Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 7, 2022

1,564 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $179.96/cwt +0.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,118/hd at 621 lb · 93 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.76/cwt ≈ $912/hd at 525 lb · 86 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $166.00/cwt +3.93 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 570 lb · 62 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,564 1,790 2,932
Feeder cattle 703 458 525
Slaughter cattle 670 927 1,690
Replacement cattle 191 405 717

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed on both steer and heifer calves. Yearlings were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly light to moderate for light offerings. Quality today was mostly average. Package sizes were mostly small to moderate today. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to firm on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold fully steady. Packers opted to send most of the cow offering to feed, either short term feed for the upcoming holidays or high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Short term feeding cows sold fully steady, while high quality cows, suitable to feed to premium white sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on a lower quality offering.

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
370 unweaned 370 1 250.00 $250.00 $925 +7.50
405–425 unweaned 419 10 230.00–240.00 $234.54 $983 +13.19
455–489 unweaned 483 24 204.00–215.00 $207.91 $1,004 +1.51
505–538 unweaned 523 45 193.00–203.00 $196.30 $1,027 +1.30
583–596 unweaned 595 18 182.00–182.50 $182.45 $1,086 -7.89
615–629 unweaned 621 93 177.75–182.25 $179.96 $1,118 +0.03
671–680 unweaned 676 10 167.00–168.00 $167.50 $1,132 -1.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 unweaned 405 3 232.50 $232.50 $942 +15.00
538 unweaned 538 2 184.00 $184.00 $990 -7.00
572 unweaned 572 3 168.00 $168.00 $961 -18.00
608–638 unweaned 629 10 169.00–172.00 $170.81 $1,074 —
713 713 4 168.00 $168.00 $1,198 -1.00
826 826 4 170.00 $170.00 $1,404 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
623 623 2 174.00 $174.00 $1,084 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328 unweaned 328 5 240.00 $240.00 $787 +10.00
373–380 unweaned 375 14 207.00–214.00 $209.64 $786 -11.26
403–423 unweaned 410 23 196.00–199.00 $197.92 $811 -1.78
462–487 unweaned 472 48 182.00–187.00 $183.60 $867 +1.74
500–541 unweaned 525 86 171.50–177.00 $173.76 $912 —
563–573 unweaned 570 62 165.00–168.50 $166.00 $946 +3.93
651 651 4 151.50 $151.50 $986 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
614–648 unweaned 637 12 151.00–153.00 $151.64 $966 —
686 unweaned 686 14 153.50 $153.50 $1,053 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361–380 unweaned 369 7 230.00 $230.00 $849 +25.00
467–481 unweaned 474 15 194.00–199.00 $196.63 $932 -1.37
738 738 5 157.00 $157.00 $1,159 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–995 938 85-90% 2 52.00–53.00 $52.47 $492 +5.21
1050–1185 1137 85-90% 4 36.00–47.00 $41.21 $469 —
1117–1273 1160 85-90% 27 60.00–64.50 $62.66 $727 —
998–1333 1189 85-90% 33 51.00–61.00 $56.52 $672 +3.65
1005–1395 1201 85-90% 65 48.00–59.00 $54.88 $659 —
1040–1413 1220 85-90% 185 62.00–70.50 $65.26 $796 +2.45
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1326–1481 1391 80-85% 35 62.00–68.00 $64.93 $903 -8.71
1295–1610 1414 80-85% 40 55.00–66.50 $60.82 $860 -13.35
1215–1590 1429 80-85% 116 69.00–79.50 $76.21 $1,089 +2.04
1298–1695 1430 80-85% 3 70.00 $70.00 $1,001 -4.17
1408–1552 1506 80-85% 24 81.00–84.00 $81.35 $1,225 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415–1555 1451 75-80% 9 80.00–81.00 $80.89 $1,174 +2.39
1487–1633 1561 75-80% 30 79.00–83.50 $82.88 $1,294 —
1481–1885 1597 75-80% 23 71.00–78.00 $74.24 $1,186 —
1410–1748 1635 75-80% 3 84.50 $84.50 $1,382 +7.76
1870–1925 1898 75-80% 2 62.00 $62.00 $1,177 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1335 1335 1 78.00 $78.00 $1,041 -1.96
1365–2020 1627 18 69.00–86.00 $81.58 $1,327 —
1885 1885 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,810 —
1755–2270 2063 4 87.00–95.00 $90.52 $1,867 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1525–1800 1672 12 90.00 $90.00 $1,505 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
753–1330 979 (<2 yrs)Open 92 85.00–123.00 $106.34 $1,041
958–1345 1088 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 47 70.00–88.50 $79.63 $866
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
830 thin fleshed 830 (<2 yrs)Open 1 62.50 $62.50 $519
890–995 949 (<2 yrs)Open 4 80.00–92.00 $88.38 $839
1360 1360 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 62.00 $62.00 $843

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1262 1262 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 18 75.00 $75.00 $946
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1230 1138 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 1,100.00–1,250.00 $1,152.72
1285 1285 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00

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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.