Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 21, 2021

7,046 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $161.95/cwt -2.50 vs last sale · ≈ $925/hd at 571 lb · 585 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.38/cwt -1.56 vs last sale · ≈ $775/hd at 519 lb · 531 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $153.55/cwt -5.14 vs last sale · ≈ $729/hd at 475 lb · 464 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	7,046	4,838	2,490
Feeder cattle	6,510	4,265	2,274
Slaughter cattle	414	370	140
Replacement cattle	122	203	76

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearlings were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings was mostly moderate. Steer calves under 400 lbs were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate market trend, sharply lower undertones were noticed. 400-449 lbs steers sold steady to weak, 450 lbs and up sold mostly 3.00-6.00 lower with instances of steady seen on very attractive steers. Heifer calves under 450 lbs sold steady to firm, 450-599 lbs heifers sold steady to 5.00 lower, heifers over 600 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, steady to lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Many long strings off reputation ranches were seen this week. Demand for calves was uneven, as average quality calves sold on light to moderate demand, while high quality cattle sold on moderate to good demand. Transportation continue to be the biggest factor limiting demand. Trucks are very tight and several buyers left as soon as they filled the trucks they had available. Buyers were not willing to buy un-weaned calves without wheels to get them to their final destination. Buyers focused on buying front end calves, especially ones with two rounds of vaccinations and passed or discounted average quality calves or calves with only spring shots. Price spreads for 50 lbs increments reached 20.00 cwt in many instances. Heavy discounts were seen on plain or average quality cattle. Some cattle showed some dirt this week as trucks have been running nearly around the clock and some pens remain dirty after last weeks rain. The best demand seen this week was for high quality cattle suitable to run as yearlings. California is expected to get 3 inches of rain in the nearby forecast and demand for light grass calves remains good as a result. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weight up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. An additional packer buyer was on hand this week and packers were aggressive as they fought over market share. Slaughter cows sold mostly 5.00 higher on boning cows, lean cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold with the best demand this week as both packers and feeding buyers showed good demand as they competed over offerings. Feeding cows sold mostly 4.00-7.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average this week as all cows were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady to higher undertones were seen on a higher quality offering this week.

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
284–294 unweaned	291	31	210.00–212.50	$211.87	$617	-33.13
305–344 unweaned	327	29	200.00–215.00	$207.78	$679	-19.57
357–399 unweaned	370	112	195.00–213.00	$206.09	$763	-12.76
401–437 unweaned	418	239	187.00–209.00	$200.07	$836	-1.41
457–496 unweaned	483	223	170.00–190.50	$178.99	$865	-6.65
506–549 unweaned	529	310	155.00–175.00	$169.16	$895	-3.72
530–539	534	89	164.00–169.00	$165.25	$882	—
554–596 unweaned	571	547	150.00–166.00	$161.39	$922	-3.07
578	578	38	170.00	$170.00	$983	+6.00
601–645 unweaned	624	210	148.50–160.50	$152.85	$954	-8.25
624	624	13	150.00	$150.00	$936	—
651–690 unweaned	670	37	144.00–156.00	$148.88	$997	-7.09
683 fancy	683	38	160.75	$160.75	$1,098	—
726	726	4	134.00	$134.00	$973	—
741	741	6	138.00	$138.00	$1,023	—
742 unweaned	742	8	147.50	$147.50	$1,094	-7.00
814–845	817	37	149.00–154.00	$153.58	$1,255	—
908	908	6	147.00	$147.00	$1,335	+11.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
262 unweaned	262	9	200.00	$200.00	$524	—
350–398 unweaned	386	26	183.00–193.00	$187.97	$726	-7.62
400–449 unweaned	429	39	165.00–180.00	$172.89	$742	-12.69
453	453	41	162.00	$162.00	$734	—
451–498 unweaned	487	102	150.00–166.00	$159.61	$777	-8.98
505	505	4	144.00	$144.00	$727	-17.00
522–547 unweaned	536	58	144.00–150.00	$148.49	$796	-16.40
544	544	10	139.00	$139.00	$756	-22.00
553–593 unweaned	566	102	141.00–150.00	$145.54	$824	-10.46
609–646 unweaned	625	19	144.00–147.00	$145.69	$911	-1.81
684 unweaned	684	6	142.00	$142.00	$971	—
738 unweaned	738	2	130.00	$130.00	$959	—
805	805	2	145.00	$145.00	$1,167	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
379	379	57	162.00	$162.00	$614	—
428 unweaned	428	26	154.00	$154.00	$659	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
523–536 unweaned	534	56	147.00–149.00	$148.72	$794	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
308	308	13	187.00	$187.00	$576	—
462	462	5	150.00	$150.00	$693	—
464 unweaned	464	8	162.00	$162.00	$752	—
699	699	27	146.00	$146.00	$1,021	+12.50

Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
404 unweaned	404	20	95.00	$95.00	$384	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
260–292 unweaned	285	12	190.00–195.00	$190.76	$544	+2.06
322–349 unweaned	343	22	180.00–190.00	$181.80	$624	-11.57
345	345	4	188.00	$188.00	$649	—
354–398 unweaned	370	193	172.00–189.00	$180.28	$667	+1.33
400–448 unweaned	435	336	160.00–175.25	$167.65	$729	+0.97
458–486	472	41	153.00–163.00	$157.97	$746	-6.03
455–494 unweaned	475	423	145.00–162.50	$153.12	$727	-5.91
500–545 unweaned	519	500	139.00–155.75	$149.34	$775	-0.90
520	520	31	150.00	$150.00	$780	+1.00
551–598 unweaned	564	274	130.00–142.50	$139.53	$787	-3.67
600–638 unweaned	606	129	130.00–139.00	$137.28	$832	—
653–675 unweaned	658	29	130.00–139.00	$135.28	$890	-2.00
779 unweaned	779	6	125.00	$125.00	$974	—
812	812	17	132.50	$132.50	$1,076	—
819–835	826	52	136.50–138.50	$137.57	$1,136	—
859–885	871	9	135.50	$135.50	$1,180	-2.38
946	946	9	130.00	$130.00	$1,230	—
999	999	6	130.50	$130.50	$1,304	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
248 unweaned	248	6	185.00	$185.00	$459	—
288–296 unweaned	289	23	182.50–187.00	$186.20	$538	—
314–339 unweaned	317	49	175.00–177.50	$176.79	$560	-0.22
363	363	8	155.00	$155.00	$563	—
373–393 unweaned	389	57	155.00–170.00	$159.93	$622	-7.07
435–438 unweaned	437	41	145.00–151.00	$149.25	$652	-8.01
470–482 unweaned	480	10	139.00–142.00	$139.59	$670	-5.98
515–548 unweaned	544	28	127.50–135.00	$134.24	$730	-4.04
555–578 unweaned	571	22	126.00–130.00	$128.50	$734	-8.50
580–588	587	15	127.00–129.00	$127.13	$746	—
738 unweaned	738	3	122.00	$122.00	$900	—
839	839	4	133.00	$133.00	$1,116	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
515 unweaned	515	35	138.00	$138.00	$711	-1.00
1055	1055	3	125.00	$125.00	$1,319	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
308 unweaned	308	8	150.00	$150.00	$462	—
424 unweaned	424	16	137.50	$137.50	$583	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
449	449	5	150.00	$150.00	$674	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
259 unweaned	259	4	200.00	$200.00	$518	—
367 unweaned	367	25	186.00	$186.00	$683	-24.00
405–406 unweaned	406	20	167.00–178.00	$174.71	$709	—
450–471 unweaned	469	32	151.50–167.50	$153.10	$718	—
543	543	34	152.00	$152.00	$825	—
617–634 unweaned	626	13	134.00–136.00	$134.91	$845	—
684 unweaned	684	6	128.00	$128.00	$876	—
723 unweaned	723	2	122.00	$122.00	$882	-9.00

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
589 unweaned	589	6	132.00	$132.00	$777	—
1080	1080	1	94.00	$94.00	$1,015	—
1116–1145	1137	14	90.00–92.00	$90.56	$1,030	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
805–998	968	85-90%	8	25.00–35.00	$33.47	$324	+0.97
1110	1110	85-90%	1	48.00	$48.00	$533	+14.36
930–1278	1173	85-90%	62	39.00–47.00	$44.83	$526	-1.04
960–1287	1177	85-90%	20	32.00–37.00	$35.98	$423	-9.89
1100–1220	1177	85-90%	9	41.00–44.00	$43.47	$512	-2.40
1020–1410	1180	85-90%	9	30.00–37.00	$32.99	$389	-12.88
1069–1340	1211	85-90%	35	47.00–53.00	$49.40	$598	+9.53

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–1325	1290	80-85%	3	61.00–63.00	$61.98	$800	—
1305–1510	1406	80-85%	11	65.00–71.50	$68.04	$957	+29.04
1328–1520	1408	80-85%	52	45.50–57.00	$50.56	$712	+11.56
1458	1458	80-85%	2	35.00	$35.00	$510	-6.80
1409–1555	1461	80-85%	17	45.50–53.00	$47.81	$699	+6.01
1310–1675	1473	80-85%	4	55.00–58.00	$56.30	$829	+14.50

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1378–1775	1477	75-80%	4	54.00	$54.00	$798	—
1580	1580	75-80%	2	72.00	$72.00	$1,138	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1187–1350	1207	9	67.00–76.00	$74.38	$898	—
1436	1436	5	74.50	$74.50	$1,070	—
1255–2155	1796	9	70.00–77.00	$74.71	$1,342	—
2090	2090	1	82.00	$82.00	$1,714	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
908–1160	957	(<2 yrs)	Open	33	69.00–101.00	$90.78	$869
1023 thin fleshed	1023	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	53.00	$53.00	$542
953–1182	1038	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	34	69.00–82.50	$76.52	$794
1169	1169	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	5	50.00	$50.00	$584

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
4	4	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	4	1,000.00	$1,000.00

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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.