Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, July 21, 2022

994 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $169.50/cwt ≈ $1,207/hd at 712 lb · 85 head
light 6-weight M 1-2 heifers $143.00/cwt ≈ $869/hd at 608 lb · 38 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $167.00/cwt ≈ $1,491/hd at 893 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 994 1,120 4,355
Feeder cattle 590 236 2,454
Slaughter cattle 359 526 992
Replacement cattle 45 358 909

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed. Quality was mostly plain to average this week. Most offerings were sold in small packages. Todays sale featured feeder cattle and a good crowd was on hand bidding on offerings. Several farmer feeders were in the stands as well as several bidders on the internet, both parties showed good to very good demand for offerings. Market activity was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed slightly lighter demand for slaughter cows this week. The cutter cow cutout has lost value over the last week or two as the drought in the southern Plaines continues to worsen. This has put pressure on the lean meat as unseasonably high supplies are being harvested. The cutter cow cutout closed at 214.30 as of today, 4.55 lower than yesterday. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower on all classes. Boning cows sold with the best demand as feeding cow buyers were the most competitive for this class of cows. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly moderate demand. Quality this week was plain to average. Offerings were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
608–620 610 6 171.00 $171.00 $1,043 —
683 683 2 171.00 $171.00 $1,168 -13.00
706–729 714 11 174.00–179.00 $177.14 $1,265 +17.14
760–792 788 22 170.00–173.00 $172.61 $1,360 +7.65
824–841 832 11 165.00–177.00 $174.63 $1,453 —
885 885 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,443 —
939 939 3 149.00 $149.00 $1,399 —
993 993 2 144.00 $144.00 $1,430 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 7 192.00 $192.00 $1,066 —
611 611 7 186.00 $186.00 $1,136 +1.00
666 666 10 183.00 $183.00 $1,219 —
773 773 4 179.00 $179.00 $1,384 —
833–835 833 9 180.00–186.00 $184.66 $1,538 +16.15
890–892 891 5 182.00–185.00 $183.20 $1,632 +14.09
902–915 905 14 161.00–163.00 $161.43 $1,461 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
698 698 7 169.00 $169.00 $1,180 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820 820 5 157.00 $157.00 $1,287 —
890 890 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,353 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 unweaned 383 2 180.00 $180.00 $689 —
650 650 17 168.50 $168.50 $1,095 —
712 712 85 169.50 $169.50 $1,207 —
760–789 780 21 163.00–169.00 $165.25 $1,289 +4.92
805–821 811 10 156.00–160.00 $158.38 $1,284 —
893 fancy 893 29 167.00 $167.00 $1,491 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
558 558 6 147.50 $147.50 $823 —
608 608 38 143.00 $143.00 $869 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
643 643 7 151.00 $151.00 $971 —
661–662 661 8 153.00–165.00 $160.50 $1,061 —
763 763 5 157.00 $157.00 $1,198 +7.00
814 814 14 154.00 $154.00 $1,254 —
853–883 874 7 150.00–153.00 $152.16 $1,330 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
591–599 596 14 153.00–154.00 $153.43 $914 —
628 628 6 148.00 $148.00 $929 -15.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 16 156.00 $156.00 $753 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1092 fancy 1092 10 144.00 $144.00 $1,572 —
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
534 534 7 142.00 $142.00 $758 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1047 1046 10 148.00–152.50 $148.45 $1,553 —
1133 1133 2 120.00 $120.00 $1,360 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
937 937 3 145.00 $145.00 $1,359 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408 unweaned 408 2 185.00 $185.00 $755 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1535 1353 80-85% 9 70.00–77.50 $75.47 $1,021 -6.09
1193–1570 1381 80-85% 56 78.00–85.50 $80.62 $1,113 +0.69
1275–1550 1412 80-85% 121 80.00–84.50 $82.11 $1,159 -1.67
1425–1460 1443 80-85% 2 85.50–86.00 $85.75 $1,237 +1.97
1375–1615 1456 80-85% 4 75.00–79.50 $76.99 $1,121 —
1490–1700 1539 80-85% 12 86.50–89.50 $89.06 $1,371 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $614 —
1035–1250 1122 85-90% 10 64.00–73.00 $68.78 $772 —
1195–1235 1215 85-90% 2 84.50–85.00 $84.75 $1,030 +1.31
1070–1281 1246 85-90% 19 76.75–82.00 $77.32 $963 -6.12
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1605 1605 75-80% 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,364 -3.94
1505–1865 1684 75-80% 12 73.00–81.50 $77.09 $1,298 —
1670–1865 1714 75-80% 6 83.00–86.50 $84.19 $1,443 —
1450–1900 1718 75-80% 3 86.50–87.50 $86.96 $1,494 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1258–1590 1316 15 95.00–113.00 $108.05 $1,422 +19.46
1415 1415 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,302 —
1410–2020 1611 7 85.00–93.00 $89.89 $1,448 —
1395–2155 1768 18 97.00–106.00 $101.34 $1,792 —
1803–2330 2063 16 106.50–112.00 $107.88 $2,226 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
910–1235 1030 (<2 yrs)Open 22 101.00–121.00 $109.12 $1,124
1055–1155 1099 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 8 89.50–100.00 $92.34 $1,015

↑ Back to top

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.