Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 16, 2025

1,311 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 $347.71/cwt -22.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,659/hd at 477 lb · 41 head

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $308.00/cwt +12.31 vs last sale · ≈ $2,193/hd at 712 lb · 41 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $330.45/cwt -12.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,732/hd at 524 lb · 25 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,311	4,126	430
Feeder cattle	534	3,948	94
Slaughter cattle	488	137	261
Replacement cattle	289	41	75

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder calves were all too lightly tested today to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed on like quality cattle. Demand remains good to very good. Offerings were light. Quality this week was mostly plain to average and significantly lower than last weeks offering. Many blemished cattle were seen today as buyers sold cattle prior to this weeks cold snap. Almost all calves were weaned over 50 days and were in mostly light flesh. Package sizes were mostly small with many singles in the offering. Buyers were forced to pick around to put together cattle of like quality. No load lots were seen this week. Market activity was active this sale. A noticeably smaller buyer pool was seen this week, however buyers continue to show very good demand and bid rapidly on all feeder calves. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows sold mostly 3.00-7.00 higher as feeding buyers and slaughter buys bid aggressively on all fleshy cows. Feeding cow sold on good to very good demand. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. All cows were pushing moderate to heavy amounts of fill today. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was average to attractive and better overall than last 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
275	275	1	530.00	$530.00	$1,458	—
420	420	2	410.00	$410.00	$1,722	-11.28
450–480	461	16	385.00–405.00	$395.39	$1,823	+2.90
513–549	526	22	355.00–380.00	$371.11	$1,952	+7.64
550–573	560	9	335.00–355.00	$350.34	$1,962	-6.21
607	607	22	329.00	$329.00	$1,997	-5.64
701–714	712	41	305.00–308.50	$308.00	$2,193	+12.31
831	831	6	266.00	$266.00	$2,210	-5.43

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
333–345	338	5	445.00–475.00	$460.79	$1,557	—
362	362	3	465.00	$465.00	$1,683	+41.83
453–495	478	18	350.00–375.00	$362.71	$1,734	-9.96
525–541	537	6	330.00–355.00	$335.72	$1,803	-13.06
558–578	570	13	320.00–329.00	$323.41	$1,843	+0.36
605–640	631	15	290.00–309.00	$299.82	$1,892	-18.18
650	650	1	306.00	$306.00	$1,989	+37.92
743	743	2	285.00	$285.00	$2,118	+3.06

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
449	449	15	375.00	$375.00	$1,684	—
485	485	2	345.00	$345.00	$1,673	—
507	507	13	355.00	$355.00	$1,800	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
425	425	3	345.00	$345.00	$1,466	-42.50
490	490	2	325.00	$325.00	$1,592	+15.00
741	741	4	283.00	$283.00	$2,097	—
797	797	3	264.00	$264.00	$2,104	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
615	615	2	304.00	$304.00	$1,870	—
1170	1170	3	222.00	$222.00	$2,597	+7.00

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
441	441	4	270.00	$270.00	$1,191	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355	355	1	400.00	$400.00	$1,420	+13.05
420–441	426	15	352.50–365.00	$358.41	$1,527	-12.39
450–480	477	41	340.00–355.00	$347.71	$1,659	-13.79
515–526	524	25	321.00–332.00	$330.45	$1,732	-12.36
557–584	578	21	309.00–314.00	$310.15	$1,793	-3.43
679	679	6	263.00	$263.00	$1,786	-15.87
698	698	2	255.00	$255.00	$1,780	-6.00
718–733	730	9	253.00–254.00	$253.22	$1,849	-13.36
807	807	3	252.00	$252.00	$2,034	-1.66
949	949	5	230.00	$230.00	$2,183	—
970	970	1	233.00	$233.00	$2,260	+2.00
1023	1023	2	221.00	$221.00	$2,261	—
1090–1093	1091	5	119.00–213.00	$156.66	$1,709	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
350–385	368	2	370.00–375.00	$372.38	$1,370	+2.49
435–444	439	16	320.00–345.00	$340.30	$1,494	-11.49
490–498	493	5	305.00–325.00	$313.08	$1,543	-11.92
523	523	2	317.50	$317.50	$1,661	+2.65
658	658	2	261.00	$261.00	$1,717	+9.00
705	705	4	234.00	$234.00	$1,650	-15.71

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
597	597	3	271.00	$271.00	$1,618	—
605–620	608	5	233.00–255.00	$237.49	$1,444	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
499	499	4	329.00	$329.00	$1,642	—
540	540	1	275.00	$275.00	$1,485	—
665	665	1	263.00	$263.00	$1,749	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
625	625	2	249.00	$249.00	$1,556	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
270	270	2	515.00	$515.00	$1,390	—
343 unweaned	343	6	465.00	$465.00	$1,595	—
360	360	2	430.00	$430.00	$1,548	+20.00
517 unweaned	517	6	357.50	$357.50	$1,848	—
530	530	5	340.00	$340.00	$1,802	—
671	671	7	270.00	$270.00	$1,812	—
717	717	3	275.00	$275.00	$1,972	-6.00
862–879	869	10	252.00–256.00	$253.62	$2,204	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
463	463	4	345.00	$345.00	$1,597	—
570	570	1	322.50	$322.50	$1,838	—
628	628	3	290.00	$290.00	$1,821	—
678–688	683	4	254.00–282.50	$268.15	$1,831	—
975	975	1	226.00	$226.00	$2,204	—
1050	1050	3	224.00	$224.00	$2,352	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1209	1209	6	199.00	$199.00	$2,406	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
868	868	3	244.00	$244.00	$2,118	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1255–1720	1356	80-85%	113	119.00–133.00	$128.83	$1,747	+27.66
1248–1525	1365	80-85%	13	95.00–108.00	$102.52	$1,399	+1.35
1251–1653	1412	80-85%	51	134.00–139.00	$136.25	$1,924	-4.92
1292–1655	1421	80-85%	18	99.00–117.00	$112.15	$1,594	-29.02
1420–1685	1491	80-85%	8	126.00–140.50	$134.11	$2,000	—
1570–1575	1572	80-85%	3	110.00–112.00	$111.00	$1,745	+20.00

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
865–920	883	85-90%	3	93.00–103.75	$100.02	$883	—
875–955	923	85-90%	3	75.00–79.00	$76.36	$705	—
990	990	85-90%	1	92.50	$92.50	$916	—
1025–1138	1083	85-90%	10	67.50–86.00	$81.06	$878	—
975–1278	1121	85-90%	37	87.00–103.00	$93.86	$1,052	-5.32
1100–1312	1180	85-90%	60	116.00–128.00	$125.38	$1,479	+16.08
1125–1255	1218	85-90%	6	130.00–133.50	$131.61	$1,603	+54.52
1135–1313	1270	85-90%	10	105.00–116.00	$110.42	$1,402	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1540–1665	1603	75-80%	2	92.00–101.00	$96.68	$1,550	—
1477–1980	1620	75-80%	6	113.00–126.00	$116.72	$1,891	-6.59
1523–1808	1623	75-80%	15	127.00–136.50	$130.60	$2,120	+7.29
1500–1925	1630	75-80%	8	139.00–148.00	$142.66	$2,325	+19.35
1420–1858	1658	75-80%	37	127.00–135.00	$131.07	$2,173	—
1910	1910	75-80%	1	140.00	$140.00	$2,674	—
2125	2125	75-80%	1	132.00	$132.00	$2,805	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1315	1315	1	157.00	$157.00	$2,065	—
1590–2065	1872	13	116.00–134.00	$127.29	$2,383	—
1800–2218	1945	9	140.00–150.00	$144.06	$2,802	—

YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
2405	2405	1	146.00	$146.00	$3,511	—
2415	2415	1	150.00	$150.00	$3,622	—
2575	2575	1	111.00	$111.00	$2,858	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
853–1288	1059	(<2 yrs)	Open	105	150.00–206.00	$181.24	$1,919
970–1390	1110	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	18	132.50–176.00	$154.07	$1,710

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
850–1150	928	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	10	134.00–155.00	$140.16	$1,301
860–1080	1006	(<2 yrs)	Open	4	137.50–195.00	$159.70	$1,607

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
695	695	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	215.00	$215.00	$1,494

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
680	680	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	190.00	$190.00	$1,292

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
880	880	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	152.50	$152.50	$1,342

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1250	1250	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	2,250.00	$2,250.00
1270	1270	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	2,550.00	$2,550.00
1287	1287	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	6	1,625.00	$1,625.00
1340–1344	1343	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	9	1,800.00	$1,800.00
1400	1400	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	2,200.00	$2,200.00
1520	1520	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	3	1,900.00	$1,900.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1070	1070	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	2,425.00	$2,425.00
1356	1356	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	2,400.00	$2,400.00

Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
943	943	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	2,025.00	$2,025.00

Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1475	1475	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	2	1,750.00	$1,750.00

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1270	1270	85-90%	2	80.00	$80.00	$1,016	—

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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.