Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 16, 2020

3,353 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $152.07/cwt +3.07 vs last sale · ≈ $789/hd at 519 lb · 354 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $147.37/cwt +10.57 vs last sale · ≈ $700/hd at 475 lb · 244 head

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.21/cwt -3.34 vs last sale · ≈ $631/hd at 426 lb · 180 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,353	1,653	2,831
Feeder cattle	3,042	1,576	2,708
Slaughter cattle	311	12	123
Replacement cattle	—	65	—

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, all classes of feeder cattle sold steady with a firm market undertone. Buyer demand for feeder cattle was moderate to good on a moderate to heavy supply, with quality of cattle being plain to attractive. Calves were primarily offered in small to medium sized packages. Slaughter bulls, cows and cows returning to feed sold weak, with moderate demand for lean, thin fleshed cattle and moderate to good demand for fleshier cows. Overall demand for slaughter cattle was moderate on a heavy supply.

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
311–342	321	45	218.00–231.00	$225.26	$723	—
353–396	379	111	192.00–215.00	$201.97	$765	—
402–449	439	114	168.00–186.00	$179.82	$789	—
450–499	481	157	152.00–173.00	$160.94	$774	—
505–535	515	3	149.50–150.00	$149.67	$771	+11.67
502–547	519	351	140.00–159.00	$152.09	$789	+14.09
552–595	574	176	139.00–151.00	$146.21	$839	—
602–648	623	179	132.50–145.75	$142.29	$886	-0.67
663–683	670	34	139.00–144.00	$141.88	$951	-8.62
700–746	732	46	131.00–139.00	$136.37	$998	-2.13
755–791	771	25	131.00–142.00	$139.09	$1,072	—
808–815	810	18	135.00–147.50	$139.55	$1,130	+0.05
850	850	4	134.00	$134.00	$1,139	—
900–911	909	10	129.00–132.50	$131.81	$1,198	-8.19
1051	1051	4	117.00	$117.00	$1,230	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
397	397	9	184.00	$184.00	$730	—
442–448	447	41	145.00–147.00	$146.76	$656	—
465–491	486	33	155.00–160.00	$156.06	$758	—
551–573	555	12	136.00–146.00	$144.28	$801	—
644	644	7	135.00	$135.00	$869	—
696	696	8	137.00	$137.00	$954	-12.00
735	735	1	136.00	$136.00	$1,000	—
956	956	36	131.75	$131.75	$1,260	+0.76
1004	1004	4	120.00	$120.00	$1,205	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
228	228	2	140.00	$140.00	$319	—
273–298	287	21	147.50–167.50	$165.69	$476	—
315–345	333	31	156.00–170.00	$163.42	$544	—
351–395	367	102	146.00–167.50	$159.62	$586	—
403–447	426	180	137.50–158.75	$148.21	$631	—
457	457	2	135.00	$135.00	$617	+5.50
451–498	475	242	134.00–156.00	$147.47	$700	+17.97
523	523	2	137.00	$137.00	$717	—
500–549	531	132	132.00–143.00	$136.62	$725	—
536 unweaned	536	5	135.50	$135.50	$726	+1.04
551–599	579	123	132.00–137.50	$135.49	$784	+10.49
612–640	623	18	122.00–137.00	$131.50	$819	+9.50
650–666	665	11	122.00–133.50	$132.48	$881	—
708–727	715	20	124.50–136.50	$133.92	$958	—
750–760	754	10	111.00–137.00	$131.58	$992	-7.42
852–891	887	47	127.50–131.00	$127.71	$1,133	-4.97
904–924	914	8	124.00–126.00	$125.01	$1,143	-8.49

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
310	310	2	140.00	$140.00	$434	—
351	351	17	127.00	$127.00	$446	—
407–445	426	11	125.00–147.00	$134.94	$575	—
495	495	3	125.00	$125.00	$619	—
516–535	522	7	120.00–134.00	$131.37	$686	—
569	569	4	112.00	$112.00	$637	—
610–617	616	6	125.00–128.50	$127.92	$788	—
661	661	10	124.00–126.50	$125.25	$828	-13.75
778	778	14	117.00	$117.00	$910	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
409–445	412	12	115.00–120.00	$115.45	$476	—
450	450	2	117.50	$117.50	$529	—
670	670	1	124.00	$124.00	$831	—
750	750	2	127.00	$127.00	$952	—
835	835	1	126.00	$126.00	$1,052	—
838	838	2	122.00	$122.00	$1,022	—
1045	1045	1	116.50	$116.50	$1,217	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
338	338	4	210.00	$210.00	$710	—
453–495	464	10	140.00–161.00	$152.84	$709	—
506–515	507	9	139.00–147.00	$140.68	$713	-2.32
630	630	29	145.00	$145.00	$914	—
671	671	4	130.00	$130.00	$872	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
583	583	15	130.00	$130.00	$758	—
660	660	1	127.00	$127.00	$838	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
645	645	85-90%	1	27.50	$27.50	$177	—
753–1015	840	85-90%	3	60.00	$60.00	$504	+21.00
761–1143	1000	85-90%	20	51.00–55.00	$51.19	$512	—
988–1143	1054	85-90%	20	38.00	$38.00	$401	-4.00
865–1248	1109	85-90%	11	42.00–47.00	$44.93	$498	-4.87
1002–1309	1156	85-90%	54	43.50–48.00	$45.81	$530	-9.60
1085–1335	1253	85-90%	32	48.00–52.00	$51.08	$640	+1.90
1320	1320	85-90%	3	57.50	$57.50	$759	+5.50

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
882–1348	1043	80-85%	16	59.00–68.00	$62.63	$653	—
865–1325	1095	80-85%	2	32.00–40.00	$36.84	$403	—
940–1198	1127	80-85%	20	47.00–49.00	$48.70	$549	—
870–1290	1189	80-85%	6	42.00–47.50	$46.38	$551	—
795–1509	1268	80-85%	33	54.00–59.00	$56.04	$711	—
1235–1660	1336	80-85%	8	48.00–54.00	$51.15	$683	-1.86

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1328	1328	75-80%	5	48.75	$48.75	$647	—
1300–1920	1483	75-80%	15	59.50–65.50	$62.22	$923	—
1530–1555	1543	75-80%	2	56.50–57.00	$56.75	$876	—
1715	1715	75-80%	5	67.50	$67.50	$1,158	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1610–1895	1781	8	72.00–79.50	$75.68	$1,348	—
1145–2630	1888	2	72.50–74.00	$72.95	$1,377	—
1385–2170	1903	3	60.00–67.00	$63.78	$1,214	—

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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.