Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 14, 2020

3,578 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,578 2,309 926
Feeder cattle — 586 —
Slaughter cattle 490 1,335 160
Replacement cattle 3,088 388 766

Market comments — USDA reporter

Billings livestock commission held their Annual Northland stock cow sale today. Buyers filled the stands throughout the day as they bid on a heavy offering of bred cows. Demand was mostly moderate today with moderate to good demand seen at times. Quality was mostly average to attractive. Bred heifers were mostly pasture bred with a few A.I. heifers on offer as well. A.I. Heifers sold with the best demand. Solid and broken mouth cows sold on moderate to good demand throughout the sale. Demand for April and later calving cows was good throughout the day. Many ranchers have backed up caving dates due to poor calving weather and heavy death losses seen over the past few years. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers opted to send most cows to harvest this week. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-2.00 higher on all classes. Feeding cows sold generally steady. Slaughter bulls were scarcely traded. 2 year old to young age cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand. This class of cows sold 5.00 higher.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870 870 85-90% 1 35.00 $35.00 $304 +5.00
850–1270 1089 85-90% 19 45.00–50.00 $47.56 $518 -13.82
1115–1263 1149 85-90% 15 34.00–41.00 $39.02 $448 +0.49
1010–1370 1153 85-90% 77 41.00–50.00 $44.68 $515 -0.77
1213–1295 1241 85-90% 8 52.00–54.00 $52.39 $650 —
1180–1313 1268 85-90% 6 50.50–54.00 $51.62 $655 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1338 1302 80-85% 3 48.00–51.00 $50.06 $652 +1.88
1304–1620 1386 80-85% 23 45.50–51.00 $48.28 $669 -15.11
1290–1431 1400 80-85% 16 51.50–55.00 $52.50 $735 -0.65
1320–1680 1443 80-85% 11 52.50–61.00 $56.34 $813 +8.98
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1506–1840 1528 75-80% 15 61.50–64.50 $61.74 $943 —
1430–1710 1565 75-80% 11 55.00–60.00 $57.70 $903 +2.70
1845 1845 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $1,089 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1655 1655 1 65.00 $65.00 $1,076 -14.48
1815 1815 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,525 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
862 thin fleshed 862 (<2 yrs)Open 3 77.00 $77.00 $664
787–964 882 (<2 yrs)Open 93 76.00–85.50 $83.00 $732
947–1094 1029 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 19 68.50–76.00 $73.46 $756

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
904–1200 thin fleshed 966 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 29 950.00–1,200.00 $1,104.22
1121 thin fleshed 1121 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 11 835.00 $835.00
1076–1339 1174 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 110 1,200.00–1,350.00 $1,296.27
1007–1559 1203 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 469 1,300.00–1,550.00 $1,425.18
1063–1263 1225 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 40 1,075.00–1,200.00 $1,143.63
1230 1230 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
1199–1267 thin fleshed 1237 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 19 710.00–725.00 $713.83
1245 1245 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 9 760.00 $760.00
1147–1715 1272 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 227 950.00–1,250.00 $1,005.47
1066–1544 1277 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 440 725.00–985.00 $859.68
1221–1314 1278 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 28 1,000.00–1,075.00 $1,029.47
1271–1306 1284 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 25 760.00–800.00 $774.65
1207–1348 1290 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 22 810.00–1,085.00 $979.76
1293 1293 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 12 1,300.00 $1,300.00
1253–1408 1294 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 33 800.00–925.00 $880.67
1266–1333 1296 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 11 910.00 $910.00
1166–1376 1303 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 33 775.00–925.00 $888.64
1160–1501 1305 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 178 1,100.00–1,450.00 $1,232.87
1308 1308 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 900.00 $900.00
1338 1338 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 12 775.00 $775.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1293 1293 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 22 1,250.00 $1,250.00
1230–1485 1341 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 19 710.00–775.00 $748.59
1430–1457 1444 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 30 810.00–1,110.00 $961.40
Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1421 1421 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 885.00 $885.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
913–1186 1013 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 376 1,285.00–1,625.00 $1,413.78
1025 1025 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,585.00 $1,585.00
1178 1178 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,300.00 $1,300.00
1204 1204 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 16 1,300.00 $1,300.00
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
769–846 817 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 16 925.00–1,000.00 $973.53
793–883 837 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 185 1,025.00–1,250.00 $1,183.43

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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.