Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 8, 2024

3,665 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $309.33/cwt ≈ $1,914/hd at 619 lb · 229 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $281.13/cwt +9.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,889/hd at 672 lb · 196 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $358.78/cwt +18.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,711/hd at 477 lb · 191 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,665 1,097 3,411
Feeder cattle 3,375 222 3,091
Slaughter cattle 131 672 219
Replacement cattle 159 203 101

Market comments — USDA reporter

The last feeder special was two weeks ago (1/26/24) all feeder comparisons are to that sale. Feeder steers under 650 lbs sold mostly 12.00-18.00 higher, steers over 650 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, heifers over 600 lbs sold 9.00-12.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Most offerings sold in moderate size packages, with a few load lots seen as well. Demand for all feeders was good to very good for moderate to heavy offerings. A heavy offering of backgrounded cattle were seen this week and despite most of these offerings pushing moderate flesh, demand was good. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to develop into yearlings. Ranchers and order-buyers buying for packers were both very aggressive as they bid on high quality offerings to run on grass leases. CME positions continue to see upward momentum. The March contract closed at 246.85, while the April closed at 251.925, 1.975 and 1.40 higher respectfully, than last Thursdays close. Market activity was mostly active this week, as a large crowd of farmer feeders, ranchers and order-buyers were seen. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Too few cows were seen this week to make an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on slaughter cows, feeding cows and slaughter bulls. Packer buyers continue to be aggressively as they bid for both feeding cows and slaughter cow. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher. Demand for this class was very good as feeding demand continues to improve with higher live cattle contract prices. Many buyers continue to buy coming 2 and coming 3 year old heifers that haven't calved to feed as they hope to feed this class to choice.

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
370–396 377 48 370.00–371.00 $370.90 $1,398 —
415–430 418 17 367.00–374.00 $370.04 $1,547 +27.54
450–499 477 191 347.50–369.00 $358.78 $1,711 +18.78
504–538 523 121 337.00–352.00 $345.01 $1,804 +18.15
555–594 575 117 312.00–337.00 $324.95 $1,868 +22.79
600–641 616 158 298.00–318.00 $307.25 $1,893 —
616–625 thin fleshed 619 56 320.00–324.50 $322.80 $1,998 —
649 649 15 281.00 $281.00 $1,824 —
650–696 672 196 267.00–300.00 $281.13 $1,889 +9.13
702–743 717 65 255.00–269.00 $261.28 $1,873 +7.28
750–799 783 148 244.25–255.00 $247.47 $1,938 —
803–846 815 143 241.25–241.50 $241.28 $1,966 —
859–860 859 74 241.00–242.50 $241.28 $2,073 —
913–942 937 17 227.00–228.00 $227.83 $2,135 —
964–972 969 46 216.00–224.00 $219.11 $2,123 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308 308 2 355.00 $355.00 $1,093 +5.00
358 358 8 363.00 $363.00 $1,300 —
428–448 440 29 342.00–357.50 $354.65 $1,560 +24.65
474–497 491 50 327.50–340.00 $330.24 $1,621 +10.24
524 524 4 320.00 $320.00 $1,677 —
552–598 582 47 288.00–311.00 $293.53 $1,708 -0.14
608–646 622 33 253.00–297.00 $285.79 $1,778 —
650–677 676 21 267.00–267.50 $267.02 $1,805 +10.35
710–733 716 11 244.00–253.00 $247.46 $1,772 —
771 771 6 236.00 $236.00 $1,820 —
796 796 4 236.00 $236.00 $1,879 —
805–838 810 38 232.00–237.50 $236.48 $1,915 —
883 883 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,987 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
324 324 22 360.00 $360.00 $1,166 —
503 503 27 328.00 $328.00 $1,650 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 13 309.00 $309.00 $1,489 —
533 533 10 317.50 $317.50 $1,692 —
585 585 6 293.00 $293.00 $1,714 —
629 629 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,635 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418–447 430 20 305.00–327.50 $318.14 $1,368 —
648 648 5 272.00 $272.00 $1,763 —
674 674 6 223.00 $223.00 $1,503 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374 374 28 331.00 $331.00 $1,238 —
403–440 413 20 317.00–325.00 $320.84 $1,325 —
474–499 484 138 303.00–322.00 $309.85 $1,500 +14.85
503–548 520 164 291.50–318.00 $307.39 $1,598 —
558–573 thin fleshed 562 59 299.00–305.50 $303.93 $1,708 —
553–585 567 101 278.00–291.00 $284.51 $1,613 +18.58
600–642 616 76 266.00–280.00 $274.68 $1,692 —
672–699 683 44 245.00–255.00 $249.32 $1,703 +5.32
700–745 724 91 233.00–242.00 $237.46 $1,719 -4.12
789–799 795 21 218.50–221.00 $219.56 $1,746 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 16 320.00 $320.00 $1,040 —
353 353 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,059 —
437 437 25 295.00 $295.00 $1,289 -5.00
468–499 492 30 290.00–305.00 $296.47 $1,459 —
502–545 519 26 276.00–285.00 $281.97 $1,463 —
553–557 556 75 273.50–278.00 $274.22 $1,525 +15.64
630–633 631 11 262.00–266.00 $263.82 $1,665 +43.82
652–699 680 28 229.00–234.00 $232.01 $1,578 —
769 769 11 218.50 $218.50 $1,680 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 2 280.00 $280.00 $1,218 —
485 485 20 286.00 $286.00 $1,387 —
501 501 13 271.00 $271.00 $1,358 —
577 577 21 262.00 $262.00 $1,512 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
431 431 8 306.00 $306.00 $1,319 —
452 452 17 292.50 $292.50 $1,322 —
530 530 10 261.00 $261.00 $1,383 —
559 559 8 272.00 $272.00 $1,520 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
481 481 4 276.00 $276.00 $1,328 —
551 551 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,267 —
604 604 8 211.00 $211.00 $1,274 —
690 690 2 241.00 $241.00 $1,663 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
416–418 417 17 270.00–280.00 $274.13 $1,143 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 12 267.00 $267.00 $1,135 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456 456 9 340.00 $340.00 $1,550 —
530 530 8 308.00 $308.00 $1,632 —
620 620 4 286.00 $286.00 $1,773 +31.00
659 659 7 277.00 $277.00 $1,825 —
733–740 737 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,695 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 11 332.50 $332.50 $1,264 —
670 670 5 220.00 $220.00 $1,474 —
923–948 941 7 190.00–206.00 $194.48 $1,830 +19.48
1070 1070 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,819 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
999 999 85-90% 9 93.00 $93.00 $929 +1.00
850–1175 1086 85-90% 5 86.00–89.00 $87.90 $955 —
1013–1181 1131 85-90% 9 93.00–103.00 $100.32 $1,135 +14.72
1140 1140 85-90% 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,174 +17.40
925–1293 1142 85-90% 10 83.00–92.00 $87.10 $995 +1.50
1140–1180 1168 85-90% 8 106.50–111.00 $107.24 $1,253 +11.02
1030–1245 1180 85-90% 14 93.50–100.00 $97.73 $1,153 +1.51
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1262–1680 1348 80-85% 16 101.00–106.00 $104.83 $1,413 +11.82
1270–1440 1352 80-85% 7 87.00–92.00 $89.54 $1,211 -11.20
1227–1560 1370 80-85% 6 112.50–114.00 $112.95 $1,547 +12.21
1282–1750 1399 80-85% 12 94.00–104.50 $99.93 $1,398 -0.81
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1517 1517 75-80% 3 109.50 $109.50 $1,661 —
1595–1725 1660 75-80% 2 106.00–108.00 $107.04 $1,777 —
1670 1670 75-80% 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,637 —
1633–1905 1706 75-80% 5 109.00–112.50 $111.52 $1,903 —
2065 2065 75-80% 1 106.50 $106.50 $2,199 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1290 1226 4 110.00–115.00 $111.31 $1,365 —
1425–2080 1653 6 96.00–109.00 $102.24 $1,690 —
1845 1845 1 120.00 $120.00 $2,214 +16.53
1760–2080 1920 2 115.50–118.50 $116.88 $2,244 +3.37

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
782–1290 897 (<2 yrs)Open 60 147.00–214.00 $188.20 $1,688
858–1385 1017 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 18 109.50–152.00 $136.92 $1,392
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
845–930 888 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 102.00–110.00 $105.81 $940
761–1056 907 (<2 yrs)Open 28 148.00–206.00 $161.79 $1,467
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
648 648 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 182.50 $182.50 $1,183
693–830 727 (<2 yrs)Open 4 187.00–207.00 $201.29 $1,463
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
857 857 (<2 yrs)Open 5 197.00 $197.00 $1,688

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060 1060 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,975.00 $1,975.00
1153–1355 thin fleshed 1274 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,250.00–1,325.00 $1,297.85
1325 1325 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,625.00 $1,625.00

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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.