Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 11, 2024

672 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $321.71/cwt -13.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,840/hd at 572 lb · 28 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $268.26/cwt -16.84 vs last sale · ≈ $1,701/hd at 634 lb · 18 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $308.19/cwt -6.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,883/hd at 611 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 672 5,243 1,151
Feeder cattle 326 4,966 229
Slaughter cattle 213 105 577
Replacement cattle 133 172 345

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were to light to develop a market trend. Slaughter cows steady to 1.00 lower. Slaughter bulls steady. Demand good. Quality average.

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
420–440 432 5 361.00–370.00 $363.04 $1,568 -29.71
478–487 484 10 330.00–358.00 $349.71 $1,693 -29.85
503–540 521 10 322.50–327.00 $325.44 $1,696 -26.71
565–574 572 28 312.00–324.00 $321.71 $1,840 -13.00
610–615 611 15 305.00–309.00 $308.19 $1,883 -6.99
655–683 671 11 274.00–282.00 $277.28 $1,861 -20.35
708–730 721 7 264.00–272.00 $269.54 $1,943 +1.04
768 768 2 242.00 $242.00 $1,859 -10.20
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
580 580 1 308.00 $308.00 $1,786 -7.72
675 675 1 266.00 $266.00 $1,796 -10.99

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 2 325.00 $325.00 $1,196 -20.23
413–414 414 6 300.00–320.00 $306.66 $1,270 -26.95
512–544 526 9 284.00–286.00 $284.92 $1,499 -26.90
560–588 573 9 274.00–279.00 $276.31 $1,583 -23.52
623–640 634 18 261.00–270.00 $268.26 $1,701 -16.84
725–748 738 12 240.00–244.00 $242.36 $1,789 -21.88
773–793 789 11 224.00–239.00 $226.67 $1,788 -30.19
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
394 394 9 305.00 $305.00 $1,202 -30.15
415 415 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,058 -61.22
503–535 509 5 265.00–275.00 $267.10 $1,360 +0.75
555 555 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,498 -2.97
775–790 785 3 206.00–207.00 $206.67 $1,622 -36.37
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 2 255.00 $255.00 $862 -53.48
541 541 6 240.00 $240.00 $1,298 -5.43
595 595 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,309 -22.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,559 —
610 610 5 285.00 $285.00 $1,738 -24.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 355.00 $355.00 $1,083 —
395 395 1 370.00 $370.00 $1,462 -5.00
520 520 1 307.50 $307.50 $1,599 +16.07
720 720 3 227.50 $227.50 $1,638 -25.50

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1850 1385 75-80% 44 128.00–143.50 $139.13 $1,927 —
1415–1520 1464 75-80% 7 115.00–120.50 $117.41 $1,719 —
1395–1925 1607 75-80% 25 124.00–137.50 $131.87 $2,119 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1375 1205 80-85% 12 135.00–135.50 $135.08 $1,628 —
1158–1530 1301 80-85% 25 119.50–133.50 $125.89 $1,638 -2.88
1105–1553 1327 80-85% 16 121.00–133.00 $126.09 $1,673 -2.68
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985–1213 1116 85-90% 7 112.00–121.00 $115.89 $1,293 —
1075–1380 1147 85-90% 7 110.00–123.00 $115.71 $1,327 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435–1870 1653 2 125.00–130.00 $127.83 $2,113 —
1405–2265 1927 20 139.50–155.00 $148.24 $2,857 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
813–1007 898 (<2 yrs)Open 78 175.00–202.00 $187.88 $1,687
783–1188 1026 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 44 163.00–177.00 $169.70 $1,741

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1190–1335 1226 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 2,325.00–2,400.00 $2,379.59
1195–1275 1235 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,900.00–1,975.00 $1,936.29

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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.