Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 6, 2022

1,718 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 $203.22/cwt +6.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,059/hd at 521 lb · 208 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $169.42/cwt +10.04 vs last sale · ≈ $904/hd at 533 lb · 179 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $215.18/cwt +15.75 vs last sale · ≈ $917/hd at 426 lb · 91 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,718 3,231 5,867
Feeder cattle 1,646 2,520 5,646
Slaughter cattle 55 484 140
Replacement cattle 17 227 81

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale(12-16-21): Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Steer calves under 650 lbs sold mostly 8.00-12.00 higher. Steers over 650 lbs sold generally steady. Heifers under 550 lbs sold mostly 10.00 higher. Heifer over 550 lbs sold steady to firm. Quality this week was mixed from average to very attractive. Buyers showed very good demand for load lots today. Small packages of calves sold with light demand. The best demand this week was for cattle that could be developed into yearlings. Demand for yearling type cattle was good to very good, while demand for heavy or very light weight cattle was mostly moderate. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active with a large buyer pool actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows and bulls were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed on very light offerings.

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
406–445 426 91 211.00–219.00 $215.18 $917 +9.04
456–499 470 90 199.00–220.00 $212.92 $1,001 +13.07
511–540 521 208 195.00–209.50 $203.22 $1,059 +6.54
553–577 572 62 187.00–198.00 $190.31 $1,089 +17.30
603–633 619 55 169.50–187.00 $177.70 $1,100 +13.75
695 695 25 166.00 $166.00 $1,154 -0.18
750–775 754 34 158.50–160.00 $159.91 $1,206 —
857–891 883 46 147.00–154.50 $153.24 $1,353 -0.20
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–349 336 23 191.00–208.00 $196.47 $660 +2.37
465–495 491 7 190.00–192.00 $190.27 $934 +10.83
531–548 541 23 185.00–187.00 $185.77 $1,005 +6.77
591 591 6 176.00 $176.00 $1,040 +21.00
603–643 632 25 161.00–164.00 $162.55 $1,027 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
526 526 7 140.00 $140.00 $736 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515–530 523 4 175.00–185.00 $179.93 $941 +6.93

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 17 180.50 $180.50 $706 +10.50
428 428 17 174.00–189.00 $183.71 $786 +15.04
451–488 476 71 170.00–174.00 $171.46 $816 +10.88
504–518 thin fleshed 513 44 175.00–177.00 $175.76 $902 —
529–547 540 135 165.00–170.00 $167.35 $904 +8.53
555–588 thin fleshed 562 27 168.00–173.00 $171.84 $966 —
566–587 577 23 153.00–160.00 $156.71 $904 +1.54
623–628 626 16 148.00–152.00 $150.51 $942 -2.93
655 655 44 153.00 $153.00 $1,002 +3.12
757–785 758 64 145.50–150.50 $149.70 $1,135 +1.98
877 877 19 148.50 $148.50 $1,302 -2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 3 174.00 $174.00 $679 +11.00
435 435 32 166.50 $166.50 $724 +13.50
453–499 477 38 146.00–165.50 $155.94 $744 +3.94
545 545 12 160.00 $160.00 $872 +19.41
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 383 11 172.00 $172.00 $659 —
419 419 8 176.00 $176.00 $737 +15.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
501 501 11 125.00 $125.00 $626 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965 965 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $482 —
1001–1235 1079 85-90% 6 51.00–54.00 $52.14 $563 —
1105 1105 85-90% 2 61.00 $61.00 $674 +23.50
1035–1249 1207 85-90% 19 55.00–62.00 $57.43 $693 +12.55
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325 1325 80-85% 1 67.50 $67.50 $894 +13.50
1325–1495 1410 80-85% 2 61.00–63.50 $62.33 $879 +5.82
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1550 1550 75-80% 1 64.50 $64.50 $1,000 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365 1365 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,078 —
1747 1747 7 84.00 $84.00 $1,467 —
1903–2495 2021 5 84.00–85.00 $84.25 $1,703 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1035 1035 (<2 yrs)Open 1 86.00 $86.00 $890
1078–1365 1161 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 60.00–73.00 $68.82 $799

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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.