Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 29, 2021

1,123 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $172.85/cwt ≈ $796/hd at 460 lb · 14 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.00/cwt ≈ $831/hd at 634 lb · 12 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.27/cwt ≈ $648/hd at 420 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,123 2,854 1,362
Feeder cattle 209 — 424
Slaughter cattle 655 1,365 688
Replacement cattle 259 1,489 250

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Mondays sale: Feeder cattle were not sold last week as it was a bred cow special. No comparisons can be made for feeder cattle. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. All calves were offered in small groups or as singles. Market activity today was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packer buyers were more aggressive this week as they purchased cows for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher on boning and lean cows, breaking cows were too lightly tested to trend. Feeding cows sold mostly 4.00-5.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on a higher quality offering.

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
365 unweaned 365 2 181.00 $181.00 $661 —
460 unweaned 460 8 171.00 $171.00 $787 —
455–464 461 6 174.00–178.00 $175.32 $808 —
520–543 unweaned 535 11 156.00–164.00 $159.26 $852 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407 unweaned 407 3 155.00 $155.00 $631 —
425 425 8 154.00 $154.00 $654 —
509 unweaned 509 6 144.00 $144.00 $733 —
578 578 6 133.00 $133.00 $769 —
634 634 12 131.00 $131.00 $831 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
598 unweaned 598 2 137.50 $137.50 $822 —
605 unweaned 605 5 137.00 $137.00 $829 —
666 unweaned 666 4 135.50 $135.50 $902 —
851 851 10 140.00 $140.00 $1,191 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
781 781 5 131.00 $131.00 $1,023 —
853 853 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,109 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1129 1129 4 117.50 $117.50 $1,327 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,397 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 unweaned 320 2 190.00 $190.00 $608 —
414 unweaned 414 6 170.00 $170.00 $704 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–970 967 85-90% 3 38.00–45.00 $40.34 $390 —
1000–1012 1009 85-90% 4 30.00–32.00 $30.50 $308 —
1010–1380 1197 85-90% 73 38.00–47.00 $43.29 $518 +8.09
1020–1290 1230 85-90% 58 49.00–58.50 $51.35 $632 +6.35
1240 1240 85-90% 9 37.50 $37.50 $465 -5.27
1000–1334 1267 85-90% 29 47.00–54.00 $50.78 $643 —
1180–1296 1270 85-90% 19 45.50–49.00 $48.61 $617 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1333–1390 1354 80-85% 16 47.00–53.00 $51.55 $698 +14.55
1360–1450 1385 80-85% 6 64.00–67.50 $65.98 $914 +19.17
1313–1510 1394 80-85% 30 41.00–52.50 $48.08 $670 +1.27
1375–1476 1443 80-85% 35 54.50–59.50 $57.93 $836 —
1345–1492 1452 80-85% 9 52.00–53.00 $52.79 $767 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1655 1655 75-80% 1 65.50 $65.50 $1,084 —
1780 1780 75-80% 1 55.00 $55.00 $979 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1391–1867 1554 11 79.00–84.50 $81.44 $1,266 —
1395–1883 1720 3 60.50–78.50 $73.63 $1,266 —
1500–2035 1794 8 62.00–78.00 $72.66 $1,304 —
1860–1925 1899 17 84.50–86.50 $85.64 $1,626 —
1930 1930 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,718 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
855–973 923 (<2 yrs)Open 23 90.00–101.00 $99.78 $921
920–1345 1138 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 21 59.50–85.00 $72.78 $828
1299 1299 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 5 45.00 $45.00 $585
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1063–1161 1139 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 54.00–55.00 $54.21 $617

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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.