Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 14, 2022

641 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $134.47/cwt -8.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,112/hd at 827 lb · 41 head
heavy 6-weight M 1 heifers $138.63/cwt ≈ $941/hd at 679 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $170.50/cwt +1.11 vs last sale · ≈ $888/hd at 521 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 641 1,165 930
Feeder cattle 414 374 254
Slaughter cattle 122 509 347
Replacement cattle 105 282 329

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested this week to develop an accurate market trend, lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly plain and lower than last week. Most consignments were comprised of small lots or singles. Consigners offered mostly cutback cattle off earlier video sales today, with very few front end offerings seen. Buyers showed mostly light demand for todays offering. A light crowd was on hand for todays sale. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on very good demand today. Packer buyers were aggressive as they bid on todays limited offering. Snow and blizzard conditions were seen across southern Montana and locations east earlier in the week which limited the volume of cattle available to packers as several sales were cancelled as a result of the spring storm. Slaughter cows sold on very good demand today. Breaking cows sold generally steady, boning and lean cows sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Feeding cow buyers showed very good demand for thin offerings which caused thin and lower yielding cows to see the greatest increase in price. Feeding cows sold steady to 4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, higher undertones were noticed. Cows and bulls were very full this sale with most consignments offering buyers below average weigh up conditions. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality was mostly average 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
625 625 13 180.00 $180.00 $1,125 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508 508 3 180.00 $180.00 $914 -9.00
585 585 5 173.00 $173.00 $1,012 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 3 175.00 $175.00 $677 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
484–490 487 19 172.00–175.50 $173.85 $847 —
521 521 22 170.50 $170.50 $888 +1.11
575 575 2 158.00 $158.00 $908 —
623–627 626 20 148.00–154.00 $153.10 $958 —
693 693 6 149.50 $149.50 $1,036 +5.50
709–713 710 14 140.00–146.00 $141.72 $1,006 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
811–827 818 12 129.50–132.00 $130.55 $1,068 -12.45
829–840 831 29 136.00–136.50 $136.09 $1,131 -6.91
904 904 18 125.00 $125.00 $1,130 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409 409 15 161.00 $161.00 $658 -4.00
678–686 679 22 137.00–139.00 $138.63 $941 —
866 866 4 122.00 $122.00 $1,057 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 7 165.00 $165.00 $731 +6.00
582 582 5 137.50 $137.50 $800 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120 1120 4 108.00 $108.00 $1,210 —
1173–1182 1177 7 104.00–111.00 $107.01 $1,260 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 2 138.00 $138.00 $973 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
90 90 1 250.00 $250.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
95 95 1 175.00 $175.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1269–1500 1364 80-85% 21 80.50–84.00 $82.07 $1,119 -4.97
1303–1468 1387 80-85% 32 81.00–83.50 $82.05 $1,138 -4.99
1413–1520 1437 80-85% 5 78.00–79.00 $78.79 $1,132 +3.45
1385–1580 1483 80-85% 2 76.00–77.00 $76.53 $1,135 -4.12
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1230 1122 85-90% 5 77.00–78.50 $78.11 $876 —
1095–1305 1179 85-90% 11 79.50–85.00 $82.31 $970 +9.93
1035–1275 1198 85-90% 6 79.00–83.00 $81.64 $978 +19.37
1015–1360 1213 85-90% 12 76.00–78.00 $77.10 $935 -1.72
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1517–1820 1671 75-80% 6 81.00–82.75 $81.82 $1,367 -5.58

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340 1340 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,139 —
1315–1788 1540 5 81.00–94.00 $89.09 $1,372 —
1540–1920 1760 3 102.00–106.00 $103.38 $1,819 —
2353–2355 2354 3 115.00–117.00 $116.33 $2,738 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
915–1355 1043 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 42 77.00–100.00 $89.99 $939
888–1300 1071 (<2 yrs)Open 55 93.00–119.00 $106.95 $1,145
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
970–1035 1003 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 74.00–77.00 $75.45 $757
1125 1125 (<2 yrs)Open 1 84.00 $84.00 $945
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1290 1290 (<2 yrs)Open 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,084
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
790 790 (<2 yrs)Open 1 80.00 $80.00 $632

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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.