Montana Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

The state in one line

Counts as USDA filed them

Montana reported 178 priced lines covering 3,495 head across feeder cattle, slaughter cattle, replacement cattle. USDA puts feeder cattle receipts at 2,147 head. slaughter cattle receipts at 1,257 head. replacement cattle receipts at 892 head. Counted as USDA files them — 91 of those are cow-calf pairs, each counted once.

Mon May 12, 2025

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 2,147Last week 887Year ago 2,299

Slaughter CattleReceipts 1,257Last week 958Year ago 1,513

Replacement CattleReceipts 892Last week 1,292Year ago 1,047

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Offerings were light to moderate. Demand was mostly good to very good. CME positions saw some pressure late last week and moved lower, however light receipts and good demand at auctions kept feeder prices from softening. The May contract closed Friday at 296.85, 1.125 lower than last Fridays close. The August closed Friday at 297.60, 2.70 lower than last Fridays close and the September closed Friday at 296.275, 2.75 lower than last Fridays close. Many cattle were out of backgrounding lots again this week. Most were in light flesh as they were specifically were developed for grass. Many unreportable, blemished cattle continue to be seen as cattle feeders continue to clean up their remaining cattle. The internet was active this week with several buyers noticed. A large offering of cutting bulls was seen this week and bull offerings were met with very good demand. Market activity this week was mostly active with good buyer participation noticed. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Major packers and private cow feeders continue to show good demand for high quality cattle to feed. Regional packers showed light to moderate demand for cows for immediate harvest this week. Breaking cows sold mostly steady to firm after last weeks lower movement, boning and lean cows sold 3.00-4.00 lower. The volume of cows going to immediate harvest remains small, however with a heavier offering of cows seen this week packers were able to buy more cows for immediate harvest. Feeding cows demand was very good again this week. Canadian cow feeders remain a large player in all auction markets pushing packer buyers to own high quality feeding cows. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower. Offerings were larger this week as several ranches have started to brand and sort off dry cows and bring them to market. Cow quality this week was average to attractive with many reputation ranches selling open dry cows this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. A portion of the bull offering continues to be purchased to feed, especially light weight, thin bulls which could see quick improvements to yield. Feeding bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Many young cows on offer were slightly blemished and were purchased to feed this week. The best demand continues to be for heifers to 4 year old cows which lost calves. Demand from rebreed buyers was very good again this week.

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	—	1,295	2,950.00	2,950.00
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Non-Legible BANGS$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	6	—	1,091	3,050.00	3,050.00
Bred Heifers — Medium 1 · Non-Legible BANGS$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	910	2,400.00	2,400.00
(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	—	972	2,925.00	2,925.00
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,200	177.50–186.00	183.17
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	283	—	964	183.00–282.50	243.57
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	198	—	1,146	162.50–258.00	193.58
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	17	—	1,174	157.00–205.00	172.10
Stock Cows — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	5	—	776	235.00–250.00	242.61
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	735	207.50	207.50
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	24	—	931	180.00–253.00	221.86
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	33	—	1,069	153.00–217.00	169.72
Stock Cows — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	—	1,040	215.00	215.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	13	—	1,184	2,650.00–2,750.00	2,688.88
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,240	2,850.00	2,850.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	12	—	1,583	2,700.00–3,050.00	2,920.53
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	—	1,306	2,800.00–3,125.00	2,916.25
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	20	—	1,280	2,700.00–3,300.00	3,081.64
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	8	—	1,371	2,050.00–2,575.00	2,285.10
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	—	1,210	2,000.00	2,000.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	—	1,480	2,300.00	2,300.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	—	1,185	1,725.00	1,725.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Non-Legible BANGS$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	—	1,125	2,800.00	2,800.00
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	—	1,324	2,650.00–2,825.00	2,788.27
Bred Cows — Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	—	1,430	2,100.00	2,100.00
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,636	2,875.00–2,975.00	2,957.21
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	11	—	1,443	2,725.00–3,150.00	2,772.67
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,540	3,400.00	3,400.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,530	3,550.00	3,550.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	10	—	1,702	3,075.00	3,075.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	12	—	1,315	3,450.00–3,725.00	3,616.81
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	18	—	1,621	3,075.00–3,175.00	3,093.07
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,579	3,400.00	3,400.00
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,218	2,500.00	2,500.00
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,245	3,200.00	3,200.00
Heifer Pairs — Medium 1$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,010	3,450.00	3,450.00
Heifer Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,045	3,200.00	3,200.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	N/A	4	—	1,265	3,250.00–3,750.00	3,360.18

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	350–400	382	490.00	490.00
24	400–450	442	375.00–377.50	376.35
24	450–500	484	370.00–381.00	375.47
30	500–550	511	354.00–370.00	361.31
18	550–600	573	330.00–344.00	335.77
7	600–650	611	324.00	324.00
185	650–700	689	305.00–322.50	311.33
59	700–750	721	289.00–309.00	297.46
39	800–850	809	280.00–284.00	283.15
19	850–900	877	260.00–266.00	265.16
23	900–950	903	258.00–259.00	258.43
21	950–1000	956	255.00	255.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	400–450	432	365.00–370.00	367.52
19	450–500	487	325.00–367.50	337.44
11	500–550	519	330.00–337.50	336.14
11	550–600	578	310.00–320.00	318.19
38	600–650	637	302.50–323.50	320.31
8	650–700	681	287.50–305.00	292.17
5	700–750	734	275.00–287.00	279.81
14	750–800	778	272.00	272.00
4	800–850	815	252.50–269.00	260.75
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Spayed$ per cwt · actual wt
12	650–700	685	275.00	275.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	400–450	447	340.00	340.00
13	500–550	526	295.00–302.00	300.89
4	550–600	581	305.00	305.00
6	600–650	641	271.00	271.00
2	700–750	738	271.00	271.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	700–750	726	270.00	270.00
24	750–800	775	272.50	272.50
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
4	750–800	774	243.00	243.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Spayed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	800–850	815	258.00	258.00
Heifers — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	550–600	591	277.50	277.50
Heifers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
9	500–550	512	280.00	280.00
4	550–600	587	280.00	280.00
Heifers — Medium 1-2 · Spayed$ per cwt · actual wt
7	600–650	640	285.00	285.00
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	600–650	609	300.00	300.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
4	800–850	804	261.00	261.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
30	750–800	783	299.00–304.00	299.96
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	500–550	512	350.00	350.00
7	650–700	655	291.00	291.00
17	800–850	806	266.00	266.00
2	850–900	893	242.00	242.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	450–500	455	425.00–450.00	431.25
10	500–550	523	399.00–428.00	416.89
44	550–600	559	364.00–406.00	393.49
79	600–650	637	354.00–383.00	365.09
191	650–700	681	325.00–357.50	337.62
20	700–750	722	312.00–332.00	325.07
156	750–800	783	312.50–329.00	318.86
47	800–850	830	307.00–310.00	307.25
47	900–950	918	280.00–292.00	286.36
2	950–1000	953	273.00	273.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	850–900	861	275.00	275.00
17	950–1000	991	261.00	261.00
6	1000–1050	1,021	261.00	261.00
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	250–300	273	445.00	445.00
5	350–400	378	430.00	430.00
2	400–450	438	415.00	415.00
1	450–500	495	390.00	390.00
5	500–550	509	327.50–385.00	339.36
16	550–600	571	300.00–335.00	317.31
2	600–650	623	315.00	315.00
24	700–750	739	270.00–285.00	273.46
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	350–400	358	445.00	445.00
6	450–500	477	407.50–412.50	409.14
12	500–550	540	391.00	391.00
9	550–600	595	340.00–369.00	365.81
44	600–650	648	321.00–355.00	353.47
25	650–700	682	313.00–329.00	325.38
49	700–750	720	302.00–320.00	313.68
5	750–800	793	295.00	295.00
2	1050–1100	1,058	251.00	251.00
Steers — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	550–600	590	334.00	334.00
Steers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
17	600–650	636	257.00	257.00
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	350–400	377	425.00	425.00
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	400–450	426	355.00	355.00
Steers — Small 2$ per cwt · actual wt
8	300–350	325	200.00	200.00
4	350–400	364	190.00	190.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
16	1050–1100	1,068	244.00	244.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
10	950–1000	992	264.00	264.00
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	600–650	620	346.00	346.00
3	650–700	658	312.00	312.00
26	700–750	704	298.00–323.00	301.83
2	750–800	783	291.00	291.00
14	850–900	850	287.00	287.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	150–200	175	800.00	800.00
1	600–650	600	357.50	357.50
1	800–850	810	263.00	263.00
10	850–900	864	255.00–271.00	268.49
7	900–950	924	239.00–252.00	243.82
1	950–1000	975	254.00	254.00
7	1000–1050	1,032	237.00–240.00	238.13
5	1100–1150	1,136	221.00	221.00
Bulls — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
11	600–650	608	312.50	312.50
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	400–450	443	400.00	400.00
2	450–500	490	365.00	365.00
4	700–750	730	267.50	267.50
4	750–800	751	267.00	267.00
4	950–1000	987	226.00–238.00	232.07
Bulls — Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	1350–1400	1,387	199.00	199.00
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
7	1050–1100	1,065	239.00–240.00	239.14
2	1150–1200	1,153	225.00–233.00	228.99
1	1200–1250	1,245	201.50	201.50
1	1250–1300	1,285	192.00	192.00
3	1350–1400	1,362	196.50	196.50
Bulls — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	1100–1150	1,115	197.00	197.00
4	1250–1300	1,279	175.00–181.00	179.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	1,555	154.00–161.00	157.25
10	—	1,710	131.00–143.00	138.43
5	—	1,774	144.00–152.00	147.95
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
117	—	1,183	144.00–158.50	151.03
65	—	1,163	114.00–145.00	132.45
29	—	1,216	156.50–164.00	160.03
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	985	97.00	97.00
2	—	903	127.50–142.50	134.52
7	—	804	100.00–120.00	113.37
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	1,438	112.50–132.00	127.20
31	—	1,440	131.00–148.00	138.74
18	—	1,471	149.00–161.00	158.63
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,150	104.00	104.00
26	—	1,164	112.00–128.00	119.90
9	—	1,174	127.00–141.00	132.53
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
100	—	1,411	158.50–167.00	160.97
66	—	1,374	125.00–149.50	141.98
216	—	1,377	144.00–159.00	154.16
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
30	—	1,626	144.00–154.50	149.61
9	—	1,603	157.00	157.00
28	—	1,711	133.00–145.00	140.08
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
23	—	1,511	147.50–169.00	160.44
1	—	1,835	193.00	193.00
37	—	1,767	168.50–187.00	175.17
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	2,180	174.50–176.50	174.91
7	—	2,196	167.50–173.00	170.74
24	—	2,054	182.50–207.50	192.71
39	—	1,886	171.00–187.00	178.08
12	—	1,785	142.00–177.00	163.76
Bulls — Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,810	197.00	197.00
1	—	2,515	155.00	155.00
Dairy Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	955	107.00	107.00
Dairy Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,459	129.00–137.00	134.62

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