Montana cattle auctions moved just 3,973 head this week — down sharply from 5,837 the week before. That kind of drop tells you something about where producer and buyer confidence sits right now, and it’s not a comfortable place.
Market Overview: Lower Quality, Lighter Volume
No feeder specials were held at any sale this week, and it showed. Buyer attendance was thin, cattle came through mostly in small packages or as singles, and the quality got tagged as “plain to average” — a step back from what we saw the previous week. That combination of light volume and mediocre offerings is a tough hand to play in any market.
CME futures kept sliding. March contracts closed at $349.475, off $6.15 on the week. April settled at $343.10, down $8.52. May closed at $339.175, a drop of $8.90. Cash slaughter cattle aren’t finding their footing either — prices have fallen from $249.00 just weeks ago to $235.00 in Kansas and Nebraska, with the Texas Panhandle holding a little better at $240.00. Honestly, the futures picture alone would make a lot of producers sit on their hands and wait.
Key Price Data
| Category | Weight Range | Price Range ($/cwt) | Average Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeder Steers (Med-Large 1) | |||
| 350 lbs | 350 | 595.00 | $595.00 |
| 400-435 lbs | 408-435 | 567.50-570.00 | $568.03 |
| 620-646 lbs | 620-646 | 425.50-432.00 | $426.69 |
| 756 lbs | 756 | 372.50 | $372.50 |
| Feeder Heifers (Med-Large 1) | |||
| 500 lbs | 500 | 480.00 | $480.00 |
| 566-573 lbs | 566-573 | 418.00-422.50 | $421.26 |
| 660-685 lbs | 660-685 | 360.00-373.50 | $372.34 |
| Slaughter Cows (Boner 80-85%) | |||
| High Dressing | 1330-1730 | 162.00-186.00 | $183.34 |
| Average Return to Feed | 1110-1585 | 167.00-184.00 | $179.08 |
| Slaughter Bulls (1-2) | |||
| Average | 1505-2325 | 187.00-213.00 | $201.92 |
| Stock Cows (Med-Large 1) | |||
| 2-4 Years Open | 906-1415 | 197.00-319.00 | $273.55 |
Feeding Cow Market Remains Bright Spot
Here’s where the week’s story gets interesting. While feeder cattle were grinding through a rough market, private feeders and Canadian buyers pushed packers aside and showed real, aggressive demand for feeding cows. Supplies are tight — genuinely tight — and buyers were willing to take blemished cows they might’ve passed on a year ago. The segment sold generally steady, which is no small thing given everything else that was happening around it.
A winter storm rolled in later in the week and had cows “tanked up” from the weather change, but buyers stayed active despite that. In my experience, when Canadian buyers are crossing the border and competing hard against domestic feeders, it means the cow supply picture is tighter than the headline numbers suggest. That’s a dynamic worth watching as we move deeper into spring.