Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 5, 2022

986 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $158.92/cwt ≈ $1,413/hd at 889 lb · 43 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $183.00/cwt +1.17 vs last sale · ≈ $1,093/hd at 597 lb · 11 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $175.00/cwt +3.68 vs last sale · ≈ $873/hd at 499 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 986 1,252 1,453
Feeder cattle 199 349 301
Slaughter cattle 532 664 753
Replacement cattle 255 239 399

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Calves were mostly offered in small groups or as singles. Demand for calves was mostly light. Market activity was slow as a small buyer pool was on hand for todays light offering. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand and offerings. Packers showed light to moderate demand for cows to feed and mostly light demand for slaughter cows. Feeding cows and slaughter cows sold fully steady on all classes. Quality this week was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average this week as most cows were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher. Quality was mostly average this week. More takers were seen for rebreed type young cattle 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
597 597 11 183.00 $183.00 $1,093 +1.17
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 unweaned 460 1 187.50 $187.50 $862 -5.93
532 unweaned 532 5 176.00 $176.00 $936 -6.83
668 unweaned 668 2 167.00 $167.00 $1,116 +6.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795 unweaned 795 2 144.00 $144.00 $1,145 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
507 unweaned 507 3 174.00 $174.00 $882 —
696 unweaned 696 4 149.50 $149.50 $1,041 —
788 unweaned 788 7 139.50 $139.50 $1,099 —
875–897 889 43 156.00–160.00 $158.92 $1,413 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 424 4 185.00 $185.00 $784 —
499 499 10 175.00 $175.00 $873 —
542 542 3 160.00 $160.00 $867 —
631 unweaned 631 4 150.50 $150.50 $950 +5.12
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
608 unweaned 608 3 143.00 $143.00 $869 —
1018 1018 15 150.50 $150.50 $1,532 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
448 unweaned 448 2 165.00 $165.00 $739 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428 unweaned 428 2 162.50 $162.50 $696 -34.20
500 unweaned 500 7 152.50 $152.50 $762 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
823 823 85-90% 12 46.50 $46.50 $383 —
895–975 935 85-90% 2 44.00–50.00 $46.87 $438 —
984 984 85-90% 8 39.00 $39.00 $384 -5.87
1015–1213 1147 85-90% 3 70.00–72.00 $71.41 $819 —
910–1335 1166 85-90% 74 47.00–56.50 $53.23 $621 +1.18
1115–1250 1181 85-90% 12 36.00–45.00 $41.25 $487 -10.80
1035–1305 1194 85-90% 35 45.00–56.00 $51.50 $615 —
1125–1248 1203 85-90% 5 57.00–59.50 $58.04 $698 +4.02
1099–1293 1221 85-90% 117 57.00–64.50 $59.96 $732 +1.92
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 80-85% 1 78.00 $78.00 $1,010 —
1310–1550 1364 80-85% 26 52.00–61.00 $55.75 $760 -16.36
1225–1545 1390 80-85% 80 66.50–75.00 $70.08 $974 +12.40
1299–1600 1396 80-85% 47 56.00–66.00 $60.27 $841 +2.59
1445 1445 80-85% 1 48.00 $48.00 $694 —
1555 1555 80-85% 2 67.50 $67.50 $1,050 +19.50
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1543 1543 75-80% 5 73.00 $73.00 $1,126 —
1610 1610 75-80% 1 55.50 $55.50 $894 -21.67
1610–1715 1665 75-80% 4 74.00–78.00 $75.99 $1,265 —
1585–1799 1719 75-80% 11 63.00–71.50 $66.06 $1,136 -0.50
2058 2058 75-80% 2 57.00 $57.00 $1,173 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1913 1604 7 76.50–83.50 $80.61 $1,293 —
1385–1778 1648 13 81.00–85.50 $84.38 $1,391 —
1490–2355 1821 9 88.50–99.00 $93.43 $1,701 -1.41

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
770–1390 988 (<2 yrs)Open 72 75.00–120.00 $103.11 $1,019
845–1255 1097 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 52 61.00–103.00 $75.85 $832
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
970–1000 985 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 52.00–57.00 $54.46 $536

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1083 thin fleshed 1083 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,175.00 $1,175.00
1222–1356 1309 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 42 775.00–935.00 $911.19
1310–1405 1339 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 900.00–960.00 $941.11
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1231 1231 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 14 775.00 $775.00
1305 1305 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 875.00 $875.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
847 847 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 12 1,110.00 $1,110.00

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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.