Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 30, 2020

1,362 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $134.34/cwt ≈ $704/hd at 524 lb · 52 head
heavy 3-weight L 1 steers $158.00/cwt ≈ $604/hd at 382 lb · 24 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $146.42/cwt ≈ $824/hd at 563 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,362 2,962 6,096
Feeder cattle 424 50 5,873
Slaughter cattle 688 1,237 94
Replacement cattle 250 1,675 129

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Monday: Feeder cattle were not tested last week due to the bred cow special thus no trend is available. Demand was light to moderate for mostly light offerings. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packer buyers continue to show light demand for all cows not suitable to feed. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00 lower. Feeding cows sold steady on high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white, while short term feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 lower. Cows were all pushing moderate to heavy fill today. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower. Fewer buyers were seen for this class of cow this sale. Demand was light.

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
376 unweaned 376 15 178.00 $178.00 $669 —
503–523 unweaned 512 16 152.00–163.00 $158.08 $809 —
550 550 8 149.50 $149.50 $822 —
558–578 unweaned 570 15 144.00–146.00 $144.78 $825 —
635 635 5 143.00 $143.00 $908 —
615–649 unweaned 638 12 132.00–135.00 $134.04 $855 —
650–692 unweaned 683 15 129.00–136.00 $130.41 $891 —
710–720 unweaned 715 2 131.00–132.00 $131.50 $940 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 unweaned 382 24 158.00 $158.00 $604 —
476 unweaned 476 6 148.00 $148.00 $704 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376 376 11 157.00 $157.00 $590 —
416–444 unweaned 429 13 160.00–165.00 $162.61 $698 —
545 unweaned 545 1 142.50 $142.50 $777 —
608 608 4 127.00 $127.00 $772 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
668 668 11 130.00 $130.00 $868 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 unweaned 397 17 149.50 $149.50 $594 —
423–443 unweaned 436 8 145.00–149.00 $146.46 $639 —
458–482 unweaned 475 13 139.00–141.00 $140.41 $667 —
510–525 unweaned 524 52 130.50–135.50 $134.34 $704 —
623–630 unweaned 626 8 124.50–126.00 $125.07 $783 —
885–890 888 2 124.00–125.00 $124.50 $1,106 —
915 915 10 120.50 $120.50 $1,103 -0.55
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407 unweaned 407 10 141.00 $141.00 $574 —
530 unweaned 530 12 129.00 $129.00 $684 —
798 798 3 127.00 $127.00 $1,013 —
878 878 3 113.00 $113.00 $992 —
963 963 2 112.50 $112.50 $1,083 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 unweaned 343 13 136.00 $136.00 $466 —
397 unweaned 397 13 135.00 $135.00 $536 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
547 547 5 114.00 $114.00 $624 —
690 690 7 127.50 $127.50 $880 +2.50
718 718 4 119.00 $119.00 $854 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1123 1123 4 95.00 $95.00 $1,067 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
623 unweaned 623 6 130.00 $130.00 $810 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010 1010 2 89.00 $89.00 $899 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980 980 80-85% 1 45.00 $45.00 $441 —
1235 1235 80-85% 1 62.00 $62.00 $766 —
1255–1350 1287 80-85% 3 44.00–45.50 $44.52 $573 —
1259–1430 1355 80-85% 17 47.00–48.00 $47.37 $642 -16.69
1226–1565 1362 80-85% 47 47.00–61.00 $52.92 $721 -11.14
1375–1407 1404 80-85% 23 62.00–65.00 $62.30 $875 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875 875 85-90% 2 31.00 $31.00 $271 -4.24
810–990 900 85-90% 4 39.00–40.00 $39.55 $356 —
970–1205 1105 85-90% 9 41.00–47.50 $44.71 $494 —
939–1325 1113 85-90% 30 43.00–46.50 $45.09 $502 —
940–1385 1229 85-90% 14 48.50–55.00 $50.43 $620 -12.23
1305 1305 85-90% 1 47.00 $47.00 $613 -1.35
1345 1345 85-90% 1 35.00 $35.00 $471 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530 1530 75-80% 1 50.50 $50.50 $773 -19.04
1555 1555 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $917 -7.92

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1545–2020 1690 6 77.50–81.50 $79.13 $1,337 —
1700 1700 2 73.00 $73.00 $1,241 +2.00
2000 2000 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,620 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
732 thin fleshed 732 (<2 yrs)Open 6 73.00 $73.00 $534
825–1070 thin fleshed 931 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 47.50–56.00 $53.17 $495
838–1265 955 (<2 yrs)Open 23 63.00–91.00 $80.11 $765
870–1093 1003 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 49 50.00–71.00 $63.41 $636

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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.