Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 10, 2023

852 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $211.92/cwt +4.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,859/hd at 877 lb · 53 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $213.89/cwt -3.79 vs last sale · ≈ $1,747/hd at 817 lb · 23 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $210.02/cwt +7.86 vs last sale · ≈ $1,903/hd at 906 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 852 629 928
Feeder cattle 316 334 299
Slaughter cattle 494 229 567
Replacement cattle 42 66 62

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers were too lightly tested this week and last sale to develop an market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this sale was mostly plain to average. Several sets of grass cattle were seen this week. Demand for green light fleshed cattle was mostly good. Cattle were mostly offered in small packages or as singles. Market activity was mostly active this week with a large crowd on hand actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Packers showed very good demand for slaughter cows today and opted to send all cows purchased to immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-5.00 higher on breaking and boing cows, lean cows sold mostly steady. Feeding cows sold on very good demand this sale as several order buyers were very competitive as they bid on attractive offerings. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher on a very high quality and mostly high yielding offering. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 1.00 lower. Weigh up conditions were mostly average this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly teste to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed as several buyers were looking for high quality cows suitable to rebreed. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
581–595 586 8 277.50 $277.50 $1,626 —
663–686 676 18 265.00–270.00 $268.07 $1,812 +17.07
776 776 4 237.50 $237.50 $1,843 -3.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
868 868 8 237.00 $237.00 $2,057 —
963 963 2 230.00 $230.00 $2,215 +27.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
741 741 4 252.50 $252.50 $1,871 +9.50
793 793 2 235.00 $235.00 $1,864 -6.38
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
572 572 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,401 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1018 1018 4 210.00 $210.00 $2,138 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–833 817 23 212.00–220.00 $213.89 $1,747 -3.79
868–892 877 53 210.00–213.50 $211.92 $1,859 +4.25
900–907 906 23 206.50–210.50 $210.02 $1,903 +7.86
963–985 978 23 201.50–207.50 $206.05 $2,015 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660–688 681 8 247.50 $247.50 $1,685 —
943 943 6 197.50 $197.50 $1,862 —
1025 1025 1 196.00 $196.00 $2,009 +2.00
1083 1083 4 192.00 $192.00 $2,079 -1.50
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
644 644 4 245.00 $245.00 $1,578 —
661 661 9 245.00 $245.00 $1,619 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
557 557 3 232.50 $232.50 $1,295 -42.50
750 750 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,538 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1070 1063 3 190.00–197.50 $194.98 $2,073 +34.98
1130–1145 1136 5 171.00–187.50 $178.68 $2,030 +21.18
1178–1180 1179 4 167.50–170.00 $168.75 $1,990 —
1205 1205 1 162.50 $162.50 $1,958 —
1283 1283 2 156.00 $156.00 $2,001 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 2 232.50 $232.50 $1,976 —
950–968 962 3 207.50 $207.50 $1,996 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
743 743 2 232.50 $232.50 $1,727 —
785 785 3 227.50 $227.50 $1,786 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110 1110 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,732 —
1173 1173 2 167.50 $167.50 $1,965 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1203–1523 1352 80-85% 16 114.00–122.00 $118.47 $1,602 +4.40
1269–1498 1376 80-85% 22 105.50–114.50 $111.29 $1,531 -2.78
1227–1673 1389 80-85% 58 103.00–113.00 $107.23 $1,489 -6.84
1353–1505 1392 80-85% 6 97.00–102.00 $100.38 $1,397 -13.69
1295–1588 1478 80-85% 60 115.00–125.00 $119.71 $1,769 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–955 885 85-90% 2 70.00 $70.00 $620 —
1075–1190 1145 85-90% 6 110.00–115.00 $112.55 $1,289 +21.62
980–1311 1220 85-90% 19 85.00–98.00 $93.62 $1,142 -10.61
1198–1285 1220 85-90% 5 110.00–112.00 $110.61 $1,349 +6.38
1025–1335 1229 85-90% 34 100.00–108.00 $103.26 $1,269 -0.97
1268 1268 85-90% 3 81.00 $81.00 $1,027 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1560–1602 1592 75-80% 4 118.50–120.00 $118.87 $1,892 —
1533–1915 1597 75-80% 6 115.00–116.00 $115.20 $1,840 —
1440–1858 1620 75-80% 20 111.00–117.00 $113.84 $1,844 —
1475–1781 1677 75-80% 9 105.00–111.00 $106.38 $1,784 -6.16
1600–1745 1681 75-80% 7 121.00–127.50 $122.60 $2,061 +10.06
2065 2065 75-80% 1 106.50 $106.50 $2,199 —
2120 2120 75-80% 1 123.00 $123.00 $2,608 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1508 1409 6 97.50–112.00 $106.45 $1,500 —
1275–1765 1523 4 117.00–122.00 $118.68 $1,807 —
1230–2200 1619 25 102.00–114.00 $110.58 $1,790 +0.03
1405–2265 1793 70 115.00–125.00 $120.43 $2,159 —
1645–2285 1895 32 125.00–139.00 $129.10 $2,446 —
2670 2670 1 130.00 $130.00 $3,471 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1855 1855 1 129.00 $129.00 $2,393 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
960–1060 995 (<2 yrs)Open 7 146.00–207.50 $179.32 $1,784
910–1383 1271 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 129.50–140.00 $131.12 $1,667
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1305 1305 (<2 yrs)Open 1 160.00 $160.00 $2,088

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1381 1381 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,950.00 $1,950.00
1473 1473 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 1,550.00 $1,550.00

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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.