Cattle Market Pulse

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 11, 2023

866 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $205.00/cwt ≈ $1,702/hd at 830 lb · 17 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $188.00/cwt +8.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,683/hd at 895 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 866 1,267 4,022
Feeder cattle 188 318 0
Slaughter cattle 543 640 460
Replacement cattle 135 309 3,562

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality today was plain to average. Demand was mostly light as offerings were too light to build loads. CME positions traded higher today. The January traded 2.65 higher while the March traded 2.525 higher. Market activity was mostly slow today, with a small buyer pool on hand. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for mostly moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher on all classes. High quality feeding cows sold 1.00-3.00 higher. Thin feeding or turn out cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Weigh up conditions were mixed today. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand. Quality was mostly plain to average and most offerings sold to feed. This class sold generally steady.

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
470 470 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,375 —
491 unweaned 491 7 286.00 $286.00 $1,404 -4.00
535–545 540 2 266.00–267.00 $266.50 $1,439 —
582 582 3 248.00 $248.00 $1,443 —
613 unweaned 613 2 232.00 $232.00 $1,422 +7.00
613 613 3 235.00 $235.00 $1,441 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,316 —
508–515 512 4 255.00–262.00 $258.48 $1,323 —
580–598 592 3 230.00 $230.00 $1,362 —
643 643 2 200.00 $200.00 $1,286 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
536 536 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,286 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
605 605 1 208.00 $208.00 $1,258 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,200 —
591 591 7 222.00 $222.00 $1,312 —
649 649 9 210.00 $210.00 $1,363 —
725 725 6 199.00 $199.00 $1,443 —
830 830 17 205.00 $205.00 $1,702 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455–499 483 9 232.00–247.50 $243.39 $1,176 —
523 523 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,203 —
682 682 2 195.00 $195.00 $1,330 —
849 849 4 187.50 $187.50 $1,592 -1.89
895 895 10 188.00 $188.00 $1,683 +8.00
928 928 2 181.00 $181.00 $1,680 +10.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 3 227.50 $227.50 $1,308 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120 1120 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,579 —
1185 1185 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,600 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
658 658 2 205.00 $205.00 $1,349 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910 910 85-90% 1 53.00 $53.00 $482 -11.89
910–985 953 85-90% 3 72.00–78.00 $74.37 $709 —
975 975 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $604 —
1005–1120 1040 85-90% 4 60.00–63.00 $61.94 $644 —
820–1268 1108 85-90% 109 67.00–80.00 $76.56 $848 —
1005–1255 1121 85-90% 28 68.00–80.00 $72.75 $816 —
1050–1295 1169 85-90% 7 81.00–89.00 $83.17 $972 +23.24
1140–1210 1175 85-90% 2 52.00–63.00 $57.34 $674 -2.59
998–1330 1183 85-90% 70 82.00–90.00 $84.44 $999 +24.51
1285 1285 85-90% 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,208 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305–1440 1349 80-85% 8 77.00–85.00 $81.82 $1,104 —
1275–1640 1374 80-85% 133 86.00–96.00 $90.32 $1,241 +11.50
1310–1450 1384 80-85% 5 74.00–84.00 $78.17 $1,082 -0.65
1365–1445 1418 80-85% 3 86.50–92.00 $88.26 $1,252 +7.23
1335–1565 1466 80-85% 10 96.50–102.00 $99.58 $1,460 +3.58
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530 1530 75-80% 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,484 —
1525–1715 1606 75-80% 9 93.00–101.50 $98.15 $1,576 +7.15
1525–1845 1622 75-80% 17 91.00–95.00 $93.10 $1,510 +2.10

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,036 —
1415 1415 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,571 +10.90
1593–1640 1600 7 96.00–97.00 $96.15 $1,538 —
1765 1765 1 121.00 $121.00 $2,136 —
1725–2208 1917 12 109.00–118.00 $115.33 $2,211 —
1640–2330 1985 2 85.00–106.50 $97.62 $1,938 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
790–1046 885 (<2 yrs)Open 70 120.00–165.00 $145.30 $1,286
840–1225 999 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 35 81.00–112.50 $100.14 $1,000
1013–1085 1058 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 8 82.50–92.00 $85.91 $909
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775 775 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 86.00 $86.00 $666
765–1030 838 (<2 yrs)Open 4 94.00–132.50 $114.62 $961
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
768 768 (<2 yrs)Open 2 133.00 $133.00 $1,021

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1071 1071 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 160.50 $160.50 $1,719

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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.