Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 25, 2023

1,751 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 $263.01/cwt +36.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,531/hd at 582 lb · 139 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $226.02/cwt +1.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,537/hd at 680 lb · 104 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $245.59/cwt +8.09 vs last sale · ≈ $1,532/hd at 624 lb · 62 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,751 1,327 2,938
Feeder cattle 1,319 482 1,955
Slaughter cattle 229 523 292
Replacement cattle 203 322 691

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last reported sale (5-11-23): Steers and heifers were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on steers and higher undertones were noticed on heifers. Quality this sale was mixed from plain to attractive with lots of variation seen. A few load lots were seen today and demand was very good for full loads. Packages sold on moderate to good demand. Higher fed cattle prices seen yesterday helped spur demand for feeders today. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to run on grass. Market activity was active to very active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers were very aggressive as they purchased cows for immediate harvest as well as to feed. Slaughter cows sold 6.00-8.00 higher on all offerings compared to the last reported sale 2 weeks ago. Feeding cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher than the last reported sale. Demand for all cows was very good and strengthened throughout the sale and into the afternoon as buyers fought to fill loads. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Weigh up conditions were mixed. Some offerings have been out on grass and were emptied out while others were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-10.00 lower as fewer taker were seen for this class of cows this sale. Quality this week was mostly average.

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
480 480 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,440 —
575 575 4 272.50 $272.50 $1,567 —
579 thin fleshed 579 33 300.00 $300.00 $1,737 —
587 unweaned 587 9 257.00 $257.00 $1,509 -14.00
634 634 5 268.00 $268.00 $1,699 +8.00
656 thin fleshed 656 7 277.00 $277.00 $1,817 —
713 713 9 225.00 $225.00 $1,604 -9.71
710–733 721 11 231.00–235.00 $232.65 $1,677 -2.06
755–791 785 6 218.00–231.00 $220.08 $1,728 —
813 813 12 212.00 $212.00 $1,724 —
841 841 23 200.00 $200.00 $1,682 —
865 865 4 204.00 $204.00 $1,765 +14.00
1030 1030 106 186.50 $186.50 $1,921 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464–467 466 15 250.00–260.00 $253.32 $1,180 -20.33
587 587 7 262.50 $262.50 $1,541 +17.41
615–623 622 12 246.00–257.50 $246.95 $1,536 —
729 729 7 223.00 $223.00 $1,626 -2.00
828 828 11 193.00 $193.00 $1,598 —
883 883 17 189.50 $189.50 $1,673 —
1029 1029 8 175.00 $175.00 $1,801 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1204 1204 18 175.00 $175.00 $2,107 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
613 613 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,471 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–509 505 26 268.00–270.00 $269.16 $1,359 +31.66
564–587 582 139 261.00–263.50 $263.01 $1,531 —
605–639 624 62 239.00–257.00 $245.59 $1,532 +5.93
655–688 680 104 220.00–232.00 $226.02 $1,537 +1.06
702–703 702 15 214.00–222.00 $217.20 $1,525 +19.99
758–763 762 18 193.00–211.00 $204.40 $1,558 —
821 821 5 190.00 $190.00 $1,560 —
863 863 6 184.00 $184.00 $1,588 +1.95
973 973 6 170.00 $170.00 $1,654 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,230 +50.00
520–542 535 47 230.00–251.00 $248.25 $1,328 +21.07
582 582 10 230.00 $230.00 $1,339 +11.38
604–641 630 21 214.00–224.00 $218.83 $1,379 +0.07
678–694 685 12 212.50–217.00 $214.20 $1,467 —
713–728 722 16 190.00–192.00 $190.25 $1,374 +8.25
760 760 1 192.00 $192.00 $1,459 +16.15
832 832 3 184.50 $184.50 $1,535 +6.50
852 852 3 175.00 $175.00 $1,491 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
494 494 11 217.50 $217.50 $1,074 —
565 565 14 212.50 $212.50 $1,201 —
626–645 628 35 193.00–210.00 $208.01 $1,306 —
685 685 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,233 —
775–793 787 6 176.00–179.00 $178.02 $1,401 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 461 11 261.00 $261.00 $1,203 —
572–589 584 22 238.00–243.00 $241.67 $1,411 —
603 603 13 218.00 $218.00 $1,315 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
655–665 657 5 190.00 $190.00 $1,248 —
897 897 6 176.00 $176.00 $1,579 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
551 551 11 185.00 $185.00 $1,019 +35.00
Medium 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464 464 4 185.00 $185.00 $858 —
636 636 5 155.00 $155.00 $986 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 5 215.00 $215.00 $834 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
108 108 1 175.00 $175.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
532 532 3 255.00 $255.00 $1,357 +30.00
585 585 8 250.00 $250.00 $1,462 —
770 770 2 188.00 $188.00 $1,448 —
970–995 987 3 148.00–155.00 $150.29 $1,483 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,496 —
1030 1030 2 156.00 $156.00 $1,607 —
1125–1140 1133 2 140.50–143.00 $141.74 $1,606 —
1178 1178 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,649 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100 100 3 225.00 $225.00 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 523 3 275.00 $275.00 $1,438 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
90 90 1 150.00 $150.00 —
100 100 1 175.00 $175.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1485 1339 80-85% 19 95.00–103.00 $100.08 $1,340 —
1310–1525 1353 80-85% 8 79.00–93.00 $90.44 $1,224 -2.62
1344–1595 1380 80-85% 33 94.00–104.00 $102.03 $1,408 +8.97
1390 1390 80-85% 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,460 +11.94
1305–1585 1447 80-85% 27 104.00–110.50 $106.65 $1,543 +14.78
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–910 878 85-90% 2 88.00–96.00 $92.15 $809 —
1065–1225 1135 85-90% 9 93.00–96.00 $94.67 $1,075 +12.63
1085–1205 1146 85-90% 4 101.00–105.00 $103.31 $1,184 +21.27
1080–1215 1157 85-90% 3 86.00–92.00 $89.27 $1,033 -0.06
1035–1295 1174 85-90% 9 85.00–93.00 $89.79 $1,054 +0.46
1120–1235 1181 85-90% 7 94.00–96.00 $94.85 $1,120 +5.52
1195–1291 1262 85-90% 10 100.00–108.00 $101.02 $1,275 +0.98
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510 1510 75-80% 2 107.00 $107.00 $1,616 —
1448–1550 1516 75-80% 6 103.00 $103.00 $1,561 —
1446–1640 1520 75-80% 9 97.00–100.00 $99.07 $1,506 —
1438–1745 1563 75-80% 6 103.00–105.50 $104.73 $1,637 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1216 1216 5 134.50 $134.50 $1,636 —
1185–1445 1327 5 102.00–111.00 $104.37 $1,385 -7.63
1325–1330 1328 2 123.00–124.00 $123.50 $1,640 +11.50
1370 1370 1 105.00 $105.00 $1,438 —
1420–1795 1591 7 103.00–114.00 $109.82 $1,747 +7.98
1645–2070 1812 11 116.00–124.00 $119.32 $2,162 —
2300–2353 2342 5 127.00–129.00 $127.39 $2,983 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
840–1167 970 (<2 yrs)Open 46 131.00–174.00 $151.44 $1,469
807–1440 1046 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 72 94.00–151.00 $121.71 $1,273
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775–990 841 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 100.00–120.00 $111.89 $941
760–875 846 (<2 yrs)Open 12 115.00–150.00 $128.38 $1,086
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
920 920 (<2 yrs)Open 2 155.00 $155.00 $1,426

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00
1025 1025 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1390 1390 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1468 1468 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,550.00 $1,550.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1320 1320 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
1567–1595 1571 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 7 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1550–1590 1570 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 2 1,725.00–1,775.00 $1,749.68 —

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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.