Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 10, 2022

1,263 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $162.21/cwt ≈ $848/hd at 523 lb · 67 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $157.99/cwt ≈ $972/hd at 615 lb · 31 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $196.45/cwt ≈ $758/hd at 386 lb · 30 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,263 2,677 2,207
Feeder cattle 492 — 605
Slaughter cattle 266 378 1,299
Replacement cattle 505 2,299 303

Market comments — USDA reporter

Today was Billings livestock commissions first Monday sale of the season so no comparisons on feeders can be made. Demand and offerings for feeder cattle was light to moderate. Quality today was mostly plain to average. Limited offerings made it difficult for buyers to put together loads, which hampered demand. Market activity was mostly slow. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Compared to Thursdays sale slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 3.00 higher as packers opted to feed much of the bull offering this week. Packers showed increased demand for bulls as they opted to feed a portion that would normally go to slaughter. Young age cows sold generally steady with Thursdays sale. Quality was average to attractive today.

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
380–390 unweaned 385 2 215.00–216.00 $215.49 $830 —
405–423 unweaned 421 10 203.00–213.00 $203.96 $859 —
450–485 unweaned 468 2 190.50–201.00 $195.55 $915 —
508–522 unweaned 521 25 184.50–187.00 $184.70 $962 —
555–588 unweaned 566 27 181.00–186.50 $183.78 $1,040 —
621 unweaned 621 10 180.00 $180.00 $1,118 —
663 unweaned 663 13 178.00 $178.00 $1,180 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 unweaned 435 1 197.50 $197.50 $859 —
455 unweaned 455 4 178.00 $178.00 $810 —
548 unweaned 548 2 183.00 $183.00 $1,003 —
552–556 unweaned 553 15 170.00–175.00 $173.66 $960 —
605–610 unweaned 608 2 165.00–170.00 $167.51 $1,018 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
553 unweaned 553 2 176.00 $176.00 $973 —
623 unweaned 623 10 170.00 $170.00 $1,059 —
668 668 2 158.00 $158.00 $1,055 —
794 unweaned 794 8 148.00 $148.00 $1,175 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–391 unweaned 386 30 194.00–197.00 $196.45 $758 —
400–424 unweaned 422 14 180.00–181.00 $180.07 $760 —
460 unweaned 460 13 180.00 $180.00 $828 —
504–533 unweaned 523 67 159.00–164.00 $162.21 $848 —
562–575 unweaned 568 17 162.00–164.00 $162.95 $926 —
610–630 unweaned 615 31 157.00–162.00 $157.99 $972 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413–448 unweaned 436 6 165.00–179.00 $169.42 $739 —
462 462 3 166.00 $166.00 $767 —
508 508 4 158.00 $158.00 $803 —
513–540 unweaned 531 15 158.00–160.00 $158.64 $842 —
565–575 unweaned 570 2 152.00–156.00 $153.98 $878 —
611 unweaned 611 4 153.00 $153.00 $935 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
921 921 16 145.00 $145.00 $1,335 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
577 unweaned 577 3 150.00 $150.00 $866 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 101.50 $101.50 $1,198 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,027 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
904 904 85-90% 4 68.00 $68.00 $615 +35.99
785–990 921 85-90% 22 52.00–62.00 $57.34 $528 +25.33
1038–1225 1080 85-90% 10 51.00–53.50 $53.12 $574 —
1020–1339 1174 85-90% 79 53.00–64.50 $61.53 $722 +16.08
1001–1299 1183 85-90% 47 60.00–66.00 $63.26 $748 +19.53
1040–1315 1206 85-90% 86 65.00–75.00 $67.98 $820 +19.92
1180–1255 1218 85-90% 2 83.50–84.00 $83.74 $1,020 +35.68
1140–1275 1221 85-90% 10 68.00–77.50 $72.65 $887 +24.59
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1281–1560 1368 80-85% 21 59.00–68.50 $65.95 $902 +15.30
1260–1640 1377 80-85% 28 69.50–77.50 $71.29 $982 +18.29
1330–1520 1399 80-85% 12 82.00–84.00 $83.24 $1,165 +30.24
1326–1570 1407 80-85% 6 65.00 $65.00 $915 +6.94
1260–1611 1412 80-85% 63 70.00–81.00 $76.42 $1,079 +18.36
1485–1530 1496 80-85% 6 83.00–86.50 $85.32 $1,276 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1455–1500 1478 75-80% 2 80.00–81.00 $80.49 $1,190 —
1530 1530 75-80% 3 85.50 $85.50 $1,308 —
1455–1955 1594 75-80% 11 78.50–84.00 $82.10 $1,309 +22.21
1590–1763 1694 75-80% 5 71.50–75.00 $73.69 $1,248 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
857 857 3 71.00 $71.00 $608 —
1200–1840 1692 13 86.00–95.00 $92.41 $1,564 —
1613–2215 1749 6 74.00–85.00 $80.18 $1,402 —
1465–1905 1771 26 87.00–97.50 $94.80 $1,679 —
1955 1955 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,916 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
760–1195 953 (<2 yrs)Open 82 92.00–116.00 $108.31 $1,032
873–1270 1057 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 91 79.50–98.50 $88.46 $935
1090 thin fleshed 1090 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 71.00 $71.00 $774
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
895 895 (<2 yrs)Open 1 100.00 $100.00 $895
975–1038 1019 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 62.00–73.00 $68.61 $699

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1179 1179 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 1,210.00 $1,210.00
1168–1330 1222 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1249 1249 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 18 1,025.00 $1,025.00

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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.