Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 5, 2021

3,970 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $145.01/cwt +11.89 vs last sale · ≈ $1,266/hd at 873 lb · 206 head

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $151.14/cwt +8.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,392/hd at 921 lb · 84 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $153.82/cwt -8.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,037/hd at 674 lb · 74 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,970	4,355	1,141
Feeder cattle	1,846	2,454	203
Slaughter cattle	1,239	992	533
Replacement cattle	885	909	405

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago(7-22-21): Yearling steers under 900 lbs sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher, steers over 900 lbs sold mostly 5.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Yearling heifers under 800 lbs sold unevenly steady, while heifers over 800 lbs sold mostly 5.00-6.00 higher. Demand was mostly good to very good for all yearlings on offer. This week was the first test of spring born calves. Demand for high quality calves was light to moderate. Many sets of spring born calves were of plain to average quality. Many calves were very green and much lighter in weight than usual. Drought conditions continues to drive these offerings to market. With hot dry and dusty conditions being experienced across a large region many buyers passed on these offerings over health concerns. Several sets of replacement heifers continue to be marketed and consigners continue to offer to abort the heifers at their cost if the buyer wishes to feed them. Market activity was mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for heavy offerings. Packers are fighting both feeding buyers and buyers looking for cows which are bred and selling as weigh ups. This helped support the entire cow market this week. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm, while feeding cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Cow quality this sale was mostly average to very attractive. Many long strings of cows were on offer this sale. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00 higher. Demand from rebreed buyers was stronger this sale. Buyers were actively purchasing cows to rebreed for fall calving in southern states. Demand for cow calf pairs was mostly good this sale. Quality was average to attractive.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
204 unweaned	204	16	200.00	$200.00	$408	—
250–273 unweaned	255	13	187.50–188.00	$187.88	$479	—
323 unweaned	323	20	187.00	$187.00	$604	—
361–391 unweaned	380	22	177.50–185.00	$180.09	$684	—
406–447 unweaned	423	22	171.00–180.00	$176.11	$745	—
475–495 unweaned	477	25	160.00–173.50	$171.82	$820	+11.82
608–640	623	24	171.00–183.00	$177.35	$1,105	-3.21
672	672	12	171.50	$171.50	$1,152	-0.13
713–749	732	71	163.50–174.00	$166.77	$1,221	+3.52
757–788	769	41	158.00–164.50	$163.23	$1,255	+0.23
770–784	777	14	147.50–153.00	$150.23	$1,167	-12.77
848	848	6	152.00	$152.00	$1,289	+0.50
851–884	874	30	147.50–155.00	$150.87	$1,319	+0.09
902–928	921	84	145.75–153.00	$151.14	$1,392	+8.68
963	963	3	139.50	$139.50	$1,343	—
987	987	7	133.00	$133.00	$1,313	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
481	481	12	165.00	$165.00	$794	—
559–582	572	9	169.00–171.00	$170.13	$973	—
630–645	639	22	164.50–169.00	$166.66	$1,065	—
691	691	13	163.00	$163.00	$1,126	—
822	822	3	139.00	$139.00	$1,143	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
466 unweaned	466	7	145.00	$145.00	$676	—
487	487	8	156.00	$156.00	$760	—
518 unweaned	518	5	145.00	$145.00	$751	—
651	651	11	168.50	$168.50	$1,097	—
720	720	5	163.00	$163.00	$1,174	+0.73
768–774	771	7	145.00–155.00	$149.27	$1,151	—
855	855	1	135.00	$135.00	$1,154	-6.00

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
342	342	3	150.00	$150.00	$513	—
373	373	6	147.50	$147.50	$550	—
788	788	3	127.00	$127.00	$1,001	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
616	616	10	131.00	$131.00	$807	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1005–1039	1034	7	133.00–136.00	$133.42	$1,380	+8.92

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315 unweaned	315	5	155.00	$155.00	$488	—
370 unweaned	370	14	160.00	$160.00	$592	—
405–442 unweaned	429	73	150.00–158.50	$156.15	$670	+16.15
459–495 unweaned	460	61	150.50–159.50	$159.18	$732	—
535 unweaned	535	18	148.00–151.50	$150.53	$805	—
648–649	648	15	156.00	$156.00	$1,011	-4.00
661–694	674	74	151.00–155.50	$153.82	$1,037	—
723–749	735	27	150.00–154.00	$151.90	$1,116	+6.68
754	754	4	143.00	$143.00	$1,078	-7.36
750–782	780	65	145.50–150.50	$148.83	$1,161	-1.53
800–824	806	38	146.50–147.00	$146.63	$1,182	+0.07
813–840	827	6	141.00	$141.00	$1,166	-2.00
853–897	873	206	141.00–147.50	$145.01	$1,266	+10.38
901 fancy	901	24	143.00	$143.00	$1,288	—
905–944	928	32	134.50–138.00	$136.00	$1,262	±0.00
959–998	976	34	130.00–134.25	$133.29	$1,301	+13.02
978	978	4	129.00	$129.00	$1,262	+8.73

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
239	239	7	165.00	$165.00	$394	—
293	293	9	155.00	$155.00	$454	—
399	399	12	145.50	$145.50	$581	—
661–695	691	40	147.50–150.00	$149.70	$1,034	+4.13
708–738	722	6	146.00–147.50	$146.84	$1,060	+7.84
760–798	765	25	139.00–143.00	$140.32	$1,073	+3.94
903	903	4	133.00	$133.00	$1,201	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
481	481	15	152.00	$152.00	$731	—
542	542	9	144.00	$144.00	$780	—
568–593	580	40	151.00–152.50	$151.68	$880	-12.32
623–634	632	34	141.00–150.00	$142.57	$901	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1007–1045	1012	65	130.00–134.50	$133.47	$1,351	+6.55
1031 fancy	1031	9	135.00	$135.00	$1,392	+4.50
1055–1075	1062	3	116.00–133.50	$127.59	$1,355	+3.60
1110	1110	4	128.00	$128.00	$1,421	+22.00
1195	1195	2	111.00	$111.00	$1,326	—

Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
483	483	7	143.00	$143.00	$691	—

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1000	1000	1	122.00	$122.00	$1,220	+4.00
1080–1099	1096	7	116.00–117.00	$116.14	$1,273	—
1115 fancy	1115	4	120.00	$120.00	$1,338	—
1122–1137	1129	14	108.00–115.00	$111.70	$1,261	—
1180–1190	1185	2	100.00–107.00	$103.49	$1,226	-10.51
1200	1200	4	95.00	$95.00	$1,140	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
969	969	6	128.00	$128.00	$1,240	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
378	378	3	160.00	$160.00	$605	—
550 unweaned	550	1	160.00	$160.00	$880	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1296–1533	1373	80-85%	45	66.00–72.50	$68.95	$947	+0.92
1231–1583	1408	80-85%	46	64.00–69.50	$66.61	$938	+3.68
1272–1618	1445	80-85%	13	71.00–78.00	$74.71	$1,080	+11.78
1193–1539	1454	80-85%	79	74.50–79.50	$76.27	$1,109	+9.74
1332–1730	1476	80-85%	7	62.00–63.00	$62.33	$920	-4.20

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
915	915	85-90%	1	66.00	$66.00	$604	—
908–968	928	85-90%	6	51.00–60.00	$54.62	$507	—
1138–1230	1147	85-90%	25	70.00–79.50	$78.29	$898	+20.17
1150	1150	85-90%	1	47.00	$47.00	$540	—
1065–1309	1175	85-90%	38	54.50–62.00	$59.25	$696	—
1080–1300	1201	85-90%	25	62.00–66.00	$64.47	$774	+0.34

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1398–1710	1484	75-80%	70	73.00–77.50	$76.01	$1,128	—
1580	1580	75-80%	1	63.50	$63.50	$1,003	-14.50
1510–1830	1660	75-80%	10	78.00–81.50	$79.25	$1,316	—
1565–1885	1681	75-80%	8	66.00–72.00	$68.75	$1,156	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1333–1345	1337	3	83.00–90.00	$85.35	$1,141	+2.89
1395–1785	1582	5	78.00–83.00	$80.73	$1,277	—
1502–2140	1668	35	84.00–91.50	$87.94	$1,467	—
1525–2350	1944	28	92.00–104.50	$96.48	$1,876	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
820–1299	1120	(<2 yrs)	Open	61	73.00–101.00	$81.45	$912
935–1273	1125	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	29	62.00–79.00	$69.84	$786
1366	1366	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	5	63.00	$63.00	$861

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1035	1035	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	84.00	$84.00	$869
1105–1290	1273	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	11	66.00–80.00	$78.90	$1,004

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
935	935	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	69.00	$69.00	$645
1075–1137	1127	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	58.00–63.00	$62.20	$701

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1020	1020	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	11	1,275.00	$1,275.00
1099	1099	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	6	1,000.00	$1,000.00
978–1369	1296	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	16	1,000.00–1,300.00	$1,257.54
1426	1426	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	17	1,275.00	$1,275.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1238	1238	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	3	62.00	$62.00	$768

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
792–1040	882	(<2 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	85	1,235.00–1,475.00	$1,338.16

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1172–1286	1234	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	59	1,485.00–1,900.00	$1,765.03	—
1352–1505	1422	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	22	1,675.00–1,725.00	$1,699.06	—
1385–1565	1475	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	24	1,460.00–1,550.00	$1,507.75	+111.90
1496	1496	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	7	1,325.00	$1,325.00	+225.00
1554–1753	1638	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	14	1,300.00–1,435.00	$1,408.94	-16.06
1645	1645	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	13	1,435.00	$1,435.00	+10.00
1750	1750	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	1,375.00	$1,375.00	—
1852	1852	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	14	1,800.00	$1,800.00	—

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
513	513	19	66.00	$66.00	$339	—
710	710	14	67.00	$67.00	$476	—

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
420	420	3	60.00	$60.00	$252	—

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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.