Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

The state in one line

Counts as USDA filed them

Montana reported 175 priced lines covering 6,703 head across feeder cattle, slaughter cattle, replacement cattle. USDA puts feeder cattle receipts at 5,563 head. slaughter cattle receipts at 1,496 head. replacement cattle receipts at 1,170 head.

Mon Jan 8, 2024

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 5,563Last week 1,390Year ago 7,302

Slaughter CattleReceipts 1,496Last week 557Year ago 1,513

Replacement CattleReceipts 1,170Last week 155Year ago 2,078

Compared to last week: Only one sale was held the previous week, so no full market comparisons can be made, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all steer offerings. Heifers under 500 lbs sold with steady to higher undertones, while all heifers over 500 lbs sold with mostly higher undertones. Demand was mostly good this week for moderate offerings. Quality was mostly average to very attractive. Package sizes were mostly moderate this week. Two full load lots were seen this week with many partial loads offered. The best demand continues to be for cattle light and green enough to go to grass. In general, buyers were purchasing steers up to 660 lbs and heifers up to 615 lbs for that purpose. Flesh conditions were critical to buyers this week as they showed the best demand for green, hay fed cattle that could easily be held for grass. CME positions continue to show mostly positive movement. The January contract closed Friday at 226.575, while the March closed at 227.70. Market activity was mostly active this week as buyers bid aggressively over high quality offerings. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Packers and private buyers both purchased the majority of the offering to feed, opting only to slaughter lame or blemished cows. Packers, in a surprising move, purchased several offerings of thin cows to send to feed. This class of cows are historically only purchased in November and December for the holiday lull, but were purchased this week to hold for the coming months in the event supplies tighten. Slaughter breaking cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher; boning cows sold mostly 2.00 higher; lean cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold steady to 2.00 higher. No thin feeding cows sold last week so no trend is available. Slaughter and feeding bulls sold steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand this week. Young age cows sold mostly steady. Quality was average to attractive.

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
130	—	521	271.00–289.00	281.80
275	—	479	276.00–293.00	288.59
14	—	761	211.00–219.00	215.53
54	—	423	293.00–309.00	300.28
184	—	579	254.50–276.00	265.87
5	—	887	201.00–207.00	203.36
269	—	617	247.00–261.00	254.59
1	—	905	197.00	197.00
13	—	987	199.00	199.00
137	—	677	236.00–251.75	242.98
2	—	1,008	195.00	195.00
128	—	713	229.00–238.50	232.72
17	—	389	301.00–313.00	309.87
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	536	270.00	270.00
6	—	477	286.00	286.00
4	—	376	299.00	299.00
11	—	638	241.00–243.00	241.54
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	565	250.00	250.00
10	—	449	282.00	282.00
5	—	1,095	181.50	181.50
6	—	629	237.00	237.00
11	—	490	277.00	277.00
5	—	723	211.00	211.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	624	236.00–246.00	242.12
6	—	1,005	179.00	179.00
31	—	472	241.00–276.00	266.41
27	—	863	186.00–196.00	189.14
14	—	438	271.00–286.00	276.67
14	—	680	222.00–231.00	227.31
64	—	532	248.00–270.00	262.28
11	—	814	201.00	201.00
46	—	592	247.50–255.00	250.81
29	—	720	202.00–212.00	205.79
15	—	396	285.00	285.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	975	178.00	178.00
4	—	803	180.00	180.00
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
73	—	364	261.00–280.00	278.86
7	—	437	282.00	282.00
6	—	456	270.00	270.00
15	—	539	246.50–262.00	258.50
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	681	219.00	219.00
6	—	520	222.50	222.50
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Replacement$ per cwt · actual wt
50	—	588	265.00–268.50	268.24
44	—	611	262.00–266.00	264.18
30	—	656	256.00–257.00	256.43
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
73	—	664	235.50	235.50
49	—	617	246.00	246.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	556	288.00	288.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	429	267.00	267.00
11	—	573	232.00	232.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
33	—	730	219.00	219.00
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
38	—	425	230.00–245.00	234.95
19	—	335	231.00	231.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
31	—	600	266.00	266.00
35	—	517	299.00	299.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
176	—	426	325.00–387.00	353.32
175	—	477	312.00–355.00	331.44
17	—	879	215.00–221.00	218.51
155	—	618	267.00–289.00	277.43
45	—	374	338.00–385.00	350.97
5	—	311	367.50	367.50
31	—	752	235.50–247.50	240.39
239	—	669	250.00–266.50	260.08
6	—	803	224.00	224.00
280	—	579	282.00–313.00	297.68
150	—	724	243.00–252.00	246.09
221	—	526	297.00–325.00	313.32
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	684	250.00	250.00
4	—	506	301.00	301.00
19	—	472	316.00	316.00
32	—	620	254.00–289.00	280.49
18	—	719	239.00	239.00
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	536	290.00	290.00
21	—	463	308.00–315.00	312.33
7	—	628	256.00	256.00
33	—	442	327.00–340.00	327.73
17	—	386	330.00	330.00
4	—	678	245.00	245.00
25	—	582	277.00	277.00
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	567	255.00	255.00
9	—	344	322.00	322.00
3	—	407	305.00	305.00
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	324	312.00	312.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
56	—	679	235.00–246.50	240.93
22	—	822	221.00–224.00	222.64
42	—	537	273.00–298.00	286.50
6	—	339	365.00	365.00
105	—	629	240.00–264.00	256.14
5	—	922	214.50	214.50
16	—	428	308.00–346.00	324.65
37	—	469	300.00–315.00	306.72
38	—	571	267.00–282.00	275.61
11	—	702	231.00–236.00	233.28
3	—	387	327.00	327.00
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	820	226.00	226.00
17	—	586	270.00	270.00
4	—	746	236.50	236.50
43	—	699	242.00	242.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	456	362.00	362.00
40	—	559	315.00	315.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
18	—	892	213.50	213.50
7	—	660	247.00	247.00
26	—	788	227.25	227.25
27	—	549	298.00	298.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	618	276.50	276.50
Steers — Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	1,147	174.50	174.50
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	525	240.00	240.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	640	230.00	230.00
1	—	805	204.00	204.00
5	—	487	305.00	305.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
44	—	344	361.00	361.00
53	—	426	349.00	349.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	516	284.00	284.00
13	—	706	220.00	220.00
5	—	610	247.50	247.50

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
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	—	883	80.00–100.00	89.65
(<2 yrs)	Open	14	—	840	105.00–120.00	113.71
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	276	—	948	110.00–187.00	145.87
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	20	—	1,242	89.50–91.00	90.49
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	49	—	1,026	87.50–135.00	111.02
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	9	—	1,384	92.50–94.50	93.64
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	137	—	1,425	1,525.00–1,825.00	1,674.18
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	49	—	1,250	2,200.00–2,700.00	2,430.80
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	4	—	1,528	2,150.00	2,150.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,367	2,250.00	2,250.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	7	—	1,546	104.00	104.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	—	1,475	1,510.00	1,510.00
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	150	—	1,351	1,450.00–1,600.00	1,554.41
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	4	—	1,398	2,200.00	2,200.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	—	1,223	1,675.00	1,675.00
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	11	—	1,404	1,550.00–1,625.00	1,585.87
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,276	1,425.00	1,425.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	29	—	1,095	2,060.00–2,160.00	2,132.65
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Non-Legible BANGS$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	3	—	1,233	1,450.00	1,450.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	8	—	1,089	2,050.00	2,050.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Non-Legible BANGS$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	8	—	1,271	2,300.00	2,300.00
Bred Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	8	—	831	1,550.00	1,550.00
(<2 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	5	—	802	1,410.00	1,410.00
Bred Heifers — Medium 1$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	32	—	868	1,800.00–2,100.00	1,877.55
(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	16	—	1,021	2,175.00	2,175.00
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	106	—	1,065	2,150.00–2,410.00	2,324.20
(<2 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,107	2,225.00	2,225.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,939	109.50–128.00	123.33
11	—	1,777	105.00–121.00	111.00
8	—	2,279	110.00	110.00
2	—	2,253	106.00–107.00	106.52
38	—	1,730	78.00–106.00	95.27
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,145	112.50	112.50
Bulls — Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,422	82.00–91.00	86.66
Bulls — Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,520	126.00	126.00
Cows — Premium White 65-75%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,925	95.50	95.50
6	—	1,573	102.50	102.50
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
117	—	1,182	61.50–83.50	72.69
43	—	1,189	82.00–89.00	86.11
25	—	1,086	55.00–66.00	63.59
9	—	1,314	92.00–93.00	92.43
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,644	93.00–98.50	95.83
12	—	1,624	102.50–104.00	103.75
1	—	1,690	85.00	85.00
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,366	84.00–96.00	90.13
21	—	1,433	74.00–83.00	79.45
4	—	1,494	103.50	103.50
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,496	97.00–103.00	99.65
330	—	1,363	85.00–98.00	91.26
28	—	1,417	73.00–85.00	82.76
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
168	—	1,123	67.50–84.50	78.54
221	—	1,197	82.00–93.50	86.16
8	—	1,154	93.00–95.00	93.82
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,650	96.50–98.00	97.42
41	—	1,510	101.50–103.50	102.12
10	—	1,635	85.50–92.00	89.98
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	938	63.00–64.00	63.34
5	—	867	51.00–64.00	60.07
4	—	968	76.00–78.00	76.99
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,215	102.00	102.00

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