Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 4, 2022

928 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $163.59/cwt ≈ $1,523/hd at 931 lb · 67 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $166.72/cwt -0.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,474/hd at 884 lb · 34 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.80/cwt ≈ $1,561/hd at 965 lb · 26 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 928 994 3,970
Feeder cattle 299 590 1,846
Slaughter cattle 567 359 1,239
Replacement cattle 62 45 885

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale(7-21-22): Feeder steers and heifers were all too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand today was mostly good. Quality was mostly average to attractive this week. Most offerings were sold in small to medium size packages. A good crowd was on hand bidding on offerings as well as several bidders on the internet. Market activity was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed stronger demand today for all offerings. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00-4.00 higher. 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 to lower undertones were noticed.

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
900 900 6 166.00 $166.00 $1,494 +4.57
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
668 668 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,102 -4.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 unweaned 440 4 193.00 $193.00 $849 —
514 514 5 171.00 $171.00 $879 —
602 602 11 176.00 $176.00 $1,060 —
653–660 658 23 174.00–175.50 $175.18 $1,153 +6.68
779 779 4 171.00 $171.00 $1,332 +5.75
807 807 12 172.50 $172.50 $1,392 +14.12
865–898 884 34 165.00–169.00 $166.72 $1,474 —
905–946 931 67 161.00–166.50 $163.59 $1,523 —
959–980 965 26 156.50–164.50 $161.80 $1,561 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865 865 2 151.00 $151.00 $1,306 —
1096 1096 8 141.50 $141.50 $1,551 —
1135 1135 7 141.00 $141.00 $1,600 —
1169 1169 4 130.50 $130.50 $1,526 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
783 783 2 159.00 $159.00 $1,245 —
834 834 10 155.00 $155.00 $1,293 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
686 686 4 168.00 $168.00 $1,152 +7.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 unweaned 443 2 189.00 $189.00 $837 +4.00
866 866 5 166.00 $166.00 $1,438 —
932 932 3 164.00 $164.00 $1,528 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
868 868 5 147.00 $147.00 $1,276 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1123 1123 3 120.00 $120.00 $1,348 ±0.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1339 1339 80-85% 7 80.00 $80.00 $1,071 —
1330–1390 1372 80-85% 7 73.00–82.00 $77.56 $1,064 -3.06
1225–1454 1391 80-85% 40 89.00–97.00 $94.25 $1,311 +13.63
1115–1552 1423 80-85% 101 81.00–87.50 $84.69 $1,205 +2.58
1304–1551 1494 80-85% 57 83.00–87.50 $84.93 $1,269 —
1360–1587 1540 80-85% 49 89.00–94.00 $92.90 $1,431 +3.84
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
680 680 85-90% 3 46.00 $46.00 $313 —
868–898 875 85-90% 9 76.00 $76.00 $665 —
990 990 85-90% 1 79.00 $79.00 $782 —
1035–1305 1145 85-90% 16 73.00–80.00 $77.25 $885 +8.47
1140–1293 1229 85-90% 14 81.50–86.00 $83.40 $1,025 -1.35
1200–1315 1252 85-90% 3 86.00–88.00 $86.80 $1,087 —
1268 1268 85-90% 2 67.00 $67.00 $850 —
1230–1312 1292 85-90% 19 83.00–84.50 $84.35 $1,090 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1508–1703 1541 75-80% 12 82.00–83.50 $83.22 $1,282 —
1460–1760 1567 75-80% 19 84.00–87.50 $85.83 $1,345 —
1593–1675 1620 75-80% 3 90.50–91.00 $90.67 $1,469 +5.67
1700 1700 75-80% 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,530 +5.81

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1418 1407 3 95.00–96.00 $95.33 $1,341 +3.33
1280–2360 1693 25 83.00–98.00 $93.02 $1,575 —
1730–2155 1964 11 109.00–118.00 $112.48 $2,209 —
1545–2310 1965 67 99.00–108.00 $103.87 $2,041 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1555 1555 1 92.50 $92.50 $1,438 —
1679 1679 9 99.00 $99.00 $1,662 —
1820 1820 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,893 —
1765–2085 1922 3 95.00–99.00 $96.91 $1,863 —
2565 2565 1 97.00 $97.00 $2,488 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
970–1405 1184 (<2 yrs)Open 10 91.00–121.00 $101.07 $1,197
1040–1321 1239 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 14 81.00–92.00 $89.32 $1,107
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1010–1233 1211 (<2 yrs)Open 10 101.50–105.50 $101.83 $1,233

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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.