Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 15, 2021

930 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $151.58/cwt ≈ $1,082/hd at 714 lb · 22 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.75/cwt -7.93 vs last sale · ≈ $872/hd at 582 lb · 12 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.27/cwt +0.88 vs last sale · ≈ $906/hd at 611 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 930 1,486 408
Feeder cattle 254 476 226
Slaughter cattle 347 688 115
Replacement cattle 329 322 67

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested this sale to develop any market trend. Quality was mostly average, and offered in mostly small packages or as singles. Demand was light to moderate this sale. Most buyers were buying cattle to square up loads from yesterdays big sale. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed lighter demand for slaughter cows this sale. Feeding cow demand was good to very good. Packers opted to put most high quality young cows on feed this sale. Feeding buyers were not as aggressive in bidding on thin or older cows this sale. This allowed packers to buy slaughter cows lower. Feeding cows sold fully steady, while slaughter cows sold 1.00-2.00 lower on all classes. Slaughter bulls sold steady on a lower quality offering. Young age cows suitable to feed or re-breed sold fully steady. Quality was average to attractive this week.

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
507–513 509 5 185.00–190.00 $187.99 $957 —
586 586 8 175.00 $175.00 $1,026 -1.33
703–733 714 22 148.50–154.00 $151.58 $1,082 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
487 487 3 184.00 $184.00 $896 —
646 646 7 151.50 $151.50 $979 +6.50
707–740 715 4 140.00–147.50 $145.56 $1,041 —
904 904 4 120.00 $120.00 $1,085 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 4 161.00 $161.00 $789 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 3 179.00 $179.00 $779 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1068 1068 2 113.00 $113.00 $1,207 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
573–585 582 12 149.00–150.00 $149.75 $872 -7.93
606–616 611 11 147.00–149.00 $148.27 $906 +0.88
655–678 664 5 143.00–145.50 $144.02 $956 +1.60
721 721 7 135.00 $135.00 $973 +6.00
760–799 788 7 130.50 $130.50 $1,028 -1.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 2 157.00 $157.00 $699 —
470–490 482 5 156.00–158.00 $157.22 $758 -4.26
500–510 505 2 152.00–154.00 $153.01 $773 —
555–595 588 6 143.00–147.00 $143.63 $845 -4.32
610–648 626 7 131.00–135.00 $132.60 $830 —
799 799 4 127.00 $127.00 $1,015 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
309 309 4 145.00 $145.00 $448 -18.00

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810 810 2 127.00 $127.00 $1,029 —
1019–1043 1028 11 112.50–116.00 $114.71 $1,179 —
1055 1055 2 116.00 $116.00 $1,224 —
1163 1163 4 109.00 $109.00 $1,268 —
1222 1222 3 100.00 $100.00 $1,222 —
1263–1275 1267 3 90.50–91.00 $90.67 $1,149 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 3 175.00 $175.00 $844 +10.00
530 530 1 168.00 $168.00 $890 —
667 667 6 142.00 $142.00 $947 —
788–798 792 10 125.00–128.00 $126.79 $1,004 —
848 848 2 127.00 $127.00 $1,077 —
908 908 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,035 -13.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 3 90.00 $90.00 $1,017 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 85-90% 1 51.00 $51.00 $467 —
885–995 934 85-90% 4 59.00–62.50 $60.83 $568 —
1065–1135 1112 85-90% 3 50.00–51.00 $50.68 $564 -14.05
1028–1205 1117 85-90% 22 62.00–66.00 $63.76 $712 -0.97
1013–1380 1172 85-90% 36 57.00–64.50 $62.04 $727 —
1010–1280 1197 85-90% 22 55.00–69.50 $65.75 $787 —
1173–1360 1209 85-90% 7 70.00–72.50 $70.53 $853 +1.52
1080–1320 1214 85-90% 19 66.00–70.50 $67.44 $819 -1.57
1260–1285 1273 85-90% 2 71.00–72.50 $71.74 $913 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1505 1385 80-85% 7 65.50–69.00 $67.50 $935 -6.50
1327–1585 1403 80-85% 20 72.00–74.50 $73.32 $1,029 —
1290–1570 1405 80-85% 15 60.00–65.50 $62.77 $882 —
1345–1535 1423 80-85% 6 58.00–65.00 $63.14 $898 -2.38
1220–1545 1426 80-85% 63 67.00–72.00 $69.22 $987 +3.70
1510–1595 1555 80-85% 3 71.00–72.50 $71.50 $1,112 -1.80
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1473 1473 75-80% 2 74.50 $74.50 $1,097 —
1597–1718 1632 75-80% 8 72.75–74.50 $73.17 $1,194 +7.76
1570–1725 1678 75-80% 4 70.00–72.00 $71.26 $1,196 —
1640–2015 1717 75-80% 7 64.50–68.00 $65.56 $1,126 —
1760 1760 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $1,197 —
1565–1945 1818 75-80% 3 70.00–71.50 $70.43 $1,280 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1785 1785 65-75% 1 67.00 $67.00 $1,196 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1163 1163 3 82.00 $82.00 $954 —
1161–1565 1254 9 85.00–91.00 $86.68 $1,087 —
1305 1305 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,214 +5.50
1315 1315 1 73.00 $73.00 $960 -14.50
1365–1920 1631 7 80.00–84.00 $83.10 $1,355 +1.55
1523–2335 1872 17 85.00–93.50 $90.35 $1,691 —
1775–2240 1976 4 94.00–101.00 $96.09 $1,899 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
755–1400 1036 (<2 yrs)Open 139 79.50–117.00 $97.77 $1,013
845–1298 1052 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 86 67.00–99.50 $83.71 $881
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
855–975 893 (<2 yrs)Open 7 82.00–93.00 $89.38 $798

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1288 1288 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 1,035.00 $1,035.00

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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.