Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 9, 2023

802 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $287.33/cwt +90.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,322/hd at 460 lb · 38 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $250.50/cwt ≈ $1,861/hd at 743 lb · 37 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $264.18/cwt +75.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,604/hd at 607 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 802 1,358 1,263
Feeder cattle 443 608 492
Slaughter cattle 245 572 266
Replacement cattle 114 178 505

Market comments — USDA reporter

This is the first Monday sale of the fall thus no comparisons can be made on feeder cattle. Feeder cattle sold on light to moderate demand for light offerings. All feeders were offered in small packages or as singles. Quality today was mostly plain. Market activity was slow to moderate with a small buyer pool on hand for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand and light offerings. All cow and bull comparisons are to Thursdays sale. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to weak on all offerings in a narrow comparison. Feeding cows sold steady to weak as well. Slaughter bulls sold steady to weak in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold fully steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
369 unweaned 369 4 315.00 $315.00 $1,162 —
453–490 unweaned 460 38 270.00–291.00 $287.33 $1,322 —
526 unweaned 526 4 272.50 $272.50 $1,433 +82.90
554–579 unweaned 567 8 256.00–270.00 $262.85 $1,490 +88.03
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
513 unweaned 513 2 278.00 $278.00 $1,426 —
607 unweaned 607 17 263.00–265.00 $264.18 $1,604 —
760 760 12 250.50 $250.50 $1,904 —
998 998 3 221.00 $221.00 $2,206 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
339 unweaned 339 8 235.00 $235.00 $797 —
383 unweaned 383 4 245.00 $245.00 $938 —
487 unweaned 487 5 255.00 $255.00 $1,242 —
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 unweaned 343 8 135.00 $135.00 $463 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
618 618 5 234.50 $234.50 $1,449 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 unweaned 323 3 325.00 $325.00 $1,050 —
470 unweaned 470 9 269.00 $269.00 $1,264 +93.00
542 unweaned 542 7 257.50 $257.50 $1,396 +92.31
573 unweaned 573 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,404 +86.50
645 645 16 257.50 $257.50 $1,661 —
743 743 37 250.50 $250.50 $1,861 —
920–927 926 8 214.00–216.00 $214.25 $1,984 —
1015 1015 2 210.00 $210.00 $2,132 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342–346 unweaned 343 16 272.50–300.00 $293.06 $1,005 —
355–390 unweaned 384 6 210.00–287.50 $275.56 $1,058 —
412 unweaned 412 6 275.00 $275.00 $1,133 +100.00
460–490 unweaned 476 10 245.00–262.50 $254.98 $1,214 —
511–530 unweaned 515 5 237.50–245.00 $239.04 $1,231 +75.04
590 unweaned 590 11 240.00 $240.00 $1,416 —
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
421 unweaned 421 5 150.00 $150.00 $632 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
672 672 3 244.00 $244.00 $1,640 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1153 1153 2 193.50 $193.50 $2,231 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 unweaned 348 2 305.00 $305.00 $1,061 —
421 unweaned 421 8 275.00 $275.00 $1,158 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190 1190 1 162.50 $162.50 $1,934 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095 1095 1 177.00 $177.00 $1,938 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1415 1361 80-85% 9 93.00–97.50 $95.16 $1,295 +25.27
1318–1590 1400 80-85% 34 85.00–95.00 $91.33 $1,279 —
1293–1525 1401 80-85% 42 98.00–109.50 $103.72 $1,453 —
1430 1430 80-85% 1 62.50 $62.50 $894 —
1340–1608 1447 80-85% 8 97.00–104.00 $99.37 $1,438 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985 985 85-90% 1 95.00 $95.00 $936 +50.00
1035–1220 1101 85-90% 6 62.50–75.00 $70.25 $773 —
985–1293 1182 85-90% 39 77.00–95.00 $84.68 $1,001 +32.38
1240 1240 85-90% 1 96.50 $96.50 $1,197 +35.41
1255–1297 1293 85-90% 11 97.00–98.00 $97.09 $1,255 +43.82
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1453–1620 1495 75-80% 15 106.50–112.00 $110.85 $1,657 —
1568–1720 1593 75-80% 6 99.00–103.00 $99.72 $1,589 —
1550–1795 1651 75-80% 11 95.00–104.50 $101.21 $1,671 —
1710–1885 1797 75-80% 5 105.00–108.50 $106.30 $1,910 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1950 1699 7 99.50–105.00 $103.13 $1,752 —
1810–2175 1925 4 106.00–116.00 $110.03 $2,118 —
1915–2215 2065 2 117.00–122.00 $119.68 $2,471 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
995–1170 1094 (<2 yrs)Open 8 144.00–174.00 $158.43 $1,733
845–1340 1152 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 19 102.00–140.00 $118.98 $1,371

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1113 1113 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,475.00 $1,475.00
1194 thin fleshed 1194 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 7 950.00 $950.00
1257 1257 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 3 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1201–1424 1290 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 39 1,100.00–1,375.00 $1,207.33
1342 1342 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 3 1,500.00 $1,500.00

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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.