Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 28, 2022

1,252 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 heifers $158.12/cwt ≈ $968/hd at 612 lb · 23 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $150.40/cwt ≈ $773/hd at 514 lb · 18 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $190.77/cwt ≈ $979/hd at 513 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,252 2,058 1,123
Feeder cattle 349 — 209
Slaughter cattle 664 621 655
Replacement cattle 239 1,437 259

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were not tested last week due to the bred cow sale, thus no trend is available. Quality was mostly plain to average for todays sale. Demand for feeder was light as quality limited demand. Market activity was mostly slow with a limited buyer pool on hand for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Packers showed mostly light demand for slaughter cows this week. Cold weather has started to make an impact on cows as flesh conditions this week were lighter than the last couple weeks. Packers continue to put cows away on feed both for the upcoming holiday break and to feed to premium white. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 lower on all classes. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 lower on high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Short term feeding cows sold mostly 2.00 lower. Cow quality today was mostly plain to average. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 4.00-6.00 lower. Quality was mostly plain to average this week.

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
508–525 unweaned 513 18 189.00–193.00 $190.77 $979 —
574 574 15 180.50–184.50 $181.83 $1,044 —
600–616 unweaned 614 10 175.00–176.50 $176.35 $1,083 —
621 621 7 175.50 $175.50 $1,090 —
675 unweaned 675 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,148 —
714 714 8 168.00 $168.00 $1,200 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–470 unweaned 460 5 190.00–198.00 $193.43 $890 —
525–542 unweaned 540 7 182.00–188.00 $182.83 $987 —
553–580 unweaned 562 3 178.50–181.00 $180.14 $1,012 —
591–593 592 12 175.00–177.00 $175.50 $1,039 —
687 unweaned 687 3 161.00 $161.00 $1,106 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 6 200.00 $200.00 $866 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
393 unweaned 393 2 176.00 $176.00 $692 —
405–427 unweaned 415 15 176.00–177.50 $176.72 $733 —
462–489 unweaned 477 11 170.00–175.00 $171.32 $817 —
503 503 4 166.00 $166.00 $835 —
502–545 unweaned 517 14 145.00–147.50 $145.94 $755 —
563 unweaned 563 2 154.00 $154.00 $867 —
645–648 unweaned 647 4 145.00–145.50 $145.38 $941 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
553–595 unweaned 564 5 157.00–162.00 $160.55 $906 —
601 601 7 160.50 $160.50 $965 —
612–648 unweaned 617 16 151.00–158.00 $157.08 $969 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 3 161.00 $161.00 $765 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411–424 unweaned 418 11 190.00–205.00 $196.70 $822 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
623 unweaned 623 4 173.00 $173.00 $1,078 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,285 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–995 953 85-90% 2 42.00–48.00 $44.87 $428 —
895–1288 1092 85-90% 10 27.50–42.00 $39.39 $430 —
1000–1255 1153 85-90% 25 45.00–55.50 $52.05 $600 -2.35
940–1340 1205 85-90% 60 50.00–55.50 $54.02 $651 +9.98
1125–1253 1217 85-90% 75 56.50–65.00 $59.81 $728 -0.70
1115–1320 1223 85-90% 6 57.00–60.50 $58.04 $710 -2.47
1257–1285 1264 85-90% 4 67.50–71.50 $70.48 $891 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1520 1366 80-85% 92 69.75–77.50 $72.11 $985 +11.01
1303–1408 1382 80-85% 33 50.50–66.50 $57.68 $797 -3.42
1325–1585 1492 80-85% 6 56.50–64.00 $62.41 $931 +14.41
1530 1530 80-85% 1 74.50 $74.50 $1,140 —
1588 1588 80-85% 2 48.00 $48.00 $762 -20.66
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1541–1686 1602 75-80% 26 77.00–77.50 $77.17 $1,236 —
1520–1925 1723 75-80% 2 66.00–67.00 $66.56 $1,147 -6.39
1870 1870 75-80% 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,561 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–2205 1661 7 71.00–87.00 $81.07 $1,347 -8.82
1720–1960 1840 2 92.50–97.50 $94.84 $1,745 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
765–870 thin fleshed 818 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 52.50–61.00 $56.93 $466
905–1295 1049 (<2 yrs)Open 37 71.00–102.00 $86.01 $902
845–1400 1069 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 57 59.50–82.00 $71.63 $766
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–998 974 (<2 yrs)Open 3 71.00–79.50 $73.69 $718
1140 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 58.00 $58.00 $661

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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.