Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 6, 2022

1,892 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $177.23/cwt +9.16 vs last sale · ≈ $1,033/hd at 583 lb · 64 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $164.30/cwt +5.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,620/hd at 986 lb · 62 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $190.41/cwt -1.40 vs last sale · ≈ $1,089/hd at 572 lb · 46 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,892 3,783 6,040
Feeder cattle 908 3,783 5,107
Slaughter cattle 725 — 478
Replacement cattle 259 — 455

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers sold fully steady in a very narrow comparison. Yearling heifers under 950 lbs sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher, yearling heifers over 950 lbs sold 3.00-5.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Steer calves sold generally steady on all offerings. Heifer calves sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher. Demand for all feeders was moderate to good this sale. A large crowd was on hand for todays sale. Demand for light weight yearlings remains the strongest as feeders are attempting to finish cattle late in the first quarter of next year or early in the second quarter against the April contract. Quality today was mixed from plain to attractive. Many small to moderate size packages were seen this sale, however demand remained good throughout the sale as buyers tried to fill loads. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for heavy offerings. Weigh up cows were not reported last sale due to limited market reporter coverage, thus no trend is available. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Packers opted to feed many sets of cows this sale as slaughter demand was lighter from eastern packers. Young age cow quality was mostly attractive this week. Several buyers were active in purchasing this class of cow. Demand was moderate to good.

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
300–345 unweaned 307 12 212.00–236.00 $214.98 $660 +22.48
365 unweaned 365 2 220.00 $220.00 $803 +27.00
411–423 unweaned 413 16 215.00–218.00 $217.62 $899 —
453–488 unweaned 475 38 197.00–201.00 $198.75 $944 —
500–537 unweaned 522 5 192.00–196.00 $193.53 $1,010 —
553–598 unweaned 572 46 187.00–193.00 $190.41 $1,089 —
655–675 unweaned 668 33 175.00–184.00 $180.88 $1,208 —
763 unweaned 763 6 164.00 $164.00 $1,251 —
810–841 825 25 174.00–178.00 $176.04 $1,452 +0.97
954–965 954 32 164.00–166.50 $166.42 $1,588 +0.35
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 unweaned 410 1 192.50 $192.50 $789 —
455–499 unweaned 481 13 182.00–195.00 $191.02 $919 —
500 unweaned 500 1 181.00 $181.00 $905 —
640 unweaned 640 4 163.00 $163.00 $1,043 —
843 843 4 165.00 $165.00 $1,391 +2.17
924 924 10 160.50 $160.50 $1,483 +0.50
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
202 unweaned 202 21 137.50 $137.50 $278 —
408 unweaned 408 7 195.00 $195.00 $796 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
248 unweaned 248 14 185.00 $185.00 $459 —
415–439 unweaned 429 7 157.50–182.00 $171.84 $737 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 3 178.00 $178.00 $934 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 unweaned 435 3 188.00 $188.00 $818 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 unweaned 345 1 205.00 $205.00 $707 +35.00
355–384 unweaned 369 11 192.00–213.00 $205.33 $758 —
400–443 unweaned 436 40 186.00–214.00 $191.62 $835 —
454–460 unweaned 456 13 180.50–185.00 $181.90 $829 —
505–512 unweaned 508 26 182.00–184.00 $183.07 $930 —
557–593 unweaned 583 64 169.00–182.50 $177.23 $1,033 —
617–647 unweaned 640 12 167.00–171.00 $167.96 $1,075 —
683 683 2 174.00 $174.00 $1,188 +2.95
766–785 774 31 173.00–176.00 $175.34 $1,357 -0.03
866–869 868 40 163.50–167.00 $166.04 $1,441 +1.37
906–941 927 44 161.00–165.00 $164.14 $1,522 +1.93
973–993 986 62 163.50–165.00 $164.30 $1,620 +5.63
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 unweaned 500 2 155.00 $155.00 $775 —
1005–1049 1023 29 154.00–162.50 $161.57 $1,653 —
1058–1099 1089 12 153.00–155.00 $154.51 $1,683 —
1100–1134 1125 15 149.00–150.00 $149.74 $1,685 +4.24
1146 1146 9 142.00 $142.00 $1,627 -3.50
1150 1150 1 149.00 $149.00 $1,714 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 unweaned 240 35 185.00 $185.00 $444 —
278 unweaned 278 6 196.00 $196.00 $545 —
483 unweaned 483 2 167.00 $167.00 $807 —
972 972 3 152.00 $152.00 $1,477 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
638 638 2 173.00 $173.00 $1,104 —
697 697 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,150 —
835 835 5 152.00 $152.00 $1,269 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 unweaned 495 2 180.00 $180.00 $891 —
518 unweaned 518 10 158.00 $158.00 $818 —
633 unweaned 633 3 154.00 $154.00 $975 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,288 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 unweaned 397 3 187.50 $187.50 $744 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1243–1540 1393 80-85% 68 70.50–78.50 $72.93 $1,016 —
1263–1540 1394 80-85% 34 83.50–87.00 $84.61 $1,179 —
1263–1715 1396 80-85% 74 63.00–70.00 $68.14 $951 —
1305–1513 1403 80-85% 18 65.00–71.50 $68.17 $956 —
1220–1645 1457 80-85% 140 73.00–83.00 $78.21 $1,140 —
1380–1705 1524 80-85% 4 81.00–85.50 $83.44 $1,272 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $574 —
1150 1150 85-90% 1 85.00 $85.00 $978 —
1015–1298 1161 85-90% 5 52.50–57.00 $55.32 $642 —
1060–1310 1196 85-90% 23 62.00–70.00 $66.51 $795 —
1045–1370 1243 85-90% 76 57.00–68.50 $64.34 $800 —
1120–1330 1253 85-90% 38 69.00–75.50 $71.84 $900 —
1235–1273 1259 85-90% 18 73.00–74.00 $73.50 $925 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1509–1603 1519 75-80% 19 80.00–82.50 $80.28 $1,219 —
1430–1710 1558 75-80% 18 83.00–84.50 $83.49 $1,301 —
1660 1660 75-80% 1 67.00 $67.00 $1,112 —
1658–1730 1676 75-80% 9 72.00–80.50 $77.83 $1,304 —
1488–1898 1683 75-80% 5 85.50–88.50 $86.85 $1,462 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–2135 1649 11 75.50–86.00 $80.74 $1,331 —
1475–2270 1777 34 85.50–96.00 $90.69 $1,612 —
1665–1980 1896 5 97.00–101.00 $98.22 $1,862 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
743 thin fleshed 743 (<2 yrs)Open 2 85.00 $85.00 $632
730–1390 967 (<2 yrs)Open 132 87.00–119.00 $108.03 $1,045
1025 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 75.00 $75.00 $769
1070 thin fleshed 1070 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 72.00 $72.00 $770
950–1424 1128 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 62 80.00–99.00 $88.87 $1,002
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
980–1163 1117 (<2 yrs)Open 8 90.00–91.00 $90.22 $1,008
1140 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 77.00 $77.00 $878
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
890–980 948 (<2 yrs)Open 3 85.00–99.00 $91.99 $872

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1047 thin fleshed 1047 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1110–1265 1162 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,260.00–1,310.00 $1,282.93
1385 1385 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,050.00 $1,050.00
1396 1396 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,200.00 $1,200.00

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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.