Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, November 16, 2023

5,026 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $293.16/cwt -0.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,529/hd at 522 lb · 396 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $273.92/cwt -8.79 vs last sale · ≈ $1,318/hd at 481 lb · 343 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $328.80/cwt -18.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,447/hd at 440 lb · 313 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,026 6,394 5,919
Feeder cattle 4,779 6,009 5,604
Slaughter cattle 180 255 280
Replacement cattle 67 130 35

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were both too lightly tested this week to develop any market trend. Steer calves under 450 lbs sold mostly 10.00-20.00 lower; Steers 450-549 lbs sold steady to 5.00 lower; steer calves over 550 lbs sold mostly 4.00-8.00 lower. Heifer calves under 400 lbs sold 10.00-15.00 higher; heifer calves 400-599 lbs sold mostly unevenly steady from 2.00 higher to 5.00 lower; heifer calves over 600 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Demand was mostly moderate to good this sale. Quality today was mixed from plain to very attractive. Several large consignments of calves were seen this sale and these offerings were met with good demand as buyers were able to buy load lot quantities of very attractive calves. Large price spreads were seen between plain/average quality calves and high quality calves this sale as fewer takers were seen for plain to average quality offerings. CME positions sold off sharply today with triple digit losses seen on all contracts. The nearby November is nearing expiration and sold near steady, however all differed contracts sold from 3.40 to 3.80 lower. The November contract closed at 229.375, while the January contract closed at 227.50. Package sizes were large again this week with several load lots of calves seen. Demand was good for both load lots and packages. Calves with fall preconditioning shots sold with the best demand and sold with strong premiums to calves with only spring shots. A few weaned calves were seen this week. Demand for weaned calves was moderate, however little to no premium was seen for weaned calves this week. Most weaned calves were pushing moderate amounts of fill and many were dirty or muddy. Market activity was mostly active today with a very large crowd on hand of both farmer feeders and order buyers noticed. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for mostly light offerings. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested this week to develop a full market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. High quality feeding cows were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Thin feeding or turn out cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 lower. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light demand today. Quality was mostly plain to average and most offerings sold to feed. This class was too lightly tested to develop any market trend.

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 unweaned 290 40 381.00 $381.00 $1,105 -24.00
303–349 unweaned 342 136 370.00–390.00 $372.60 $1,274 —
360–398 unweaned 396 308 340.00–375.00 $348.94 $1,382 -29.68
402–449 unweaned 440 313 325.00–345.00 $328.80 $1,447 -14.48
450–481 unweaned 464 76 302.00–324.00 $310.59 $1,441 -0.14
464 464 8 305.00 $305.00 $1,415 -7.50
500–518 510 42 283.50–297.00 $289.17 $1,475 —
503–548 unweaned 523 354 276.00–301.00 $293.63 $1,536 -0.04
555–591 unweaned 578 94 254.00–265.00 $256.85 $1,485 -6.52
588 588 8 264.00 $264.00 $1,552 +6.86
595 595 28 245.00 $245.00 $1,458 -12.14
601–640 unweaned 619 207 245.00–257.00 $251.37 $1,556 -6.95
637 637 14 255.00 $255.00 $1,624 —
657–698 unweaned 679 41 232.00–247.00 $240.55 $1,633 -5.90
707–730 unweaned 714 49 219.00–232.00 $229.16 $1,636 -7.60
925–938 935 4 212.00–214.00 $212.49 $1,987 -8.90
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
283 unweaned 283 7 355.00 $355.00 $1,005 —
343 unweaned 343 8 341.00 $341.00 $1,170 —
382–386 unweaned 384 7 315.00–317.50 $316.43 $1,215 -36.82
420 420 6 317.50 $317.50 $1,334 —
416–439 unweaned 422 15 308.00–315.00 $313.06 $1,321 -10.93
463 463 8 297.50 $297.50 $1,377 —
451–491 unweaned 483 37 284.00–296.00 $291.59 $1,408 -4.04
513–538 522 8 274.00 $274.00 $1,430 —
517–549 unweaned 538 72 261.00–274.00 $265.53 $1,429 -11.44
553–590 unweaned 574 13 242.00–250.00 $244.68 $1,404 -4.14
598 598 6 239.00 $239.00 $1,429 —
600–648 unweaned 625 31 224.00–243.00 $237.31 $1,483 -6.97
685 unweaned 685 6 226.00 $226.00 $1,548 -7.94
985 985 8 208.00 $208.00 $2,049 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590–595 unweaned 591 41 246.00–248.00 $246.49 $1,457 -8.64
655–691 unweaned 688 41 225.00–229.00 $228.81 $1,574 —
705 705 5 219.00 $219.00 $1,544 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
399 unweaned 399 7 310.00 $310.00 $1,237 —
480 unweaned 480 23 281.00 $281.00 $1,349 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
306 unweaned 306 11 317.50 $317.50 $972 -5.00
545 unweaned 545 3 274.00 $274.00 $1,493 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 unweaned 460 4 260.00 $260.00 $1,196 —
538 unweaned 538 4 232.50 $232.50 $1,251 —
600 600 6 222.00 $222.00 $1,332 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
572 unweaned 572 8 234.00 $234.00 $1,338 +19.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314–349 unweaned 324 86 314.00–346.00 $340.37 $1,103 +44.37
353–397 unweaned 375 286 297.50–325.00 $316.36 $1,186 +13.54
400–449 unweaned 427 221 281.00–302.00 $291.08 $1,243 -2.08
405–434 427 27 276.00–297.00 $281.26 $1,201 —
454 454 8 280.50 $280.50 $1,273 -11.00
450–491 unweaned 482 335 269.00–286.00 $273.76 $1,320 -5.54
507 fancy 507 45 278.00 $278.00 $1,409 ±0.00
501–534 unweaned 521 110 249.00–272.00 $258.96 $1,349 -0.90
521 521 7 260.00 $260.00 $1,355 —
553–595 unweaned 571 68 240.00–257.00 $246.10 $1,405 -3.55
576 576 23 242.00 $242.00 $1,394 —
612 fancy 612 12 245.00 $245.00 $1,499 —
614 614 15 247.00 $247.00 $1,517 —
603–644 unweaned 631 142 221.00–238.00 $226.80 $1,431 -13.73
651–661 unweaned 655 17 221.00–222.00 $221.29 $1,449 -4.60
715 unweaned 715 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,573 -1.73
808 808 5 212.50 $212.50 $1,717 -7.85
888 888 4 206.50 $206.50 $1,834 -8.41
894 894 6 193.00 $193.00 $1,725 -21.91
1009 1009 26 193.00 $193.00 $1,947 +3.00
1018 1018 3 193.00 $193.00 $1,965 +3.00
1055 1055 51 193.00 $193.00 $2,036 +3.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 unweaned 338 8 290.00 $290.00 $980 —
361–396 unweaned 377 30 275.00–286.00 $281.59 $1,062 -2.62
405–421 unweaned 414 12 272.00–272.50 $272.30 $1,127 +8.13
451 unweaned 451 15 262.00 $262.00 $1,182 +10.04
509–540 527 20 222.50–239.00 $227.98 $1,201 —
502–539 unweaned 528 51 227.00–245.00 $233.35 $1,232 -9.46
588–592 unweaned 591 11 217.50–222.00 $219.13 $1,295 -16.68
603 unweaned 603 10 214.00 $214.00 $1,290 -16.00
648 648 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,328 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
304–318 unweaned 312 11 250.00–260.00 $254.43 $794 —
389 389 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,011 —
391 unweaned 391 7 225.00 $225.00 $880 —
481 unweaned 481 6 235.00 $235.00 $1,130 —
500 500 7 221.00 $221.00 $1,105 —
558–596 unweaned 585 7 201.00–207.50 $202.77 $1,186 -25.73
591 591 6 199.00 $199.00 $1,176 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
326 unweaned 326 7 310.00 $310.00 $1,011 —
405–440 unweaned 436 9 250.00–256.00 $255.38 $1,113 -9.62
555 unweaned 555 13 227.00 $227.00 $1,260 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 unweaned 245 23 280.00 $280.00 $686 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
537–548 unweaned 543 19 239.00–245.00 $244.10 $1,325 +10.10

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
652 unweaned 652 9 194.00 $194.00 $1,265 —
748 unweaned 748 3 170.00 $170.00 $1,272 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 unweaned 458 4 270.00 $270.00 $1,237 —
710 unweaned 710 3 213.00 $213.00 $1,512 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
593 593 7 197.00 $197.00 $1,168 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895 895 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $448 —
902–1240 1056 85-90% 35 69.00–78.00 $74.81 $790 —
1015–1203 1155 85-90% 5 55.00–64.00 $59.98 $693 -17.47
1085–1285 1186 85-90% 9 81.00–88.50 $83.34 $988 -1.02
1195 1195 85-90% 3 78.00 $78.00 $932 -14.00
1060–1304 1242 85-90% 13 65.00–73.00 $71.48 $888 -2.50
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275 1275 80-85% 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,109 —
1208–1510 1323 80-85% 6 88.50–95.00 $90.95 $1,203 +8.08
1345–1350 1348 80-85% 2 76.00 $76.00 $1,024 -6.87
1208–1479 1387 80-85% 21 77.50–83.50 $79.29 $1,100 —
1730 1730 80-85% 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,263 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1595–1690 1658 75-80% 3 89.00–92.00 $91.04 $1,509 -12.46

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1850 1635 6 84.00–104.00 $93.19 $1,524 —
1753 1753 2 109.00 $109.00 $1,911 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1007–1345 1021 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 30 95.00–125.00 $123.00 $1,256
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
920–1135 1033 (<2 yrs)Open 4 107.00–109.00 $107.98 $1,115
985–1120 1033 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 12 92.00–103.50 $99.65 $1,029

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1027 1027 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,835.00 $1,835.00

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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.