Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 24, 2022

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $170.39/cwt +3.39 vs last sale · ≈ $808/hd at 474 lb · 17 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	535	1,343	2,291
Feeder cattle	136	668	551
Slaughter cattle	328	498	1,331
Replacement cattle	71	177	409

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly light to moderate for light offerings. Quality today was plain to average and lower compared to last week. Too few offerings sold for buyers to build loads which hampered demand. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher on boning and lean cows in a narrow comparison. Breaking cows sold generally steady. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, steady undertones were noticed.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
443 unweaned	443	2	214.00	$214.00	$948	+12.03
548 unweaned	548	6	186.00	$186.00	$1,019	—
715	715	3	173.00	$173.00	$1,237	—
833	833	4	167.00	$167.00	$1,391	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
460–498 unweaned	484	8	207.00–209.00	$207.71	$1,005	+5.50
516 unweaned	516	4	197.50	$197.50	$1,019	+6.26

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
544 unweaned	544	4	171.00	$171.00	$930	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
421 unweaned	421	4	180.00	$180.00	$758	+5.89
470–485 unweaned	474	17	161.00–175.00	$170.39	$808	+3.39
955	955	1	145.00	$145.00	$1,385	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
619–635 unweaned	626	7	152.00	$152.00	$952	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
630 unweaned	630	3	161.00	$161.00	$1,014	—
931	931	4	156.50	$156.50	$1,457	-3.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
858	858	4	127.00	$127.00	$1,090	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1048	1048	2	112.00	$112.00	$1,174	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
958	958	85-90%	2	45.00	$45.00	$431	—
1003–1275	1116	85-90%	6	47.00–49.00	$47.74	$533	-18.27
1065–1375	1196	85-90%	69	50.00–62.00	$58.07	$695	—
1040–1288	1198	85-90%	23	64.00–74.00	$65.90	$789	—
1140–1312	1272	85-90%	20	60.00–63.50	$62.45	$794	-7.49
1301–1317	1307	85-90%	16	64.50–69.00	$67.30	$880	+6.30

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1301–1585	1381	80-85%	42	58.00–69.00	$66.55	$919	+8.46
1315–1510	1402	80-85%	8	56.00–66.00	$61.15	$857	-11.43
1425	1425	80-85%	1	81.00	$81.00	$1,154	+1.76
1320–1665	1450	80-85%	66	72.50–77.00	$75.15	$1,090	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1501	1501	75-80%	7	80.00	$80.00	$1,201	+4.00
1625–1690	1658	75-80%	2	72.00–77.50	$74.80	$1,240	—
1744	1744	75-80%	8	71.00	$71.00	$1,238	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
967	967	9	55.00	$55.00	$532	—
1290	1290	1	93.00	$93.00	$1,200	—
1165–1755	1417	3	78.00–85.00	$82.77	$1,173	—
1858	1858	2	93.00	$93.00	$1,728	—
2525	2525	1	88.00	$88.00	$2,222	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
925–1110	1021	(<2 yrs)	Open	32	94.00–116.00	$105.48	$1,077
970–1295	1147	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	18	75.00–103.00	$88.99	$1,021

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
975	975	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	85.00	$85.00	$829
980–1022	1012	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	70.00	$70.00	$708

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
993	993	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,150.00	$1,150.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1280	1280	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,200.00	$1,200.00

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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.