight. CME positions traded mostly higher this week as packers paid 130.00 in the cash market this week. The November contract closed 158.875, 1.225 higher, the January contract closed at 159.60, 3.475 higher. Market activity was moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for heavy offerings. The majority of cows sold to return to the country to feed. Packer buyers only purchased very poor quality, lame, or severely blemished cows harvest this week. Slaughter cows were of very poor quality this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 lower on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Thin fleshed cows continue to be purchased to hold for the holidays. A large buyer pool continues to be seen for thin cows. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Bull quality was much higher this week than last. Young age cows sold unevenly from 3.00 lower to 2.00 higher. Most of these offerings are destined for the southern plains and the corn belt. Quality was average to attractive but quality continues to vary and prices reflect the differences in quality.

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
38	—	670	143.50–153.00	150.66
26	—	463	183.50–190.00	187.25
77	—	390	200.00	200.00
64	—	562	154.50–176.00	164.92
13	—	321	200.00–210.00	207.72
8	—	648	149.00	149.00
13	—	427	179.00–194.00	183.76
67	—	745	163.50	163.50
28	—	805	155.50	155.50
73	—	905	145.00–147.25	146.93
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	556	137.00–148.50	141.45
16	—	746	136.00	136.00
7	—	474	164.50	164.50
8	—	425	152.50	152.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
166	—	383	182.00–209.50	196.35
188	—	673	144.00–157.00	150.38
568	—	476	164.00–195.00	182.89
786	—	572	150.00–179.00	161.37
156	—	428	179.00–207.00	191.17
309	—	628	143.00–168.00	152.99
58	—	711	136.50–153.00	148.90
29	—	318	197.50–212.50	204.81
3	—	805	133.00	133.00
29	—	753	149.00–152.50	151.90
340	—	524	155.00–188.00	169.67
20	—	280	200.00–225.00	209.36
Steers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
47	—	507	110.00–138.00	129.54
10	—	605	131.00	131.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	999	123.00	123.00
Steers — Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,152	115.00	115.00
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	665	122.00	122.00
12	—	1,003	145.00	145.00
6	—	476	159.50	159.50
24	—	622	133.00	133.00
6	—	1,081	130.50	130.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	510	147.00	147.00
7	—	725	144.00	144.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	510	137.50–155.00	149.28
15	—	405	179.00	179.00
4	—	493	156.00	156.00
4	—	353	185.00	185.00
3	—	653	134.00	134.00
12	—	583	133.00–144.00	134.75
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
75	—	526	140.00–156.00	148.23
48	—	433	152.00–178.00	169.46
91	—	588	134.50–155.00	141.90
18	—	626	127.00–143.00	138.41
25	—	374	175.00–185.00	180.75
59	—	480	146.50–172.50	162.68
24	—	334	175.00–200.00	181.66
12	—	669	138.00–143.00	140.34
Steers — Medium 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
35	—	439	145.00	145.00
30	—	526	137.00–155.00	148.90
15	—	380	189.00	189.00
Steers — Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	672	138.00	138.00
5	—	562	150.00	150.00
Steers — Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	542	121.00	121.00
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	446	135.00	135.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
25	—	603	163.00	163.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	276	175.00–197.50	192.72
83	—	382	155.00–176.00	166.39
266	—	425	150.00–170.50	159.46
8	—	658	127.00–135.00	130.99
756	—	519	136.50–158.00	148.89
41	—	325	160.00–176.00	171.14
462	—	571	137.00–148.00	142.78
1	—	735	140.00	140.00
409	—	475	147.50–168.50	152.21
203	—	622	131.00–142.00	138.37
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	971	132.00–137.00	134.50
6	—	323	175.00	175.00
104	—	370	162.00–165.00	163.13
73	—	863	134.00–145.00	140.31
66	—	921	133.00–139.50	136.33
10	—	421	165.00	165.00
14	—	761	142.00	142.00
77	—	572	140.00–145.25	142.48
15	—	727	133.00–149.00	145.87
25	—	606	135.50	135.50
14	—	469	159.00	159.00
2	—	698	131.00	131.00
76	—	832	143.00–145.50	144.46
65	—	521	139.00–150.00	143.49
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
24	—	917	129.00	129.00
131	—	788	143.50	143.50
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	760	135.00	135.00
21	—	687	131.00	131.00
8	—	730	137.00	137.00
16	—	463	137.00–142.00	139.74
21	—	428	140.00–144.00	142.74
6	—	529	131.00	131.00
Heifers — Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,098	124.50	124.50
9	—	1,173	116.00	116.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
54	—	368	150.00–159.00	157.15
8	—	323	155.00–164.00	156.17
69	—	540	131.00–142.00	132.89
20	—	420	142.00–154.00	147.02
46	—	564	118.00–135.00	130.82
56	—	478	134.00–145.00	140.59
Heifers — Medium 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
35	—	480	140.50–144.00	142.56
18	—	438	142.00–151.50	148.93
24	—	370	160.00	160.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	768	137.50–145.00	141.64
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,191	120.00	120.00
15	—	1,010	125.00–131.50	130.19
Heifers — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,000	120.00	120.00
Heifers — Medium 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
18	—	429	138.00	138.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Replacement$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	506	159.00	159.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	490	124.00	124.00
10	—	383	140.00	140.00
2	—	400	147.00	147.00
5	—	509	105.00	105.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	514	120.00	120.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	483	173.00	173.00
Bulls — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	492	129.00	129.00
7	—	369	155.00	155.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
74	—	409	171.00–187.00	185.43
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	609	105.00	105.00
11	—	698	100.00	100.00
6	—	595	118.50	118.50
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	383	160.00	160.00
6	—	481	145.00	145.00
2	—	328	190.00	190.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
25	—	332	177.50	177.50

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	32	—	1,078	1,000.00–1,075.00	1,026.71
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	9	—	1,208	1,100.00	1,100.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	18	—	1,364	760.00–800.00	788.90
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	23	—	1,225	775.00–960.00	848.05
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	23	—	1,292	49.00–52.00	51.17
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	5	—	1,218	1,050.00–1,075.00	1,065.58
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	12	—	1,259	625.00	625.00
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	807	—	900	66.00–120.25	101.22
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	654	—	1,031	46.00–96.50	71.68
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	18	—	1,077	50.00–62.50	58.38
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	28	—	1,240	925.00–1,000.00	946.60
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	—	999	46.00–66.00	52.07
(<2 yrs)	Open	13	—	847	65.00–79.00	75.18
Stock Cows — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,090	54.00	54.00
(<2 yrs)	Open	15	—	896	60.00–94.00	74.43
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	36	—	1,017	45.00–52.00	49.92
(<2 yrs)	Open	3	—	780	82.50	82.50
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	895	47.50	47.50
Bred Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	5	—	955	1,000.00	1,000.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,845	89.00	89.00
20	—	1,607	79.00–84.50	80.33
14	—	1,488	61.00–75.00	73.33
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	1,792	61.00–76.00	71.18
26	—	1,895	79.50–88.00	83.65
5	—	1,890	89.00–92.50	90.06
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
772	—	1,132	37.50–48.50	44.44
204	—	1,098	33.00–44.50	38.85
100	—	1,216	57.00–66.00	58.34
1,117	—	1,196	45.50–56.50	49.89
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,440	58.00	58.00
13	—	1,354	735.00	735.00
74	—	1,430	35.00–53.50	45.21
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,723	69.50	69.50
15	—	1,763	59.00–63.00	60.86
3	—	1,557	65.00–69.00	67.17
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,895	68.50	68.50
7	—	1,655	53.00–65.50	56.85
9	—	1,588	66.00–66.50	66.33
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	917	34.00–44.00	39.35
59	—	962	25.00–36.50	32.56
3	—	970	44.00–47.50	45.45
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
119	—	1,136	25.00–38.50	34.29
23	—	1,169	46.00–54.00	48.60
287	—	1,144	36.00–46.50	41.50
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
108	—	1,454	64.00–68.50	66.80
253	—	1,399	52.00–65.50	58.91
322	—	1,375	39.00–57.50	49.67

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