Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 22, 2022

908 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 $170.85/cwt +2.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,403/hd at 821 lb · 37 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $166.30/cwt +0.91 vs last sale · ≈ $1,452/hd at 873 lb · 35 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $179.71/cwt +0.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,314/hd at 731 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 908 815 5,488
Feeder cattle 465 506 4,513
Slaughter cattle 383 270 773
Replacement cattle 60 39 202

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Heifers were too lightly tested to develop a full market comparison; however slightly higher undertones were noticed on heifers under 800 lbs. Market activity was mostly moderate this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 lower on lean and boning cows. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 5.00-7.00 lower.

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
326 326 5 242.50 $242.50 $791 —
385 385 1 232.50 $232.50 $895 —
445 445 6 210.00 $210.00 $934 —
484 484 5 205.00 $205.00 $992 —
538 538 14 198.50 $198.50 $1,068 —
555 555 2 196.00 $196.00 $1,088 —
613–615 614 8 192.00–192.50 $192.25 $1,180 —
665–690 678 2 181.00–182.00 $181.51 $1,231 —
741 741 5 192.00 $192.00 $1,423 —
833 833 6 182.00 $182.00 $1,516 —
860 860 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,522 —
900–928 916 13 169.00–173.00 $172.54 $1,580 —
975 975 1 162.00 $162.00 $1,580 —
1053 1053 6 158.00 $158.00 $1,664 —
1178 1178 2 147.50 $147.50 $1,738 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 358 2 190.00 $190.00 $680 —
421–445 425 6 182.00–190.00 $188.60 $802 —
500 500 14 174.00 $174.00 $870 —
565 565 1 171.00 $171.00 $966 +3.00
615 615 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,082 —
654–659 656 11 168.00–178.00 $174.35 $1,144 —
727 fancy 727 8 182.00 $182.00 $1,323 —
702–739 733 21 170.00–179.75 $178.84 $1,311 -0.66
800–828 821 37 166.50–172.75 $170.85 $1,403 +2.68
860–891 873 35 162.00–168.00 $166.30 $1,452 +10.54
910–945 928 5 154.00–161.00 $159.18 $1,477 -4.71
955–985 972 16 152.00–163.00 $161.39 $1,569 +8.89
1000–1045 1022 28 153.00–160.50 $157.05 $1,605 —
1070–1085 1076 8 146.00–151.00 $149.12 $1,605 —
1100–1145 1107 18 145.00–149.00 $147.74 $1,635 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 175.00 $175.00 $665 —
495 495 2 162.00–165.00 $163.50 $809 —
515 515 2 164.00 $164.00 $845 —
550–590 563 3 152.00–161.00 $157.86 $889 —
584 584 4 156.00 $156.00 $911 —
613 613 3 162.00 $162.00 $993 —
670 670 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,012 —
712–740 719 4 157.00–158.00 $157.26 $1,131 -4.74
788 788 3 158.00 $158.00 $1,245 +3.00
812–845 825 11 151.00–160.00 $154.80 $1,277 —
860–885 873 2 142.50–150.50 $146.56 $1,279 -4.44
940 940 3 147.00 $147.00 $1,382 —
958 958 3 150.00 $150.00 $1,437 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 4 185.00 $185.00 $758 —
480 480 12 170.00 $170.00 $816 —
587 587 3 162.00 $162.00 $951 ±0.00
645 fancy 645 14 177.00 $177.00 $1,142 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
583 583 4 147.50 $147.50 $860 —
980 980 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,313 —
1075 1075 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,419 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1552 1309 80-85% 77 72.00–77.00 $75.74 $991 —
1123–1540 1378 80-85% 9 89.25–93.00 $90.48 $1,247 +11.87
1050–1665 1399 80-85% 74 74.00–85.00 $78.66 $1,100 —
1085–1688 1486 80-85% 44 80.00–89.00 $86.19 $1,281 -1.95
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470 1470 75-80% 1 85.50 $85.50 $1,257 -7.50
1527–1650 1588 75-80% 56 82.00–92.50 $86.38 $1,372 —
1820 1820 75-80% 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,492 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1298 1189 85-90% 18 71.00–79.50 $75.19 $894 +2.71

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1173–1295 1237 7 97.50–102.00 $100.79 $1,247 —
1653–1670 1659 3 77.00–78.00 $77.34 $1,283 —
1330–2115 1748 39 84.00–95.00 $88.13 $1,541 —
1810–2075 1971 4 96.00–103.00 $99.60 $1,963 —
YG2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1785 1530 4 74.00–76.00 $74.85 $1,145 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
900–1095 969 (<2 yrs)Open 20 103.00–113.00 $108.62 $1,053
905–1630 1219 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 11 85.00–98.00 $90.86 $1,108

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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.