Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, July 14, 2022

1,120 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 bulls $200.00/cwt ≈ $1,086/hd at 543 lb · 49 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $212.50/cwt ≈ $1,024/hd at 482 lb · 20 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $187.18/cwt ≈ $1,171/hd at 626 lb · 18 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale
Total receipts	1,120	887
Feeder cattle	236	111
Slaughter cattle	526	621
Replacement cattle	358	155

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality was mostly plain to average this week and most offerings were sold in small packages or as singles. Demand for feeder cattle was mostly mostly good. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows and bulls comprised most of the offering this sale. Demand for cows was mostly good. Demand from western packers continues to support cow prices. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to frim, however prices did slide late in the sale as buyers filled loads. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Several independent feeders were in the market this week and this helped support feeding cow prices as eastern packers showed lighter demand for both slaughter and feeding cows. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 2.00 lower. Cow and bull quality was average to very attractive. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed continue to sell on moderate to good demand. Quality this week was mostly average. These offerings sold generally steady.

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
518–530	524	4	200.00–203.00	$201.52	$1,056	—
616	616	10	185.00	$185.00	$1,140	—
600–643	638	8	189.50–193.00	$189.91	$1,212	—
703	703	2	179.00	$179.00	$1,258	+2.00
805–825	817	3	167.00–170.00	$168.51	$1,377	-0.49
860–867	865	5	160.00–172.00	$169.11	$1,463	+10.11
965	965	4	160.00	$160.00	$1,544	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
523	523	2	198.00	$198.00	$1,036	—
663	663	2	184.00	$184.00	$1,220	—
740	740	2	160.00	$160.00	$1,184	—
765–790	778	3	159.00–168.00	$164.96	$1,283	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
628–643	638	9	168.00–169.00	$168.33	$1,074	+10.33
783–786	786	12	160.00–162.00	$160.33	$1,260	+14.75
950 fancy	950	3	150.00	$150.00	$1,425	—
953	953	2	145.00	$145.00	$1,382	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
504	504	7	169.00	$169.00	$852	—
560	560	3	171.00	$171.00	$958	—
700	700	2	158.00	$158.00	$1,106	—
775	775	1	150.00	$150.00	$1,162	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
601	601	4	163.00	$163.00	$980	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1153	1153	2	105.00	$105.00	$1,211	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
482 thin fleshed	482	20	212.50	$212.50	$1,024	—
543 thin fleshed	543	49	200.00	$200.00	$1,086	—
669	669	2	173.00	$173.00	$1,157	—
864	864	10	154.00	$154.00	$1,331	—
948	948	13	138.00	$138.00	$1,308	—
950–980	965	4	136.00–140.00	$138.03	$1,332	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1005	1005	1	132.00	$132.00	$1,327	—
1090	1090	1	120.00	$120.00	$1,308	—
1195	1195	1	119.00	$119.00	$1,422	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1190–1610	1298	80-85%	29	72.00–79.00	$77.54	$1,006	—
1283–1685	1357	80-85%	80	78.00–86.00	$81.56	$1,107	+5.90
1336–1595	1397	80-85%	12	79.00–80.50	$79.93	$1,117	-7.51
1220–1515	1405	80-85%	20	87.50–89.75	$88.11	$1,238	+4.48
1340–1429	1408	80-85%	7	87.00–90.00	$88.14	$1,241	+4.51
1155–1715	1412	80-85%	149	81.00–86.50	$83.78	$1,183	+0.15

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
975	975	85-90%	1	71.00	$71.00	$692	-7.00
984–1220	1062	85-90%	5	76.00–79.00	$77.06	$818	-10.94
1022–1247	1159	85-90%	19	79.00–86.00	$82.25	$953	+8.41
1060–1265	1176	85-90%	12	71.00–79.00	$74.80	$880	+0.96
1060–1311	1230	85-90%	28	80.50–87.00	$83.44	$1,026	+2.03

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1535	1535	75-80%	1	89.00	$89.00	$1,366	—
1534–1660	1557	75-80%	22	85.00–87.00	$86.38	$1,345	—
1505–1790	1600	75-80%	3	88.00–89.50	$88.94	$1,423	+3.19
1780	1780	75-80%	1	85.50	$85.50	$1,522	—
1870	1870	75-80%	1	71.00	$71.00	$1,328	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1265	1265	1	79.00	$79.00	$999	-31.20
1230–1415	1305	3	83.50–93.00	$88.59	$1,156	—
1460	1460	1	101.00	$101.00	$1,475	—
1330–2050	1565	21	79.00–97.00	$90.09	$1,410	—
1435–2170	1817	39	97.00–111.00	$105.73	$1,921	—
1655–2260	1994	8	113.00–122.00	$117.68	$2,347	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1000–1400	1117	(<2 yrs)	Open	27	90.50–117.00	$105.78	$1,182
945–1490	1199	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	36	84.00–99.00	$87.18	$1,045

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
875–1005	940	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	79.50–100.00	$89.04	$837
988–1118	1078	(<2 yrs)	Open	8	94.00–97.00	$95.78	$1,033

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1190	1190	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	94.00	$94.00	$1,119

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1181	1181	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	7	2,050.00	$2,050.00	—
1134–1409 thin fleshed	1278	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	19	1,450.00–1,525.00	$1,496.22	—
1387	1387	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	5	2,350.00	$2,350.00	—
1428–1457	1437	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	63	1,500.00–1,560.00	$1,540.49	—
1499 thin fleshed	1499	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	9	1,500.00	$1,500.00	—
1543	1543	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	7	1,810.00	$1,810.00	—
1698	1698	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	4	2,100.00	$2,100.00	—
1713	1713	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	3	2,400.00	$2,400.00	—
1738	1738	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	4	2,400.00	$2,400.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1142	1142	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	3	1,350.00	$1,350.00	—

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
946	946	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	11	2,050.00	$2,050.00	—

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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.