Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 19, 2020

739 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 steers $195.82/cwt +8.93 vs last sale · ≈ $746/hd at 381 lb · 72 head

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $150.00/cwt ≈ $566/hd at 377 lb · 46 head

light 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $165.00/cwt ≈ $533/hd at 323 lb · 35 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	739	963	5,395
Feeder cattle	334	424	4,825
Slaughter cattle	257	459	160
Replacement cattle	148	80	410

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on unweaned calves. Not enough yearlings tested to develop any market trend. CME positions saw sharply lower prices today with over triple digit losses. The October contract closed 3.45 lower, November 5.00 lower and January 4.20 lower. Market activity today was mostly moderate. Weigh up cow sold on mostly moderate demand for light offerings. A two tier market continues to be seen as cows suitable to feed sell with a strong premium to cows destined for slaughter. Both slaughter and feeding cows sold fully steady this week. Quality was average to attractive . Weigh up conditions were average and better overall than last week. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Quality this week was average to attractive. Offerings sold steady to firm in a narrow comparison.

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
330 unweaned	330	15	211.00	$211.00	$696	+18.18
363–391 unweaned	381	72	191.00–205.00	$195.82	$746	+8.93

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
819	819	6	130.00	$130.00	$1,065	—
933	933	2	119.00	$119.00	$1,110	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
323 unweaned	323	35	165.00	$165.00	$533	—
377 unweaned	377	46	150.00	$150.00	$566	—
444 unweaned	444	17	140.00	$140.00	$622	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
440 unweaned	440	16	133.00	$133.00	$585	—
715	715	1	131.00	$131.00	$937	—
831	831	16	122.00	$122.00	$1,014	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
868	868	85-90%	2	36.00	$36.00	$312	—
1025–1195	1083	85-90%	3	46.00–48.50	$47.16	$511	—
1050–1175	1153	85-90%	6	41.00–43.00	$42.36	$488	-5.73
1025–1375	1178	85-90%	19	52.00–55.00	$53.67	$632	+13.33
1180	1180	85-90%	11	62.00	$62.00	$732	+21.66
1155–1345	1196	85-90%	17	44.00–48.00	$45.53	$545	+5.19
1040–1257	1212	85-90%	56	48.00–51.50	$49.46	$599	+2.81

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1315–1505	1346	80-85%	18	52.00–58.50	$55.54	$748	+6.04
1352–1353	1352	80-85%	36	64.00–64.50	$64.22	$868	—
1355–1380	1368	80-85%	2	59.00–70.00	$64.45	$882	-2.91
1372	1372	80-85%	9	49.50	$49.50	$679	-17.86
1372–1669	1505	80-85%	22	49.50–54.50	$51.60	$777	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1505–1570	1527	75-80%	6	67.00–70.00	$69.06	$1,055	+0.89
1645	1645	75-80%	2	71.50	$71.50	$1,176	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1705	1705	2	72.50	$72.50	$1,236	—
1770	1770	1	88.00	$88.00	$1,558	—
1590–2475	1921	4	77.50–80.50	$79.00	$1,518	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
830 thin fleshed	830	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	73.00	$73.00	$606
866–1025	959	(<2 yrs)	Open	52	82.00–93.00	$90.49	$868
1009–1180	1099	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	21	62.00–71.00	$65.94	$725
1168 thin fleshed	1168	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	57.50	$57.50	$672

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1190–1250	1233	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	45	985.00–1,085.00	$1,027.66

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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.