Compared to last Mondays sale: Today Billings livestock commission held their annual Northland bred cow special. No feeder cattle were sold today. Bred cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Quality today was mixed from plain to attractive, however most offerings were plain to average. Demand for late bred cows was mostly good today. A few offerings of dispersions or age group dispersions were seen today. These cattle were met with mostly good demand as buyers purchased these offerings knowing they were getting a shot at the consignors best cattle. Most offerings were in small to moderate size consignments today. Market activity was mostly moderate to active with a good crowd on hand. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter and feeding cows sold generally steady. Most weigh up cows sold late in the day and many were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average for buyers. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand from feeding bull buyers remains good. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower. Quality was mostly plain to average today and significantly lower than last week.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to last Mondays sale: Today Billings livestock commission held their annual Northland bred cow special. No feeder cattle were sold today. Bred cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Quality today was mixed from plain to attractive, however most offerings were plain to average. Demand for late bred cows was mostly good today. A few offerings of dispersions or age group dispersions were seen today. These cattle were met with mostly good demand as buyers purchased these offerings knowing they were getting a shot at the consignors best cattle. Most offerings were in small to moderate size consignments today. Market activity was mostly moderate to active with a good crowd on hand. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter and feeding cows sold generally steady. Most weigh up cows sold late in the day and many were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average for buyers. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand from feeding bull buyers remains good. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower. Quality was mostly plain to average today and significantly lower than last week.