Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report, Billings, MT

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

HeadThis saleLast saleLast 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ 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.