Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 29, 2022

3,783 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $198.76/cwt -6.24 vs last sale · ≈ $918/hd at 462 lb · 244 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $176.15/cwt -0.85 vs last sale · ≈ $1,547/hd at 878 lb · 236 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $175.19/cwt ≈ $1,348/hd at 770 lb · 146 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,783 908 432
Feeder cattle 3,783 465 432
Slaughter cattle — 383 —
Replacement cattle — 60 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers sold weak. Feeder heifers sold weak. No comparison on slaughter cows due to limited reporter availability. Buyer demand was moderate on a moderate to heavy supply for the annual first calf and yearling special.

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
290 290 7 240.00 $240.00 $696 —
303 unweaned 303 16 192.50 $192.50 $583 —
338 338 10 247.50 $247.50 $837 +5.00
366 unweaned 366 38 193.00 $193.00 $706 —
425–447 435 66 200.50–213.50 $207.13 $901 -2.87
450–498 462 244 172.50–214.50 $198.76 $918 -6.24
511–548 535 95 186.00–198.50 $191.19 $1,023 -7.31
553–592 564 110 184.00–194.00 $191.81 $1,082 -4.19
629–648 638 11 179.50–184.50 $181.81 $1,160 -10.44
658–696 671 22 184.50–190.50 $186.64 $1,252 +5.13
708–709 708 14 179.00–180.00 $179.64 $1,272 -12.36
779–797 783 95 179.25–181.00 $180.62 $1,414 —
800–846 817 29 169.00–179.00 $175.07 $1,430 -6.93
860–884 878 236 165.00–177.00 $176.15 $1,547 -0.85
913–949 931 12 165.00–166.00 $165.49 $1,541 -7.05
966–991 981 49 160.00–170.00 $166.07 $1,629 +4.07
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423–444 434 14 186.00–195.00 $190.61 $827 —
545–549 547 15 166.00–175.50 $169.78 $929 —
586 586 9 169.00 $169.00 $990 —
651–664 662 30 164.50–171.00 $170.15 $1,126 —
704 704 6 164.00 $164.00 $1,155 —
767 767 10 165.00 $165.00 $1,266 —
830–842 838 19 161.00–166.00 $162.83 $1,365 —
868–894 882 9 159.00–167.00 $162.50 $1,433 —
901 901 6 160.00 $160.00 $1,442 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1048 1019 70 162.50–177.50 $171.33 $1,746 —
1046 1046 8 149.50 $149.50 $1,564 —
1056–1085 1073 27 157.25–166.00 $160.76 $1,725 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 unweaned 278 6 180.00 $180.00 $500 —
311 311 7 185.00 $185.00 $575 —
339 unweaned 339 42 170.00 $170.00 $576 —
359–385 377 26 199.00–205.00 $200.76 $757 +10.76
410–448 440 120 185.00–195.00 $189.03 $832 +0.43
469–491 488 83 176.50–180.00 $177.65 $867 —
500–548 517 30 164.00–177.00 $169.86 $878 -4.14
539 value added 539 5 184.00 $184.00 $992 —
556–591 566 45 162.50–174.50 $168.07 $951 -2.93
608 608 7 172.50 $172.50 $1,049 -3.50
609–619 615 17 165.00–167.00 $165.82 $1,020 -10.18
662 662 10 178.00 $178.00 $1,178 +3.65
667 667 12 180.00 $180.00 $1,201 +5.65
678–696 681 37 165.00–172.50 $171.05 $1,165 -3.30
710–724 718 29 170.00–177.50 $174.17 $1,251 -4.67
720–739 730 21 172.50–173.00 $172.77 $1,261 -6.07
732 732 55 179.00 $179.00 $1,310 +0.16
751–784 769 141 172.00–178.75 $175.37 $1,349 —
788 788 5 170.00 $170.00 $1,340 —
801 801 17 167.00 $167.00 $1,338 -3.85
809–818 810 43 172.00–173.00 $172.88 $1,400 +2.03
860–894 880 68 162.00–168.00 $164.67 $1,449 -1.63
922 922 17 162.00 $162.00 $1,494 +2.82
919–941 930 39 153.00–166.00 $162.21 $1,509 +3.03
954–994 979 51 157.75–159.00 $158.67 $1,553 -2.72
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
396 396 5 178.50 $178.50 $707 +3.50
420–427 422 61 165.00–167.00 $166.50 $703 —
487–496 490 55 150.00–165.00 $160.30 $785 -3.20
533–549 543 21 157.00–162.00 $159.67 $867 -4.33
704 704 6 158.00 $158.00 $1,112 +0.74
740 740 5 157.00 $157.00 $1,162 -0.26
836 836 5 137.00 $137.00 $1,145 -17.80
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1112 1112 11 145.50 $145.50 $1,618 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
634 634 9 180.25 $180.25 $1,143 —
876 876 6 138.00 $138.00 $1,209 —

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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.