Old Missoula

Prize Cattle Draw Top Sums

Prize Hereford and Aberdeen Angus beef cattle have been playing an ever-growing role in the economy of western Montana.

Two organizations started in the 1940s – the Missoula Hereford Association and the Western Montana Angus Association – have provided a tremendous impetus to the beef cattle industry in this area, constantly seeking to improve their livestock and promoting increased use of beef by American families.

In a dozen years of top cut sales and 10 years of range sales the Missoula Hereford Association has sold 5,229 head for $2,216,922.50.

In the 1960 range sale 397 head brought $168,130 for an average of $423.50 per head. The top cut sale in February brought $72,295 for 76 head of bulls, cows and a few calves, an average of $951.25 per head.

In comparison the 1949 top cut sale brought $23,975 for 46 head, an average of $521. Highest average of any top cut sale was marked up in 1952 when 70 head sold for $94,920, an average of $1,350. The most ever paid for a single animal was $6,000 for a bull in 1953, and the most ever paid for a cow was $4,000 that same year.

In the past 12 years the Western Montana Angus Association has sold 759 head for $286,831.60. The 1960 sale brought $42,705 for 107 head, an average of $399.11. These figures compare with the 1949 sale of 57 head for $16,675, an average of $292.54.

A bull in 1951 brought $1,525, highest price paid for a single animal in sales conducted by the association. Top for a cow was $1,130 in 1950.