Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 9, 2020

1,653 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $147.38/cwt ≈ $842/hd at 571 lb · 168 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $149.00/cwt ≈ $791/hd at 531 lb · 123 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $143.78/cwt ≈ $881/hd at 613 lb · 120 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,653	5,000	807
Feeder cattle	1,576	—	741
Slaughter cattle	12	—	57
Replacement cattle	65	—	9

Market comments — USDA reporter

This is the first Friday sale of the fall run thus no comparisons can be made. Quality thus week was mixed from plain to attractive. Calves were offered in mostly small to medium size packages. Buyers showed mostly light demand for unweaned calves and mostly moderate to good demand for yearlings. Dry and dusty conditions coupled with warmer weather can be devastating to calves health. Buyers showed reserve as they bid on calves this week as a result. CME positions showed triple digit losses during the trading session however prices recovered some for the close. The October contract closed 0.20 higher at 138.25 and the November closed 0.925 lower at 135.525. Buyer attendance was good. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mixed demand with good to very good demand for boning and breaking flesh cows and mostly light demand for lean, thin fleshed cows. Cows and bulls both offered average to below average weigh conditions this week. Prices were steady with Wednesdays sale.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
305–348 unweaned	337	28	209.00–216.00	$213.15	$718
353–378 unweaned	361	14	195.00–205.00	$197.84	$714
405–434 unweaned	422	59	168.00–187.50	$173.01	$730
450–490 unweaned	477	118	155.00–173.00	$163.79	$781
513	513	7	138.00	$138.00	$708
506–547 unweaned	532	116	147.00–154.00	$149.66	$796
550–596 unweaned	571	168	143.00–150.75	$147.38	$842
601–641 unweaned	610	76	137.00–148.75	$144.25	$880
605–628	617	44	141.00–145.00	$142.96	$882
660–684 unweaned	680	40	143.00–145.00	$143.47	$976
687	687	7	150.50	$150.50	$1,034
705–745 unweaned	725	4	128.00–137.00	$132.62	$961
745	745	3	138.50	$138.50	$1,032
784 unweaned	784	4	127.00	$127.00	$996
840	840	13	139.50	$139.50	$1,172
901	901	40	140.00	$140.00	$1,261

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
313 unweaned	313	10	187.50	$187.50	$587
408 unweaned	408	2	167.50	$167.50	$683
464–486 unweaned	478	12	146.00–158.00	$152.00	$727
566–596 unweaned	587	16	138.00–140.00	$138.86	$815
601 unweaned	601	4	138.00	$138.00	$829
681	681	7	149.00	$149.00	$1,015
728 unweaned	728	2	124.00	$124.00	$903
798	798	16	137.50–138.50	$138.13	$1,102
825	825	3	138.50	$138.50	$1,143
923–946	943	15	133.00–133.75	$133.65	$1,260
953–958	956	4	129.00–133.00	$130.99	$1,252

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
396 unweaned	396	6	165.00	$165.00	$653
443 unweaned	443	23	157.00	$157.00	$696
501 unweaned	501	33	144.00	$144.00	$721
662	662	3	147.50	$147.50	$976

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
398	398	3	132.50	$132.50	$527
458–490	469	3	130.00–151.50	$137.49	$645

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
788	788	3	133.50	$133.50	$1,052

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
308–320 unweaned	313	8	172.50–180.00	$174.41	$546
390–394 unweaned	393	30	153.00–160.00	$154.51	$607
410–418 unweaned	414	43	148.00–155.00	$151.55	$627
473–474 unweaned	473	55	137.50–138.00	$137.73	$651
474	474	7	129.50	$129.50	$614
530–547 unweaned	539	20	133.00–135.00	$134.46	$725
560	560	6	125.00	$125.00	$700
560–581 unweaned	572	22	128.00–137.50	$133.53	$764
600–611 unweaned	609	7	127.00–130.00	$127.42	$776
644	644	4	122.00	$122.00	$786
779	779	6	139.00	$139.00	$1,083
850–897	880	11	132.00–133.50	$132.68	$1,168
900–919	918	15	133.50	$133.50	$1,226

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
342–346 unweaned	344	10	152.50–155.00	$153.74	$529
366 unweaned	366	5	140.00	$140.00	$512
421 unweaned	421	10	132.00	$132.00	$556
480–486 unweaned	485	13	127.00–128.00	$127.77	$620
503–514 unweaned	508	13	130.00–131.00	$130.30	$662
665	665	22	139.00	$139.00	$924
952	952	3	124.00	$124.00	$1,180

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
461 unweaned	461	4	112.50	$112.50	$519

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1080	1080	3	119.50	$119.50	$1,291

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1130	1130	1	82.00	$82.00	$927
1183	1183	2	80.00	$80.00	$946

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
518	518	2	143.00	$143.00	$741

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
838	838	85-90%	2	39.00	$39.00	$327
1080	1080	85-90%	1	42.00	$42.00	$454
1015–1188	1130	85-90%	3	47.00–51.00	$49.80	$563
995–1345	1157	85-90%	8	54.00–57.00	$55.41	$641
1100–1333	1275	85-90%	4	48.00–49.50	$49.18	$627
1298	1298	85-90%	2	63.00	$63.00	$818
1323	1323	85-90%	2	52.00	$52.00	$688

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1320–1350	1335	80-85%	2	52.50–53.50	$53.01	$708
1290–1405	1367	80-85%	3	57.50–62.50	$59.07	$807
1435	1435	80-85%	2	63.50–67.00	$65.25	$936

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1423	1423	75-80%	2	51.50	$51.50	$733
1565	1565	75-80%	1	67.00	$67.00	$1,049
1633	1633	75-80%	2	53.50	$53.50	$874
2010	2010	75-80%	1	70.00	$70.00	$1,407

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1350–1878	1567	8	62.00–72.75	$69.57	$1,090
1350–1830	1654	6	58.00–74.00	$65.95	$1,091
1848–2165	2004	5	77.00–79.50	$78.54	$1,574

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
965	965	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	72.00	$72.00	$695
910–1133	1088	(<2 yrs)	Open	5	70.00–81.00	$71.84	$782

↑ Back to top

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.