Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 11, 2024

2,592 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $300.14/cwt -2.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,615/hd at 538 lb · 80 head

light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $364.05/cwt ≈ $1,518/hd at 417 lb · 65 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $292.25/cwt +1.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,417/hd at 485 lb · 48 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	2,592	1,539	1,948
Feeder cattle	848	469	578
Slaughter cattle	1,209	840	1,069
Replacement cattle	535	230	301

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Quality today was mostly average to attractive, but overall more attractive than last weeks sale. Demand was mostly moderate for light offerings. The best demand continues to be for calves under 500 lbs which buyers can develop into yearlings. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows comprised most of the market today. Demand for cows was mostly light to moderate to start the sale and demand improved to mostly moderate to end the sale. Offerings were heavy. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on boning and lean cows in a very narrow comparison. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Quality was most average to attractive and more attractive than last weeks sale. The majority of cows this sale were purchased to go to feed. Even lame or blemished cows ended up on feeding orders again this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower. Good demand was seen for a limited offering of bred cows. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 5.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average. Cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand. Young age offerings sold generally steady to weak.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
250–272 unweaned	268	6	465.00–480.00	$477.67	$1,280	+35.66
315 unweaned	315	2	420.00	$420.00	$1,323	-17.00
365–367 unweaned	367	9	387.00–390.00	$387.33	$1,422	—
410–448 unweaned	417	65	340.00–370.00	$364.05	$1,518	—
450–480 unweaned	455	17	312.00–336.00	$330.64	$1,504	—
508–541 unweaned	538	80	294.00–307.00	$300.14	$1,615	-2.36
614–616 unweaned	615	16	267.00–279.00	$273.74	$1,684	+1.74
711 unweaned	711	11	244.00	$244.00	$1,735	-5.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
247 unweaned	247	3	430.00	$430.00	$1,062	—
344 unweaned	344	17	403.00	$403.00	$1,386	—
367–392 unweaned	375	23	355.00–380.00	$368.20	$1,381	-0.08
415–435 unweaned	425	4	327.50–340.00	$331.19	$1,408	—
478–483 unweaned	479	15	295.00–309.00	$307.12	$1,471	—
503–523 unweaned	517	7	285.00–295.00	$287.78	$1,488	-9.72
580–595 unweaned	590	6	265.00–272.00	$269.71	$1,591	+5.71
612–649 unweaned	636	18	259.00–266.00	$263.21	$1,674	—
723–740 unweaned	732	4	240.00–241.00	$240.49	$1,760	—
893	893	2	237.00	$237.00	$2,116	—
924	924	4	234.00	$234.00	$2,162	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
550 unweaned	550	2	280.00	$280.00	$1,540	—
718 unweaned	718	3	243.00	$243.00	$1,745	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
453 unweaned	453	5	305.00	$305.00	$1,382	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
303–334 unweaned	331	20	356.00–370.00	$357.28	$1,183	-12.72
377–398 unweaned	386	12	336.00–345.00	$341.13	$1,317	-8.87
413 unweaned	413	18	326.00	$326.00	$1,346	+21.00
470–494 unweaned	485	48	282.50–297.50	$292.25	$1,417	+1.56
543 unweaned	543	15	263.00	$263.00	$1,428	-6.30
551–597 unweaned	588	48	247.00–258.50	$256.85	$1,510	—
614–625 unweaned	617	16	241.00–243.00	$242.49	$1,496	+4.49
662 unweaned	662	19	235.00	$235.00	$1,556	—
894	894	7	216.00	$216.00	$1,931	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
249 unweaned	249	8	330.00	$330.00	$822	—
331–332 unweaned	331	22	344.00–352.00	$349.09	$1,155	-0.91
365–381 unweaned	380	25	325.00–328.00	$327.77	$1,246	+10.27
475–483 unweaned	480	6	270.00–285.00	$274.15	$1,316	—
575 unweaned	575	3	245.00	$245.00	$1,409	+14.00
651 unweaned	651	5	234.00	$234.00	$1,523	—
861	861	10	223.00	$223.00	$1,920	+12.00

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
748	748	7	221.00	$221.00	$1,653	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
514 unweaned	514	5	230.00	$230.00	$1,182	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
625	625	4	233.00	$233.00	$1,456	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
400 unweaned	400	3	345.00	$345.00	$1,380	—
492 unweaned	492	5	295.00	$295.00	$1,451	—
525 unweaned	525	2	257.50	$257.50	$1,352	-19.50

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
462 unweaned	462	5	302.50	$302.50	$1,398	+5.00
533 unweaned	533	3	290.00	$290.00	$1,546	+17.31
805	805	1	220.00	$220.00	$1,771	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1112	1112	5	182.00	$182.00	$2,024	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1200–1595	1349	80-85%	323	112.00–121.00	$117.31	$1,583	+13.16
125–1626	1359	80-85%	94	99.50–110.50	$106.63	$1,449	-7.14
1290–1615	1394	80-85%	4	92.00–101.00	$94.08	$1,311	-19.69
1215–1459	1438	80-85%	30	122.50–125.00	$122.70	$1,764	+12.67
1470	1470	80-85%	1	85.00	$85.00	$1,250	—
1228–1695	1483	80-85%	15	103.00–115.00	$105.88	$1,570	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
890–900	893	85-90%	3	76.00–78.00	$76.67	$685	—
930	930	85-90%	1	88.00	$88.00	$818	-10.00
1033–1180	1056	85-90%	14	92.00–93.00	$92.78	$980	—
995–1280	1118	85-90%	15	65.00–88.00	$76.57	$856	-32.83
935–1282	1163	85-90%	114	94.00–108.00	$103.04	$1,198	+33.80
1055–1285	1190	85-90%	4	90.00–94.50	$91.91	$1,094	+22.67
1160–1215	1197	85-90%	3	120.00	$120.00	$1,436	—
950–1294	1205	85-90%	159	107.00–117.50	$110.86	$1,336	+4.06
1185–1290	1238	85-90%	2	98.00–105.00	$101.65	$1,258	+1.87

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1368–1905	1443	75-80%	21	106.00–115.00	$113.97	$1,645	—
1447–1805	1569	75-80%	39	117.00–123.00	$118.98	$1,867	+6.35
1705	1705	75-80%	1	117.00	$117.00	$1,995	—
1725	1725	75-80%	1	107.00	$107.00	$1,846	—
2015	2015	75-80%	1	121.50	$121.50	$2,448	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1281–1822	1554	22	144.00–147.00	$144.89	$2,252	—
1330–1965	1600	37	121.00–143.50	$138.78	$2,220	—
1770–2067	1920	7	133.00–143.00	$141.00	$2,707	—
1630–2180	1924	12	145.50–153.00	$147.80	$2,844	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
830–1270	973	(<2 yrs)	Open	132	154.00–204.00	$186.01	$1,810
843–1238	1026	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	168	125.00–196.00	$162.87	$1,671

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
725–1435	994	(<2 yrs)	Open	22	123.00–162.00	$142.53	$1,417
848–1195	1001	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	11	112.00–132.50	$123.40	$1,235

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
912	912	(<2 yrs)	Open	17	125.00	$125.00	$1,140

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1143–1250	1217	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	31	109.00–121.50	$117.30	$1,428
1277	1277	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	9	110.00	$110.00	$1,405
1288	1288	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	24	118.50	$118.50	$1,526
1333	1333	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	19	115.50	$115.50	$1,540
1370	1370	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	3	118.00	$118.00	$1,617
1638	1638	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	3	116.00	$116.00	$1,900

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1207	1207	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	3	1,600.00	$1,600.00
1304	1304	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	9	1,650.00	$1,650.00
1408	1408	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,975.00	$1,975.00
1455	1455	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	2,100.00	$2,100.00
1465	1465	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,825.00	$1,825.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1186	1186	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	10	110.00	$110.00	$1,305

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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.