Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, June 27, 2024

884 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $224.27/cwt +3.27 vs last sale · ≈ $1,947/hd at 868 lb · 14 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $312.00/cwt +2.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,554/hd at 498 lb · 12 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $290.00/cwt ≈ $1,908/hd at 658 lb · 12 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	884	1,343	914
Feeder cattle	201	247	182
Slaughter cattle	535	402	468
Replacement cattle	148	694	264

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for feeders was mostly good for light offerings. Quality was mostly plain to average today. Most feeders were offered in small groups or as singles. Buyers showed very good demand for limited feeders as they tried to fill loads to end out the week. Market activity was mostly moderate to active with several buyers actively bidding on limited offerings. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Additional packer buyers were in the market this week trying to secure enough offerings for harvest both this week and next. Slaughter cows sold sharply higher as a result. Breaking and boning cows sold mostly 6.00-9.00 higher. Lean cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher. Buyers searching for feeding cows were forced to pay significantly higher money for offerings as they tried to buy cows away from packers. Feeding cows sold mostly 6.00-8.00 higher. Several sets of thin fleshed cows were purchased to hold for the upcoming 4th of July holiday these cows were included in slaughter cows as the holiday is next week. Quality was mostly average to attractive this sale. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-6.00 higher. Bull quality this sale was average to attractive. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Quality was mostly average to attractive, however fewer takers were seen for this class of cow. Fewer buyers looking for rebreed offerings were seen this sale as most of the rebreeds from this point on will be April and later calving.

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
658 unweaned	658	12	290.00	$290.00	$1,908	—
712	712	9	281.00	$281.00	$2,001	—
790	790	2	259.00	$259.00	$2,046	—
808	808	5	262.00	$262.00	$2,117	—
855–875	868	3	248.00–262.00	$252.60	$2,193	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
623	623	7	199.00	$199.00	$1,240	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
710–733	725	3	267.50–269.00	$268.51	$1,947	—
770–790	780	2	235.00–244.00	$239.56	$1,869	-20.61

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
478	478	3	312.50	$312.50	$1,494	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
555 unweaned	555	6	307.50	$307.50	$1,707	—
691	691	4	262.00	$262.00	$1,810	-5.00
709–740	715	6	253.00–264.00	$260.96	$1,866	+7.45
755	755	2	245.00	$245.00	$1,850	—
855–870	868	14	223.00–232.00	$224.27	$1,947	+3.27
947	947	7	214.00	$214.00	$2,027	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
418	418	7	322.50	$322.50	$1,348	—
498	498	12	312.00	$312.00	$1,554	+2.00
582	582	3	288.00	$288.00	$1,676	-1.55
610–646	639	5	258.00–260.00	$258.38	$1,651	+7.38

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
579	579	7	268.00	$268.00	$1,552	-11.91
620	620	2	275.00	$275.00	$1,705	-15.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1133	1133	4	197.00	$197.00	$2,232	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1220–1490	1288	80-85%	54	135.00–145.00	$141.58	$1,824	—
1180–1499	1327	80-85%	98	146.00–158.00	$151.24	$2,007	—
1340–1380	1353	80-85%	3	135.00–136.00	$135.34	$1,831	+5.01
1370–1375	1373	80-85%	3	134.00	$134.00	$1,840	-7.94
1215–1620	1389	80-85%	16	139.00–145.00	$142.86	$1,984	+0.92
1266–1565	1398	80-85%	101	146.00–154.50	$149.72	$2,093	+7.78

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
644–990	803	85-90%	16	112.00–125.00	$117.43	$943	—
1005	1005	85-90%	1	102.50	$102.50	$1,030	—
1005–1235	1089	85-90%	4	115.00–123.00	$120.50	$1,312	—
915–1270	1093	85-90%	8	119.00–129.00	$125.72	$1,374	—
880–1160	1104	85-90%	12	131.00–136.00	$134.86	$1,489	-3.28
1005–1305	1114	85-90%	14	133.00–140.00	$137.60	$1,533	-0.54
1045–1215	1154	85-90%	7	141.00–147.00	$142.31	$1,642	+22.60
1165–1285	1197	85-90%	9	143.00–149.00	$144.60	$1,731	+13.37

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1520	1520	75-80%	5	153.50	$153.50	$2,333	—
1480–1645	1551	75-80%	23	149.00–158.50	$153.48	$2,380	+7.98
1508–1840	1591	75-80%	5	136.00	$136.00	$2,164	-4.00
1535–1780	1634	75-80%	12	141.00–146.50	$143.23	$2,340	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1290–1310	1303	3	137.00–146.00	$139.97	$1,824	—
1285–1705	1507	13	151.00–173.00	$160.92	$2,425	+2.07
1470–1665	1536	6	174.00–182.00	$178.35	$2,739	+19.50
1450–2160	1885	19	153.00–174.00	$162.51	$3,063	—
1995	1995	1	143.00	$143.00	$2,853	—
1940–2080	2010	2	178.00–184.00	$180.90	$3,636	+6.83
1880–2388	2098	17	174.00–190.00	$180.55	$3,788	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
835–1190	1024	(<2 yrs)	Open	38	150.00–199.00	$178.39	$1,827
825–1495	1169	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	10	144.00–172.50	$153.05	$1,789

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
830	830	(<2 yrs)	Open	3	195.00	$195.00	$1,618
955–1158	1090	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	3	138.00–151.00	$141.80	$1,546

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1060	1060	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	167.50	$167.50	$1,776

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1248–1285	1263	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	5	1,900.00–2,010.00	$1,965.23
1272–1355	1295	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	6	2,150.00–2,200.00	$2,191.28

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1377–1540	1435	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	8	2,675.00–2,800.00	$2,753.27	—
1553	1553	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	5	2,685.00	$2,685.00	—
1560	1560	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	3,300.00	$3,300.00	—

Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1124	1124	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	2,850.00	$2,850.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1180 thin fleshed	1180	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	3	1,850.00	$1,850.00	—

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Dairy Bulls

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1580–1785	1683	2	131.00–134.00	$132.41	$2,228	—

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1555	1555	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	3,000.00	$3,000.00	—

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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.