Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 3, 2022

3,033 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $166.29/cwt ≈ $1,023/hd at 615 lb · 207 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $180.81/cwt -3.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,159/hd at 641 lb · 141 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $212.38/cwt -4.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,102/hd at 519 lb · 113 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,033 940 2,819
Feeder cattle 1,698 359 2,106
Slaughter cattle 736 293 560
Replacement cattle 599 288 153

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago(2/17/22): All feeder cattle were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, steady to lower undertones were noticed on steers under 700 lbs, steers over 700 lbs were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Heifers under 600 lbs sold with steady to lower undertones, heifers over 600 lbs were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive, mostly plain to average. Demand for high quality cattle remains good, and prices for these offerings are fully steady. Buyers expressed some concern in current market conditions this week. Feeding cost have risen sharply in the last couple weeks following unrest in Europe. Corn and soybean prices have skyrocketed since the last sale two weeks ago. May corn closed at 6.4925 on 2-17-22, todays closing price was 7.4775, 0.985 cents higher in two weeks. Soybeans closed at 15.7975 on 2-17-22 and 16.6775 today, 0.88 higher than two weeks ago. Buyers are attempting to buy cattle lower to offset rising feeding costs. A large crowd was on hand for todays sale and buyer participation was moderate. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for heavy offerings. Packer buyers showed moderate to good demand for cattle for immediate harvest, and mostly good to very good demand for feeding cows this sale. Slaughter cows sold mostly 6.00-7.00 higher than 2 weeks ago, however prices are lower than comparable markets last week. Feeding cows sold mostly 7.00-8.00 higher than 2 weeks ago and steady to 2.00 higher with comparable markets last week. Cow quality this week was average to very attractive. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00-6.00 higher. Cows and bulls were pushing heavy amounts of fill this sale as they offered buyers mostly below average weigh conditions. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were not well compared. A large offering of open one iron replacement type cows were seen this week all off 2 ranches. These offerings were met with very good demand as buyers purchased these offerings to mostly rebreed. Quality was mostly very attractive.

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Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 unweaned 297 5 222.50 $222.50 $661 —
403–424 416 14 215.00–223.00 $217.77 $906 —
454–484 479 28 212.00–224.00 $218.56 $1,047 +5.21
514–523 519 113 207.00–214.00 $212.38 $1,102 -4.03
561–595 565 56 189.50–209.00 $203.27 $1,148 -3.73
625–648 641 141 179.00–186.00 $180.81 $1,159 -3.96
653–685 665 19 170.50–178.00 $173.56 $1,154 —
703–738 720 78 161.00–170.50 $167.74 $1,208 +12.74
761–789 777 14 154.00–158.00 $155.68 $1,210 +2.68
828 828 7 152.00 $152.00 $1,259 +4.00
960 960 25 145.50 $145.50 $1,397 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401 401 10 207.50 $207.50 $832 —
462–495 468 6 207.00–209.00 $207.35 $970 +7.36
504–540 512 6 185.00–200.00 $197.04 $1,009 +10.04
570 570 5 171.00 $171.00 $975 —
553–581 578 22 178.00–185.00 $179.84 $1,039 —
647 647 28 169.50 $169.50 $1,097 —
684 684 6 166.00 $166.00 $1,135 +5.11
719–730 722 7 154.00–159.00 $155.44 $1,122 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 29 166.00 $166.00 $971 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 3 187.50 $187.50 $572 —
354–385 359 23 190.00–191.00 $190.19 $683 —
403–437 425 11 185.00–193.00 $187.76 $798 —
461–493 480 92 188.00–196.00 $192.49 $924 -4.27
504–535 519 58 180.00–190.00 $184.81 $959 +5.87
563–593 587 20 167.00–169.00 $168.62 $990 -11.38
602–648 615 207 159.50–170.00 $166.29 $1,023 —
670 fancy 670 18 167.00 $167.00 $1,119 —
668–698 685 37 157.00–161.00 $159.91 $1,095 —
724–733 727 25 147.50–156.00 $150.12 $1,091 —
734 734 29 140.00 $140.00 $1,028 —
755 755 6 131.00 $131.00 $989 —
765–772 768 11 145.50–151.00 $148.49 $1,140 —
837 837 69 145.25 $145.25 $1,216 —
850 850 2 145.25 $145.25 $1,235 —
898 898 5 134.00 $134.00 $1,203 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–382 380 4 183.00–185.00 $184.51 $701 +1.51
467–478 471 5 179.00–185.00 $181.43 $855 +20.75
512–533 522 19 155.00–174.00 $164.19 $857 —
581–598 595 30 146.00–160.00 $150.57 $896 -11.43
641 641 4 156.00 $156.00 $1,000 -1.00
684 684 4 138.00 $138.00 $944 -16.82
721 721 11 137.00 $137.00 $988 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540–544 542 28 143.00–152.00 $146.42 $794 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 12 180.00 $180.00 $529 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480–487 484 5 171.00 $171.00 $828 +23.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 2 187.50 $187.50 $975 —
655 655 3 160.00 $160.00 $1,048 —
823 823 23 130.00 $130.00 $1,070 —
873 873 5 131.00 $131.00 $1,144 —
923 923 2 129.00 $129.00 $1,191 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1017 1014 9 117.00–118.00 $117.78 $1,194 —
1058 fancy 1058 14 121.00 $121.00 $1,280 —
1125–1128 1127 9 108.00–112.00 $110.00 $1,240 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 unweaned 345 21 195.00 $195.00 $673 —
675 675 3 147.00 $147.00 $992 —
928–945 938 5 116.00–121.00 $117.98 $1,107 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–995 950 85-90% 10 62.00–68.00 $63.97 $608 —
870–1319 1155 85-90% 95 62.00–72.50 $68.88 $796 —
875–1275 1164 85-90% 15 53.00–58.00 $54.25 $631 —
1140–1265 1203 85-90% 6 80.00–83.00 $81.88 $985 +16.20
1213 1213 85-90% 2 79.00 $79.00 $958 +13.32
1020–1295 1219 85-90% 51 72.00–78.00 $73.83 $900 +8.15
1234–1305 1246 85-90% 42 72.50–78.00 $73.20 $912 +7.52
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1303–1665 1367 75-80% 8 80.50–82.00 $81.64 $1,116 —
1440–1480 1479 75-80% 55 85.00–85.50 $85.49 $1,264 +14.09
1388–1770 1498 75-80% 69 80.50–84.50 $82.12 $1,230 +10.72
1595 1595 75-80% 1 75.50 $75.50 $1,204 —
1670–1925 1755 75-80% 3 74.00–78.00 $75.46 $1,324 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1505 1359 80-85% 8 68.50–74.50 $73.07 $993 —
1230–1605 1386 80-85% 17 73.00–80.00 $77.01 $1,067 —
1338–1650 1405 80-85% 14 81.00–86.50 $83.20 $1,169 —
1325–1660 1430 80-85% 24 73.00–83.00 $77.54 $1,109 —
1304–1686 1433 80-85% 64 64.00–73.50 $69.22 $992 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1815 1589 12 80.00–93.00 $89.58 $1,423 —
1632–2488 1959 20 97.00–103.00 $99.60 $1,951 —
2395 2395 1 106.50 $106.50 $2,551 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
820–1171 1013 (<2 yrs)Open 76 109.00–129.00 $123.25 $1,249
800–1480 1114 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 296 67.00–110.00 $96.49 $1,075
1266 1266 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 61 75.00 $75.00 $950
1153–1312 1270 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 15 82.00–89.00 $87.30 $1,109
1309 1309 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 79 85.25 $85.25 $1,116
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
803–1090 938 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 71.00–80.00 $74.47 $699
885–1088 1020 (<2 yrs)Open 3 81.00–82.00 $81.29 $829

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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.