Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 4, 2021

5,474 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $149.04/cwt ≈ $1,003/hd at 673 lb · 473 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $180.72/cwt +5.34 vs last sale · ≈ $947/hd at 524 lb · 339 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $167.37/cwt ≈ $975/hd at 582 lb · 317 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,474 787 2,699
Feeder cattle 4,739 262 2,057
Slaughter cattle 522 335 208
Replacement cattle 213 190 434

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Demand was moderate to good for mostly heavy offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Many load lots were seen this sale and demand for load lots was mostly very good. Many sets of heavyweight cattle were seen this week and most were out of backgrounding lots. Despite this, most backgrounded offerings were in mostly moderate flesh, with very few fleshy offerings seen. Light weight cattle were in mostly light flesh this week with many sets were developed and marketed as grass cattle. Almost all cattle on offer were weaned 60-120 days. A large crowd was on hand for todays sale with many order buyers actively bidding on offerings. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Packers were very active in procuring offerings this sale. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher. The cutter cow cutout as of todays close was 179.70, 0.34 higher than yesterdays close. Cow quality was average to attractive this week. Cows and bulls offered buyers mostly average to below average weigh up conditions. Slaughter bulls mostly steady firm in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to rebreed sold generally steady.

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
392 392 37 203.00 $203.00 $796 —
403–445 422 87 190.00–206.00 $201.91 $852 +15.91
455–467 461 113 192.00–198.00 $194.56 $897 +12.82
477 477 6 174.00 $174.00 $830 -7.74
501–548 524 339 175.50–188.25 $180.72 $947 +5.34
556 thin fleshed 556 39 179.00 $179.00 $995 —
550–597 586 278 160.00–174.00 $165.74 $971 —
620 620 14 142.00 $142.00 $880 -13.53
606–645 631 92 147.00–156.00 $150.73 $951 -4.80
657 657 11 142.50 $142.50 $936 —
650–692 673 462 142.00–155.00 $149.20 $1,004 —
700–748 719 133 138.50–144.50 $141.58 $1,018 -1.42
759 fancy 759 26 147.00 $147.00 $1,116 —
760–780 770 51 135.00–137.50 $136.84 $1,054 —
804–835 825 149 129.50–136.00 $133.13 $1,098 —
880–899 887 40 125.00–132.50 $127.33 $1,129 —
943 943 3 130.00 $130.00 $1,226 —
955 fancy 955 61 133.00 $133.00 $1,270 —
970–986 984 19 122.00–125.50 $125.14 $1,231 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–390 378 43 188.00–192.00 $191.19 $723 +6.19
420–433 431 38 179.50–188.00 $181.28 $781 +3.70
460–499 472 67 172.50–182.00 $179.19 $846 +7.92
508–548 537 20 164.00–167.00 $165.81 $890 -0.19
565–599 582 70 154.00–158.00 $156.73 $912 +10.73
634 634 10 143.50 $143.50 $910 —
714–726 719 20 132.00–137.00 $134.44 $967 —
752 752 10 130.00 $130.00 $978 —
803–845 826 34 125.00–130.00 $127.86 $1,056 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
392 392 7 196.00 $196.00 $768 —
492 492 28 181.50 $181.50 $893 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 8 145.50 $145.50 $732 —
653 653 4 133.50 $133.50 $872 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–395 378 48 164.00–170.00 $167.01 $631 —
400–448 424 178 162.00–178.00 $168.35 $714 —
450–498 469 160 158.50–169.50 $164.25 $770 —
504–532 512 120 152.50–160.50 $158.03 $809 +4.15
554 fancy 554 88 160.00 $160.00 $886 —
559 559 69 139.75 $139.75 $781 -3.25
551–586 571 99 142.00–153.50 $149.00 $851 +6.00
595 595 20 134.00 $134.00 $797 -9.00
618–626 620 19 128.00–134.00 $132.72 $823 +2.22
605–649 633 88 136.50–142.50 $139.73 $884 +9.23
668 668 57 133.00 $133.00 $888 —
657–691 678 68 133.75–141.50 $136.09 $923 —
679 679 11 127.00 $127.00 $862 —
703–736 722 131 130.00–132.00 $131.21 $947 —
755–776 768 39 123.75–129.50 $126.96 $975 —
805–838 816 9 120.50–122.00 $121.01 $987 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 323 9 164.00 $164.00 $530 —
383 383 6 164.00 $164.00 $628 —
434–444 438 21 156.00–161.50 $159.38 $698 +2.75
458–474 471 26 152.00–156.00 $154.77 $729 —
517–533 521 59 137.00–141.50 $140.75 $733 —
552–598 574 37 133.00–140.00 $137.70 $790 —
609–630 615 23 127.00–135.00 $130.83 $805 +2.19
707–727 714 17 120.50–123.50 $122.42 $874 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
529 529 28 151.25 $151.25 $800 —
1012 1012 3 106.00 $106.00 $1,073 —
1115–1134 1128 11 98.00–99.00 $98.27 $1,108 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
364 364 18 160.00 $160.00 $582 —
406 406 5 147.50 $147.50 $599 —
476 476 6 138.00 $138.00 $657 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
444 444 7 144.00 $144.00 $639 —
642 642 12 120.50 $120.50 $774 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 2 188.00 $188.00 $752 +15.50

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 85-90% 1 41.00 $41.00 $379 —
955–995 976 85-90% 4 49.50–52.00 $51.14 $499 —
940–1230 1127 85-90% 85 48.00–55.50 $52.75 $594 —
950–1263 1128 85-90% 41 55.00–62.50 $58.99 $665 —
1089–1265 1128 85-90% 23 55.00–57.00 $55.66 $628 —
1140 1140 85-90% 1 44.00 $44.00 $502 —
1155 1155 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $751 —
1003–1440 1189 85-90% 103 45.00–55.00 $52.33 $622 -2.62
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1298–1385 1307 80-85% 42 64.00–67.00 $64.95 $849 +10.95
1269–1490 1312 80-85% 14 55.75–58.00 $56.28 $738 +2.28
1165–1450 1330 80-85% 12 50.00–56.00 $52.93 $704 -1.07
1272–1598 1398 80-85% 37 58.00–64.00 $60.72 $849 +4.19
1418 1418 80-85% 2 69.00 $69.00 $978 +7.11
1403–1480 1435 80-85% 11 53.50–54.00 $53.91 $774 -7.98
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1269 1269 75-80% 6 59.00 $59.00 $749 —
1559–1585 1562 75-80% 10 52.50–56.00 $52.86 $826 -6.51

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215 1215 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,033 —
1295 1295 1 72.00 $72.00 $932 —
1550–1965 1730 13 71.00–81.00 $75.44 $1,305 -4.38
1795–2350 1989 4 83.50–90.50 $86.03 $1,711 —
2063–2480 2167 4 94.00 $94.00 $2,037 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
827 thin fleshed 827 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 73.00 $73.00 $604
735–1230 1013 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 122 61.00–85.00 $73.10 $741

↑ Back to top

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.