Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock · usually sells Thursdays

Sale of Thursday, July 16, 2026

879 head sold ·Official USDA report · Past reports (229)

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $408.94/cwt +3.94 vs last sale · ≈ $2,576/hd at 630 lb · 32 head
heavy 5-weight M 2 heifers $336.73/cwt ≈ $1,896/hd at 563 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 879 692 651
Feeder cattle 302 96 85
Slaughter cattle 390 437 461
Replacement cattle 187 159 105

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last reported sale (6-18-26): The last reported sale was one month ago. Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality was mixed with lots of variation noticed. Demand was moderate for light offerings. Group sizes were small with many singles noticed. Demand suffered as buyers were forced to piece together loads. Market activity was mostly moderate to active with a small size buyer pool noticed. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light offerings. Demand for feeding cows was mostly moderate to good. Canadian buyers continue to buy cows to ship north and feed. American packers and Canadian buyers both pushed to own cows this week and showed good to very good demand for high quality cows to feed. With the last sale one month ago price comparisons are not available. Breaking fleshed cows sold on slightly stronger demand this sale as feeding buyers saw these cows had value compared to boning and lean fleshed cow prices. Cow quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Demand for slaughter cows was slightly stronger this week compared to one month ago. Very few cows were purchased for slaughter this week as feeding demand continues to keep cow prices above slaughter cow orders. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week. Better weigh up conditions were seen early in the sale, however weigh conditions deteriorated as temperatures warmed well into the 90s. Slaughter bulls sold on good demand for light to moderate offerings. Young age offerings suitable to feed or rebreed were very lightly tested this week. Quality was mostly plain to average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313 unweaned 313 6 650.00 $650.00 $2,034 —
413 unweaned 413 2 515.00 $515.00 $2,127 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
633 633 3 425.00 $425.00 $2,690 —
746 746 5 382.00 $382.00 $2,850 -13.01
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
553 553 4 225.00 $225.00 $1,244 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
331 unweaned 331 4 462.50 $462.50 $1,531 —
423 unweaned 423 8 450.00 $450.00 $1,904 —
610–631 630 32 392.50–410.00 $408.94 $2,576 +3.94
713 713 5 360.00 $360.00 $2,567 —
770 770 4 358.00 $358.00 $2,757 -10.00
922 922 6 314.50 $314.50 $2,900 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
560–580 563 20 332.50–337.50 $336.73 $1,896 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
656 656 5 367.50 $367.50 $2,411 +12.50
715 715 2 350.00 $350.00 $2,502 +5.00
774 774 5 345.00 $345.00 $2,670 ±0.00
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 6 340.00 $340.00 $1,717 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 unweaned 410 2 517.50 $517.50 $2,122 —
488 unweaned 488 4 445.00 $445.00 $2,172 —
895 895 1 315.00 $315.00 $2,819 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 1 220.00 $220.00 $2,486 —
1188 1188 2 230.00 $230.00 $2,732 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160 1160 3 240.00 $240.00 $2,784 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
608 608 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,824 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1278 1278 80-85% 2 146.00 $146.00 $1,866 —
1225–1620 1344 80-85% 7 153.00–166.00 $157.46 $2,116 —
1290–1628 1428 80-85% 33 180.00–186.00 $183.56 $2,621 -4.66
1305–1555 1434 80-85% 5 167.00–172.00 $168.56 $2,417 -13.29
1239–1610 1451 80-85% 133 186.00–191.00 $188.57 $2,736 —
1305–1690 1499 80-85% 10 157.00–173.00 $167.42 $2,510 -1.58
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 85-90% 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,351 +10.00
990 990 85-90% 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,525 +24.00
1098–1180 1125 85-90% 3 117.50–135.00 $128.88 $1,450 —
1145 1145 85-90% 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,946 —
1035–1290 1147 85-90% 6 145.00–147.50 $145.79 $1,672 —
1015–1224 1205 85-90% 20 152.50–172.00 $165.43 $1,993 —
1105–1410 1249 85-90% 10 170.00–181.00 $173.49 $2,167 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1631 1566 75-80% 20 171.50–180.00 $175.33 $2,746 +12.68
1608–1633 1621 75-80% 4 183.00 $183.00 $2,966 +13.75
1626 1626 75-80% 5 169.00 $169.00 $2,748 -0.25
1550–1755 1653 75-80% 2 168.00–168.50 $168.27 $2,782 —
1633–1975 1754 75-80% 4 170.50–173.00 $171.83 $3,014 +11.16

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1275 1173 2 185.00–195.00 $189.56 $2,224 —
1325–1680 1397 12 213.00–219.00 $217.64 $3,040 —
1300–1903 1462 15 190.00–209.00 $202.54 $2,961 -1.74
1390–1850 1629 16 187.00–209.00 $199.62 $3,252 —
1343–2328 1926 34 210.00–223.50 $216.52 $4,170 —
1600–2078 1944 27 224.00–238.00 $225.62 $4,386 —
2505 2505 1 226.00 $226.00 $5,661 -25.00
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2090–2198 2162 3 214.00–215.00 $214.32 $4,634 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1050–1160 1105 (<2 yrs)Open 2 204.00–267.00 $233.93 $2,585
1055–1330 1209 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 8 192.50–245.00 $209.12 $2,528
1125–1385 1319 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 12 191.00–195.00 $194.65 $2,567
1438 1438 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 193.00 $193.00 $2,775
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1075 1075 (<2 yrs)Open 6 197.00 $197.00 $2,118
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1317 1317 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 202.00 $202.00 $2,660
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
820 820 (<2 yrs)Open 2 245.00 $245.00 $2,009
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1065–1365 1215 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 181.00–192.50 $186.04 $2,260

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1215–1355 1321 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 196.00–207.00 $202.58 $2,676
1437 1437 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 175.00 $175.00 $2,515
1342–1537 1472 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 17 171.00–186.00 $178.98 $2,635

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1548 1548 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 3,450.00 $3,450.00 -450.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1575 1575 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 4,000.00 $4,000.00 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 85-90% 1 146.00 $146.00 $2,190 —
1570 1570 80-85% 1 157.00 $157.00 $2,465 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
656 656 8 147.00 $147.00 $964 —

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Price trend

high 523.42 low 410.93 Aug 2025 Jun 2026

550–599 lb Medium and Large 1 steers — head-weighted average $/cwt by sale date, last 12 months.

Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.

← Previous sale (Jun 18, 2026)

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