Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 29, 2024

870 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $313.33/cwt -4.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,441/hd at 460 lb · 18 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $348.00/cwt -10.98 vs last sale · ≈ $1,723/hd at 495 lb · 14 head

light 7-weight M&L 1 bulls $240.00/cwt +8.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,764/hd at 735 lb · 10 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	870	2,204	4,329
Feeder cattle	199	1,780	3,788
Slaughter cattle	480	235	366
Replacement cattle	191	189	175

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most offerings sold in small packages with many singles seen. Demand for all feeders was good for light offerings. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to develop into yearlings. CME positions have soften slightly since the release of the cattle on feed report last Friday. The March feeder cattle contract closed today at 249.00, while the April closed at 253.725, 1.90 and 3.50 higher respectfully, than Thursday, two weeks ago. Market activity was mostly active this week. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher on all classes. Demand for feeding cows was very good as quality was very attractive. Several large consignments of open, one iron feeding cows were seen this week. Packer buyers and private feeders both bid aggressive on attractive feeding offerings. Feeding cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher on a higher quality offering. Weigh up conditions were average to above average. Many high dressing cows were seen this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady to firm. Demand for this class was very good. Several sets of high quality calves off reputation ranches were noted this week.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
405–430	417	3	370.00–372.50	$370.81	$1,546	+10.81
495	495	14	348.00	$348.00	$1,723	-0.87
500–504	503	7	330.00–347.00	$344.59	$1,733	+2.26
608	608	4	294.00	$294.00	$1,788	-13.52
700–708	704	4	268.00–269.00	$268.50	$1,890	+7.26

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
325	325	3	387.50	$387.50	$1,259	—
420	420	1	341.00	$341.00	$1,432	+0.55
480–488	484	6	317.50–340.00	$327.55	$1,585	-7.30
635	635	4	283.00	$283.00	$1,797	-5.36
670	670	2	262.00	$262.00	$1,755	+6.30
735	735	1	254.00	$254.00	$1,867	+10.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
431	431	6	318.00	$318.00	$1,371	-6.82
459–461	460	18	312.00–315.00	$313.33	$1,441	-4.97
551–572	562	10	280.00–288.00	$283.93	$1,596	-0.06
601	601	5	268.00	$268.00	$1,611	+4.63
655–656	656	8	249.50–254.00	$252.88	$1,659	+3.63

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
398	398	2	317.00	$317.00	$1,262	—
425–433	429	6	311.00–313.00	$312.00	$1,338	-4.32
493	493	7	303.00	$303.00	$1,494	+19.70
565	565	2	242.50	$242.50	$1,370	-26.01

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
406	406	4	272.50	$272.50	$1,106	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
545	545	1	315.00	$315.00	$1,717	—
735	735	10	240.00	$240.00	$1,764	+8.00
750	750	1	245.00	$245.00	$1,838	—
965	965	1	218.00	$218.00	$2,104	—
1015	1015	2	209.00–211.00	$210.00	$2,132	+18.00
1160	1160	1	182.00	$182.00	$2,111	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1230–1492	1326	80-85%	36	106.00–114.50	$111.88	$1,484	+21.11
1237–1509	1371	80-85%	244	115.00–121.75	$117.55	$1,612	+20.55
1303–1638	1424	80-85%	8	105.00–112.00	$108.62	$1,547	+3.67
1290–1569	1446	80-85%	20	115.00–122.00	$119.31	$1,725	+14.36
1345–1535	1449	80-85%	8	101.00–104.50	$103.17	$1,495	-1.78

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1095	1095	85-90%	1	79.00	$79.00	$865	—
1020–1300	1153	85-90%	17	90.00–99.00	$93.88	$1,082	-6.00
1005–1296	1208	85-90%	29	105.00–113.50	$110.14	$1,330	+3.89
1050–1245	1214	85-90%	12	115.00–118.00	$116.68	$1,416	+10.43
1040–1303	1226	85-90%	8	102.00–111.00	$106.70	$1,308	+0.45
1195–1275	1239	85-90%	4	115.00–117.00	$115.48	$1,431	+9.23

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1476	1476	75-80%	9	110.50	$110.50	$1,631	—
1465–1538	1489	75-80%	6	112.75–116.00	$113.87	$1,696	—
1697	1697	75-80%	3	113.00	$113.00	$1,918	—
1725	1725	75-80%	1	106.00	$106.00	$1,828	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1562	1562	65-75%	3	119.00	$119.00	$1,859	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–1280	1253	2	98.00	$98.00	$1,228	—
1320–1425	1373	2	109.00–114.00	$111.40	$1,530	—
1370–1805	1557	17	106.00–117.00	$113.04	$1,760	—
1615–2195	1808	34	118.00–136.00	$124.28	$2,247	—
1885–2550	2181	6	137.00–143.00	$139.67	$3,046	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
800–1135	960	(<2 yrs)	Open	49	160.00–191.00	$175.52	$1,685
882–1348	1095	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	98	117.50–172.50	$144.19	$1,579
1170	1170	(<2 yrs)	Open	3	159.50	$159.50	$1,866

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
810 thin fleshed	810	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	112.50	$112.50	$911
870–945	908	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	115.00–116.00	$115.52	$1,049
930	930	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	161.00	$161.00	$1,497

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
753–790	769	(<2 yrs)	Open	4	170.00–185.00	$177.98	$1,369

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1090	1090	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	2,400.00	$2,400.00
1378	1378	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	1,750.00	$1,750.00
1435	1435	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	2,550.00	$2,550.00
1775	1775	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,975.00	$1,975.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1238	1238	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	1,450.00	$1,450.00

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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.