Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 4, 2021

1,749 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $149.64/cwt ≈ $865/hd at 578 lb · 14 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $147.50/cwt ≈ $848/hd at 575 lb · 13 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $139.50/cwt ≈ $770/hd at 552 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,749 3,578 0
Feeder cattle 291 — 0
Slaughter cattle 1,156 490 0
Replacement cattle 302 3,088 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

This is the first Monday sale of the fall run so this weeks comparisons are to last Thursdays sale. Feeder cattle were too lightly tested today and last Thursday to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Demand was light for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly average. Market activity was slow. Farmers in the Midwest continue to be very busy with harvest and unwilling to take unweaned calves. Additionally many feeders in the state refuse to feed calves as feed cost are inflated due to drought conditions which has limited availability. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Feeding buyers showed the best demand for cows this sale. Buyers were mostly looking for cows in boning flesh or young age cows. Packers also opted to feed some thin cows to hold for the upcoming holidays as we are less than 60 days from the start of the holiday season. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 lower, with steady prices seen on cows suitable to feed to premium white and mostly lower prices seen on thin cows. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking flesh cows sold generally steady. Weigh up conditions were average to below average this sale. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 unweaned 325 3 180.00 $180.00 $585 —
354–368 unweaned 358 11 170.00–178.00 $175.76 $629 —
505–528 unweaned 512 13 151.00–151.50 $151.16 $774 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
511 unweaned 511 4 160.00 $160.00 $818 —
571–584 unweaned 578 14 149.50–149.75 $149.64 $865 —
664 unweaned 664 8 143.00 $143.00 $950 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423 423 6 117.50 $117.50 $497 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
533 533 4 147.00 $147.00 $784 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 2 147.50 $147.50 $774 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
474–489 unweaned 484 12 145.00–150.00 $146.63 $710 —
552 unweaned 552 13 139.50 $139.50 $770 —
619 unweaned 619 4 127.00 $127.00 $786 —
813 813 7 138.50 $138.50 $1,126 —
948 948 4 135.00 $135.00 $1,280 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327 unweaned 327 5 164.00 $164.00 $536 —
441 unweaned 441 7 143.00 $143.00 $631 —
488 unweaned 488 2 141.00 $141.00 $688 —
551 551 8 136.50 $136.50 $752 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
474 unweaned 474 3 149.00 $149.00 $706 —
575 unweaned 575 13 147.50 $147.50 $848 —
655 unweaned 655 1 143.00 $143.00 $937 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1268 1268 2 93.00 $93.00 $1,179 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770 770 85-90% 8 42.00 $42.00 $323 —
935–974 963 85-90% 6 46.00–49.00 $46.49 $448 —
1045–1220 1106 85-90% 45 31.00–45.00 $37.60 $416 —
1178–1270 1185 85-90% 13 73.00 $73.00 $865 +28.32
1053–1388 1188 85-90% 100 50.00–54.00 $51.24 $609 +6.56
1188 1188 85-90% 3 54.00 $54.00 $642 +9.32
1025–1370 1229 85-90% 137 46.00–53.50 $50.61 $622 -1.78
1050–1387 1319 85-90% 45 55.00–61.50 $56.80 $749 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1296–1680 1356 80-85% 109 60.00–70.00 $66.20 $898 +17.92
1360 1360 80-85% 38 51.25 $51.25 $697 +2.97
1000–1425 1375 80-85% 19 50.00–55.00 $52.72 $725 +4.44
1330–1485 1396 80-85% 12 73.50–77.50 $74.66 $1,042 +26.38
1573 1573 80-85% 2 57.00 $57.00 $897 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540 1540 75-80% 2 75.00 $75.00 $1,155 +13.26
1680–1755 1718 75-80% 2 66.00–72.50 $69.18 $1,189 —
1830 1830 75-80% 1 79.50 $79.50 $1,455 +20.50

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1378 1378 2 73.00 $73.00 $1,006 —
1597 1597 3 82.50 $82.50 $1,318 —
1665 1665 1 67.00 $67.00 $1,116 +2.00
1692–2065 1784 24 80.00–87.00 $84.28 $1,504 —
2120–2320 2220 2 91.50–94.00 $92.69 $2,058 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
840 thin fleshed 840 (<2 yrs)Open 1 78.00 $78.00 $655
856–1277 929 (<2 yrs)Open 71 78.50–109.00 $99.02 $920
780–1173 thin fleshed 1042 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 54.50–70.00 $58.37 $608
880–1310 1048 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 65 54.00–95.00 $75.22 $788
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
955–1075 1015 (<2 yrs)Open 2 71.00–73.00 $71.94 $730

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1073 1073 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 1,000.00 $1,000.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1104–1425 1158 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 6 950.00–1,050.00 $1,029.48

↑ Back to top

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.