Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 6, 2021

1,453 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 heifers $149.85/cwt +12.35 vs last sale · ≈ $875/hd at 584 lb · 32 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $166.12/cwt ≈ $1,007/hd at 606 lb · 27 head
light 5-weight M&L 2 heifers $135.00/cwt ≈ $706/hd at 523 lb · 26 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,453 1,123 2,309
Feeder cattle 301 209 586
Slaughter cattle 753 655 1,335
Replacement cattle 399 259 388

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Mondays sale: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. All calves were offered in small groups or as singles today, however buyers continue to show good demand for all feeders on offer. Market activity today was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Packer buyers were less aggressive this week as they purchased cows for immediate harvest. Despite lighter packer demand feeding buyers showed similar demand as last week. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower on boning and lean cows, breaking cows were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cows sold unevenly steady. Cow quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average with many very full cows on offer. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower. Quality this week was mostly plain to average.

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
463 unweaned 463 14 198.00 $198.00 $917 —
500–547 unweaned 539 15 184.00–195.50 $187.02 $1,008 —
595 unweaned 595 11 164.00 $164.00 $976 —
603–615 unweaned 606 27 159.00–168.50 $166.12 $1,007 —
651–663 unweaned 654 9 153.00–156.00 $153.68 $1,005 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
489 unweaned 489 10 149.00 $149.00 $729 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373 unweaned 373 5 202.00 $202.00 $753 +21.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570–586 unweaned 584 32 147.50–150.50 $149.85 $875 +12.35
603 unweaned 603 5 146.00 $146.00 $880 +9.00
875–882 881 8 146.00–149.00 $146.37 $1,290 +6.37
978–983 981 5 136.50–143.00 $140.41 $1,377 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 unweaned 523 26 135.00 $135.00 $706 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508–544 unweaned 533 10 147.50–150.00 $149.29 $796 +5.29
668 unweaned 668 2 134.00 $134.00 $895 —
806 806 6 144.00 $144.00 $1,161 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
624 624 14 127.00 $127.00 $792 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030 1030 4 137.50 $137.50 $1,416 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
708 unweaned 708 2 134.00 $134.00 $949 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
682 682 85-90% 3 36.00 $36.00 $246 —
920–973 967 85-90% 17 37.00–43.00 $39.33 $380 -1.01
1025–1149 1072 85-90% 24 39.00–40.00 $39.40 $422 —
1023–1330 1122 85-90% 12 34.00–40.00 $37.67 $423 —
1022–1350 1168 85-90% 120 40.00–48.00 $43.88 $513 +0.59
1069–1365 1181 85-90% 103 43.00–46.00 $44.18 $522 +0.89
1190–1280 1228 85-90% 7 60.00–64.00 $61.28 $753 +9.93
1078–1311 1254 85-90% 128 47.00–54.25 $51.11 $641 +0.33
1218–1360 1254 85-90% 10 47.50–49.00 $48.17 $604 -2.61
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1208–1550 1333 80-85% 121 53.00–61.50 $55.95 $746 —
1330–1680 1375 80-85% 26 45.00–51.00 $48.64 $669 -17.34
1320–1560 1456 80-85% 7 44.00–50.00 $48.25 $703 -4.54
1390–1553 1480 80-85% 8 63.00–69.00 $66.42 $983 +13.63
1690 1690 80-85% 1 55.00 $55.00 $930 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1568 1481 75-80% 51 64.00–70.00 $65.46 $969 —
1565 1565 75-80% 1 46.00 $46.00 $720 —
1545–1595 1578 75-80% 3 56.00–60.00 $57.31 $904 —
1627 1627 75-80% 3 73.50 $73.50 $1,196 —
1580–1947 1718 75-80% 8 66.00–68.00 $67.31 $1,156 —
1555–2010 1783 75-80% 2 71.00–71.50 $71.28 $1,271 +16.28

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1508 1508 2 88.00 $88.00 $1,327 —
1568–2055 1674 6 77.00–81.00 $78.92 $1,321 —
1590–1808 1735 3 79.00–80.50 $80.04 $1,389 +6.41
2090 2090 1 92.50 $92.50 $1,933 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1577 1577 8 81.50 $81.50 $1,285 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
728 thin fleshed 728 (<2 yrs)Open 2 80.00 $80.00 $582
810 thin fleshed 810 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 45.00 $45.00 $364
739–1545 948 (<2 yrs)Open 151 68.00–108.00 $94.01 $891
750–1308 1026 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 98 58.00–81.00 $70.62 $725
1088–1198 thin fleshed 1143 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 41.00 $41.00 $469
1039–1460 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 44 44.00–49.00 $46.16 $547
1158–1322 1232 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 20 43.00–46.00 $45.32 $558
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
614–786 713 (<2 yrs)Open 38 75.00–94.00 $82.19 $586
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–993 919 (<2 yrs)Open 5 64.00–84.00 $73.29 $674

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1302 thin fleshed 1302 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 12 49.00 $49.00 $638
1343 1343 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 51.00 $51.00 $685
1451 1451 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 59.00 $59.00 $856

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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.