Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 21, 2023

585 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $217.05/cwt +5.05 vs last sale · ≈ $2,134/hd at 983 lb · 20 head
light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $240.74/cwt ≈ $1,733/hd at 720 lb · 19 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $216.34/cwt ≈ $2,031/hd at 939 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 585 850 908
Feeder cattle 242 517 465
Slaughter cattle 273 245 383
Replacement cattle 70 88 60

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: The majority of feeder offerings sold unevenly steady, however higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Demand for all feeder offerings was mostly good. Quality this week was average to attractive, with market activity being mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower and feeding cows sold 3.00 to 6.00 lower. Slaughter bulls and feeding bulls sold both 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Quality today was mostly average to attractive. Several packages of young cows sold this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly on good demand today as rebreed buyers and feeding buyers both competed over offerings.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 2 319.00 $319.00 $1,356 —
501 501 7 287.50 $287.50 $1,440 —
605–630 618 2 260.00–265.00 $262.55 $1,623 —
715 715 5 258.00 $258.00 $1,845 —
780 780 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,930 -2.48
815 815 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,976 —
870–890 880 2 232.50–239.00 $235.79 $2,075 —
935 935 1 233.00 $233.00 $2,179 -2.00
975 975 1 234.00 $234.00 $2,282 —
1040 1040 1 220.00 $220.00 $2,288 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
701 701 8 275.00 $275.00 $1,928 +8.26
773 773 2 263.00 $263.00 $2,033 +7.00
836 836 5 253.00 $253.00 $2,115 +1.50
853–855 854 2 246.00–247.00 $246.50 $2,105 -2.73
973–975 974 4 240.00–242.00 $241.00 $2,347 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 3 260.00 $260.00 $1,365 —
925 925 1 203.00 $203.00 $1,878 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 4 275.00 $275.00 $1,306 —
543 543 12 265.00 $265.00 $1,439 —
600 600 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,470 —
712–746 720 19 230.00–242.50 $240.74 $1,733 —
785–795 788 3 227.50–232.50 $230.82 $1,819 -12.18
830–835 833 2 225.00–228.00 $226.50 $1,887 -2.32
870–887 882 7 220.00–224.00 $222.72 $1,964 +12.72
925–941 939 15 212.00–217.00 $216.34 $2,031 —
952–990 968 10 205.00–212.50 $211.45 $2,047 +4.45
1025 1025 1 194.00 $194.00 $1,988 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–778 767 4 240.00–250.00 $244.31 $1,874 -3.82
855 855 3 229.00 $229.00 $1,958 -1.00
960–987 983 20 215.00–217.50 $217.05 $2,134 +4.05
1035 1035 2 209.50 $209.50 $2,168 -2.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
655 655 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,490 —
707 707 5 212.50 $212.50 $1,502 -12.50
763 763 2 210.00 $210.00 $1,602 —
815–845 821 5 200.00–210.00 $207.94 $1,707 —
885 885 1 202.00 $202.00 $1,788 —
930 930 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,860 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
762–765 763 9 237.50–242.50 $238.61 $1,821 —
811 811 11 237.50 $237.50 $1,926 —
982 982 3 210.00 $210.00 $2,062 —
1000 1000 1 197.00 $197.00 $1,970 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,368 —
619 619 4 235.00 $235.00 $1,455 —
745 745 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,676 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1410 1284 80-85% 41 102.00–110.00 $104.91 $1,347 —
1084–1485 1293 80-85% 35 92.50–98.50 $95.67 $1,237 —
1304 1304 80-85% 23 96.50 $96.50 $1,258 —
1170–1520 1311 80-85% 39 100.00–110.00 $105.35 $1,381 —
1430–1530 1460 80-85% 18 112.00–114.00 $112.79 $1,647 +0.94
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1260 1122 85-90% 33 87.50–94.00 $90.76 $1,018 —
1235 1235 85-90% 4 81.00 $81.00 $1,000 -20.99
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540 1540 75-80% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,848 —
1605 1605 75-80% 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,798 -2.19
1545–1905 1706 75-80% 8 107.00–112.00 $108.81 $1,856 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1275 1263 2 102.50–110.00 $106.29 $1,342 —
1450–1865 1561 5 103.00–106.00 $105.23 $1,643 —
1230–1835 1722 34 109.00–120.00 $112.72 $1,941 —
1355–2268 1952 15 111.00–122.00 $118.43 $2,312 —
1870–2190 2069 4 123.00–125.50 $123.84 $2,562 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
928–1180 1038 (<2 yrs)Open 8 132.50–191.00 $162.19 $1,684
985–1485 1142 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 39 102.00–130.00 $113.27 $1,294

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1123–1288 1187 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 9 1,375.00–1,500.00 $1,442.69

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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.