Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 5, 2022

948 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 heifers $175.50/cwt +3.91 vs last sale · ≈ $1,018/hd at 580 lb · 35 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $174.49/cwt +12.77 vs last sale · ≈ $836/hd at 479 lb · 35 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $189.00/cwt -6.50 vs last sale · ≈ $762/hd at 403 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 948 3,816 1,564
Feeder cattle 468 3,118 827
Slaughter cattle 292 373 424
Replacement cattle 188 325 313

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were all too lightly tested this week to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most consignments were small packages, with no load lots seen this week. Despite light offerings demand for feeder cattle was mostly good. Most buyers were short loaded and needed weight to load out for the week. This helped create good demand as buyers competed over todays light offering. Market activity was mostly activity with buyers rapidly bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand and offerings. Packers showed light demand for slaughter cows this sale. Heavy supplies have been available to the packer following the snow storms in recent weeks, as ranchers sell off cows which lost calves. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 lower on all classes. Feeding cow demand remains strong as both packers and independent feeders showed strong demand for cows as many feel the uptick in supplies will be short lived. Feeding cows sold steady to firm. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on good demand as buyers continue to look for cows to rebreed. These offerings sold generally steady in a narrow comparison.

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
470 470 5 206.00 $206.00 $968 —
476 unweaned 476 7 195.00 $195.00 $928 —
510–530 513 23 208.00–218.00 $212.41 $1,090 +18.65
552–584 565 27 193.00–207.00 $199.63 $1,128 +4.18
602 602 3 192.00 $192.00 $1,156 +17.78
659 thin fleshed 659 20 188.00 $188.00 $1,239 —
730–741 739 5 170.00–171.00 $170.20 $1,258 —
753–770 759 3 159.00–163.00 $161.65 $1,227 -3.34
807–825 812 4 155.00–158.50 $157.61 $1,280 +3.55
860–887 872 6 146.00–157.00 $151.28 $1,319 +4.29
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
389 389 20 210.00 $210.00 $817 —
426 426 6 200.00 $200.00 $852 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518 518 2 185.00 $185.00 $958 +7.49
582 582 7 185.50 $185.50 $1,080 +6.76
660–670 668 13 169.50–173.50 $170.11 $1,136 +6.14

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403 403 27 189.00 $189.00 $762 —
474 unweaned 474 5 178.00 $178.00 $844 —
518–549 540 10 179.00–187.00 $184.70 $997 +8.46
580 580 35 175.50 $175.50 $1,018 +7.70
611–635 619 12 160.00–174.00 $169.21 $1,047 +3.47
670 670 2 163.00 $163.00 $1,092 +5.01
717–735 722 4 153.00–156.00 $155.24 $1,121 +3.19
759 759 5 154.00 $154.00 $1,169 +13.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437 437 7 179.00 $179.00 $782 +2.88
470–482 479 35 173.50–180.00 $174.49 $836 +12.77
503–520 514 8 160.00–166.00 $162.20 $834 -0.13
550–588 565 5 161.00–164.00 $162.75 $920 +0.40
604–617 609 8 158.00–164.00 $160.28 $976 +4.54
694 694 9 147.00 $147.00 $1,020 -6.05
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 17 187.50 $187.50 $641 —
442 442 8 173.00 $173.00 $765 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
65 65 1 125.00 $125.00 —
165 165 1 335.00 $335.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1103 fancy 1103 15 115.50 $115.50 $1,274 —
1118 1118 2 109.00 $109.00 $1,219 —
1205–1215 1212 3 106.00–107.00 $106.33 $1,289 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
672 672 6 157.00 $157.00 $1,055 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
84 84 3 125.00 $125.00 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
80 80 1 235.00 $235.00 —
120 120 1 300.00 $300.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
921 921 85-90% 6 61.00 $61.00 $562 —
953–970 959 85-90% 3 55.00–56.00 $55.66 $534 —
1015 1015 85-90% 1 52.00 $52.00 $528 —
1095–1195 1145 85-90% 2 77.00–78.00 $77.48 $887 +13.34
1155 1155 85-90% 1 78.00 $78.00 $901 +7.42
1050–1305 1160 85-90% 31 62.00–70.00 $66.67 $773 -3.91
978–1331 1192 85-90% 25 64.00–72.00 $69.14 $824 —
1135–1303 1244 85-90% 11 72.00–75.00 $73.32 $912 —
1165–1340 1268 85-90% 17 69.50–75.00 $71.62 $908 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1480 1343 80-85% 48 74.00–83.50 $77.77 $1,044 +2.42
1300–1430 1365 80-85% 4 83.00–83.50 $83.26 $1,136 +14.52
1305–1660 1419 80-85% 19 72.00–79.00 $74.05 $1,051 —
1320–1715 1471 80-85% 19 61.00–71.00 $68.15 $1,002 —
1410–1608 1478 80-85% 5 69.00–72.00 $70.68 $1,045 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1523–1605 1552 75-80% 5 75.00–83.00 $80.54 $1,250 —
1613–1630 1619 75-80% 3 77.00–79.50 $78.66 $1,274 —
1615–1930 1756 75-80% 7 65.00–73.00 $71.27 $1,252 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 2 95.00 $95.00 $1,192 -11.18
1333–1355 1340 3 70.00–85.00 $75.05 $1,006 —
1438–1758 1578 11 80.00–89.00 $84.72 $1,337 -3.10
1450–2230 1797 24 91.00–104.00 $95.90 $1,723 -0.10
2078–2430 2230 8 104.00–110.50 $106.18 $2,368 —
2915 2915 1 61.00 $61.00 $1,778 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2053–2325 2144 6 88.00–91.00 $89.08 $1,910 —
2165 2165 3 99.50 $99.50 $2,154 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
835–1217 1011 (<2 yrs)Open 58 83.00–121.50 $103.80 $1,049
945–1298 1110 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 26 79.50–90.00 $82.01 $910
1115–1155 thin fleshed 1142 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 76.00 $76.00 $868
1035–1360 1232 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 74.00–82.00 $77.47 $954

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1268 1268 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,335.00 $1,335.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1083 1083 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 1,450.00 $1,450.00 +396.05

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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.