Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 5, 2026

2,946 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $385.96/cwt ≈ $2,902/hd at 752 lb · 179 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $362.65/cwt ≈ $2,604/hd at 718 lb · 134 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $360.51/cwt +28.51 vs last sale · ≈ $3,118/hd at 865 lb · 107 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,946 854 1,799
Feeder cattle 2,562 — 1,109
Slaughter cattle 179 — 485
Replacement cattle 205 — 205

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale (1-29-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Last weeks sale featured mostly weigh up cows and bulls, while this weeks sale featured mostly feeder cattle. Demand for all feeder cattle was good to very good on moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive with many home raised offerings seen. Most feeder cattle were offered in moderate sized groups this sale with a few load lots on offer as well. Demand for cattle too big to go to grass sold was mostly very good. Private feeders and order buyers buying for packers both showed very good demand for this weight of cattle. Heifer demand was very good as well with replacement and feeding buyers both pushing to fill loads. Market activity was very active with rapid bidding seen from a large buyer pool. Internet bidding was active again this week. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for light to moderate offerings. Feeding cow demand was good to very good with a larger buyer pool actively buying cows to feed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher. Some buyers were active in buying replacement cows as they tried to purchase weigh cows to re-pregnancy check. Very few slaughter cows were purchased this week as feeding demand and replacement demand pushed cow prices over where slaughter buyers wanted to buy cows. Breaking slaughter cows sold generally steady, boning cows and lean cows sold steady to weak. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average with many full to very full offerings noticed. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Several buyers purchased feeding bulls this week and these offerings sold mostly 5.00 higher. Young age offerings suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality this week was mostly 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
330 330 2 680.00 $680.00 $2,244 —
350–397 370 17 605.00–650.00 $627.26 $2,321 —
419–443 430 9 592.50–607.50 $600.63 $2,583 +20.63
463–496 483 84 540.00–592.50 $559.49 $2,702 +6.99
520–542 536 7 507.00–542.50 $513.73 $2,754 —
552–595 572 102 465.00–506.50 $491.45 $2,811 +9.45
608–646 625 71 430.00–467.50 $448.55 $2,803 +13.58
662–695 675 74 409.00–435.00 $421.18 $2,843 —
707–748 736 105 389.50–409.00 $393.92 $2,899 —
750–757 752 179 380.00–392.50 $385.96 $2,902 —
800–843 815 72 358.00–377.00 $367.68 $2,997 —
851–873 865 107 350.00–361.50 $360.51 $3,118 +28.51
911–924 923 63 358.00 $358.00 $3,304 —
966 966 14 346.00 $346.00 $3,342 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 625.00 $625.00 $2,031 —
426–432 428 20 552.50–587.50 $559.54 $2,395 —
454–473 462 9 550.00–565.00 $558.18 $2,579 —
535 535 6 495.00 $495.00 $2,648 +35.00
560–599 588 81 425.00–474.50 $457.67 $2,691 —
615–639 634 28 417.50–430.00 $425.23 $2,696 —
685–687 687 11 399.00–400.00 $399.18 $2,742 —
708 708 2 385.00 $385.00 $2,726 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
601 601 82 431.00 $431.00 $2,590 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423 423 5 557.50 $557.50 $2,358 —
678 678 2 404.00 $404.00 $2,739 +41.50
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
546 546 6 390.00 $390.00 $2,129 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403–414 410 6 500.00–520.00 $506.55 $2,077 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 2 590.00 $590.00 $2,024 —
360–380 372 44 574.00–592.50 $582.07 $2,165 —
415–440 428 40 505.00–532.50 $524.53 $2,245 +41.45
453–494 484 38 480.00–502.50 $491.11 $2,377 —
500–539 522 76 455.00–480.00 $474.05 $2,475 +34.28
552–584 577 27 432.50–435.00 $433.71 $2,503 +6.24
603–635 621 105 390.00–423.00 $409.05 $2,540 +13.94
653–677 665 70 369.00–392.00 $380.03 $2,527 +12.78
692–699 697 18 360.00–363.00 $360.99 $2,516 +28.99
700–748 718 130 354.00–372.50 $362.70 $2,604 —
723 723 4 361.00 $361.00 $2,610 —
766–794 783 70 347.00–359.00 $355.46 $2,783 —
911 911 8 325.00 $325.00 $2,961 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 307 3 530.00 $530.00 $1,627 —
380–385 384 7 520.00–540.00 $537.17 $2,063 +70.70
415–436 427 36 465.00–520.00 $507.85 $2,169 +33.90
488–490 489 5 457.50–475.00 $464.48 $2,271 —
515 515 31 457.00 $457.00 $2,354 —
525–548 539 24 400.00–430.00 $414.30 $2,233 —
571 571 76 446.00 $446.00 $2,547 +65.79
597 597 6 404.00 $404.00 $2,412 —
614–623 616 10 375.00 $375.00 $2,310 +37.50
660 660 3 364.00 $364.00 $2,402 —
725–740 729 7 339.00–355.00 $350.36 $2,554 +13.36
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 4 450.00 $450.00 $1,881 —
686 686 4 365.00 $365.00 $2,504 —
735 735 2 353.00 $353.00 $2,595 —
750 750 2 369.00 $369.00 $2,768 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 343 2 490.00 $490.00 $1,681 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–342 340 4 632.50–640.00 $634.35 $2,157 —
393 393 2 627.50 $627.50 $2,466 —
422–425 423 11 520.00–575.00 $564.94 $2,390 —
542 542 10 455.00 $455.00 $2,466 —
620 620 2 380.00 $380.00 $2,356 -12.50
728–730 729 4 362.50 $362.50 $2,643 -3.86
845 845 1 340.00 $340.00 $2,873 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 1 207.00 $207.00 $2,722 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035 1035 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,794 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 630.00 $630.00 $2,079 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 80-85% 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,323 —
1270–1465 1358 80-85% 3 176.00–177.00 $176.52 $2,397 +28.71
1370–1405 1388 80-85% 2 122.50–127.50 $124.97 $1,735 -22.84
1268–1530 1404 80-85% 12 144.00–149.00 $145.88 $2,048 -22.75
1320–1520 1414 80-85% 10 129.00–145.00 $136.10 $1,924 -32.53
1280–1520 1428 80-85% 40 164.00–172.00 $169.53 $2,421 +44.61
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
794–880 806 85-90% 8 117.50–125.00 $119.76 $965 —
965 965 85-90% 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,206 —
1060 1060 85-90% 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,410 —
968–1170 1066 85-90% 6 127.00–154.00 $140.06 $1,493 —
1025–1200 1121 85-90% 9 105.00–124.00 $117.65 $1,319 -3.02
1090–1195 1160 85-90% 7 164.00–167.50 $165.04 $1,914 -1.52
1050–1275 1200 85-90% 3 95.00–97.50 $95.73 $1,149 —
1153–1283 1251 85-90% 8 174.00–177.00 $174.69 $2,185 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1458 1458 75-80% 3 163.00 $163.00 $2,377 —
1460 1460 75-80% 1 177.00 $177.00 $2,584 —
1493–1709 1601 75-80% 12 160.00–162.00 $160.94 $2,577 —
1675–1740 1698 75-80% 3 163.00–167.00 $165.00 $2,802 +5.83
1625–1790 1723 75-80% 3 141.00–144.00 $142.28 $2,451 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1645–2065 1754 4 161.00–178.00 $167.97 $2,946 —
1405–1995 1774 14 184.50–188.00 $185.59 $3,292 —
1947–2235 1971 13 190.00–194.00 $190.73 $3,759 —
1835–2148 2021 5 161.00–171.00 $167.19 $3,379 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
845–1160 1005 (<2 yrs)Open 37 240.00–310.00 $284.25 $2,857
900–1265 1058 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 33 130.00–315.00 $246.98 $2,613
1140–1410 1194 (<2 yrs)Open 5 212.50–225.00 $222.05 $2,651
1125–1545 1382 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 13 155.00–175.00 $169.33 $2,340
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
820–985 903 (<2 yrs)Open 2 260.00–275.00 $268.19 $2,422
855–1105 996 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 175.00–250.00 $215.18 $2,143
1035 1035 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,708
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
780 780 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 295.00 $295.00 $2,301

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1345 1345 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 2,850.00 $2,850.00
1437 1437 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 9 3,000.00 $3,000.00
1250–1499 1456 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 3,000.00–3,250.00 $3,111.55
1464 1464 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 14 3,750.00 $3,750.00
1561 1561 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 19 3,250.00 $3,250.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1075–1205 1163 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 9 3,350.00–3,625.00 $3,585.23
1243 1243 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,650.00 $2,650.00
1303 1303 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 2,650.00 $2,650.00
1308 1308 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 3,200.00 $3,200.00
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
763 763 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 13 165.00 $165.00 $1,259

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975 975 85-90% 1 100.00 $100.00 $975 —

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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.