Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 21, 2021

1,328 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $169.48/cwt +13.25 vs last sale · ≈ $893/hd at 527 lb · 95 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $138.94/cwt +2.94 vs last sale · ≈ $825/hd at 594 lb · 50 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.30/cwt +10.08 vs last sale · ≈ $754/hd at 505 lb · 35 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,328 1,470 1,930
Feeder cattle 728 177 727
Slaughter cattle 394 516 365
Replacement cattle 206 777 838

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on all classes. Demand was moderate to good for light to moderate offerings. Quality was average to attractive. A good crowd was on hand for this sale despite lighter supplies. Most calves on offer were weaned 45-60 day and in light flesh. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed good demand for all cows this week. Packers pushed to own the majority of the cow offering this week pushing cows sharply higher in places. The cutter cow cutout has inched higher over the past week as is the seasonal trend due to tighter supplies in the mid to late winter months. The cutter cow cutout closed at 177.95, 0.13 higher than Wednesdays close. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested last sale to develop any market trend. Feeding cows sold 4.00-5.00 higher as packer buyers and feeding buyers both competed over offerings. Cow quality this week was average to attractive and overall better than last week. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average this week with many cows pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls mostly 2.00-4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to rebreed sold unevenly steady on a mixed quality offering.

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
442 442 5 182.00 $182.00 $804 —
466–493 475 17 178.00–181.00 $178.85 $850 +14.39
503–545 527 95 167.00–176.00 $169.48 $893 +13.25
570–591 587 24 158.75–161.50 $159.29 $935 +9.30
605–631 627 28 146.50–153.50 $149.67 $938 —
654–697 666 11 135.50–141.00 $139.43 $929 —
767 767 27 132.50 $132.50 $1,016 —
813 813 20 126.50 $126.50 $1,028 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 4 180.00 $180.00 $698 —
505–540 517 19 145.00–167.00 $161.92 $837 —
558–599 589 12 145.00–150.00 $146.18 $861 +2.18
630–646 638 8 139.00–141.00 $140.01 $893 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 3 152.50 $152.50 $706 —
715 715 4 113.00 $113.00 $808 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373 373 6 172.00 $172.00 $642 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–388 378 24 161.00–165.50 $163.78 $619 —
445 445 21 160.00 $160.00 $712 —
455–494 471 17 152.00–162.00 $157.68 $743 +6.68
504–509 505 35 148.50–149.50 $149.30 $754 +10.08
578–598 594 50 137.50–140.50 $138.94 $825 +2.94
620–640 622 27 134.50–136.00 $135.17 $841 +5.27
689–696 691 16 125.00–132.00 $129.36 $894 —
796 796 7 115.00 $115.00 $915 —
873 873 2 111.50 $111.50 $973 -3.00
940 940 2 109.00 $109.00 $1,025 +3.43
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
499 499 10 147.00 $147.00 $734 —
508–545 514 22 137.50–144.00 $142.72 $734 —
593 593 9 132.50–133.50 $132.83 $788 —
600 600 21 131.00 $131.00 $786 —
650 650 3 124.00 $124.00 $806 —
839–840 839 6 103.50–106.00 $104.33 $875 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
476 476 5 134.00 $134.00 $638 —
784 784 11 104.00 $104.00 $815 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401 401 8 152.00 $152.00 $610 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008 1008 2 104.50 $104.50 $1,053 —
1083 1083 2 105.00 $105.00 $1,137 +12.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
572–576 575 11 124.00–126.00 $124.54 $716 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 5 119.00 $119.00 $833 —
835 835 2 110.00 $110.00 $918 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,028 —
1160 1160 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,044 —
1220 1220 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,000 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–975 921 85-90% 7 40.00–47.50 $45.04 $415 +4.46
1013–1178 1099 85-90% 16 35.00–43.00 $41.26 $453 —
1050–1281 1178 85-90% 39 52.50–59.50 $55.39 $652 +10.43
1030–1323 1184 85-90% 71 45.00–52.00 $49.65 $588 +4.69
1055–1370 1227 85-90% 41 52.25–54.50 $53.01 $650 +4.88
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260 1260 80-85% 1 42.00 $42.00 $529 —
1278–1481 1331 80-85% 95 52.00–59.25 $56.55 $753 —
1295–1625 1385 80-85% 13 53.50–54.00 $53.58 $742 +1.80
1356–1525 1386 80-85% 7 49.50–51.50 $50.62 $702 -1.16
1395–1490 1427 80-85% 3 60.00–61.00 $60.51 $863 +13.96
1443–1445 1444 80-85% 3 46.00–47.00 $46.33 $669 -0.22
1675 1675 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $1,005 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1700 1431 75-80% 7 56.50–60.00 $58.05 $831 —
1545 1545 75-80% 1 62.50 $62.50 $966 —
1650 1650 75-80% 1 56.00 $56.00 $924 +0.52
1725 1725 75-80% 1 59.50 $59.50 $1,026 —
1700–1750 1737 75-80% 7 62.50–63.00 $62.79 $1,091 —
1785 1785 75-80% 1 55.50 $55.50 $991 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305–1930 1551 4 72.00–78.50 $76.00 $1,179 —
1495–1735 1570 7 74.00–79.50 $76.28 $1,198 —
1680–1725 1695 3 80.50 $80.50 $1,364 —
1805–2295 1906 7 89.00–92.00 $90.80 $1,731 —
1730–2360 1984 10 83.00–87.50 $85.16 $1,690 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
730 thin fleshed 730 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 65.00 $65.00 $474
793–940 850 (<2 yrs)Open 6 81.00–96.00 $91.20 $775
810–1315 1028 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 108 51.00–85.50 $69.07 $710

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1265 1265 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 10 750.00 $750.00
1299 1299 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 975.00 $975.00
1208–1572 1367 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 23 810.00–910.00 $866.64
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1228 thin fleshed 1228 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 54.00 $54.00 $663

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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.