Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 30, 2020

2,679 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 $146.40/cwt +4.76 vs last sale · ≈ $842/hd at 575 lb · 268 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $145.35/cwt +5.86 vs last sale · ≈ $698/hd at 480 lb · 249 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $169.97/cwt +10.37 vs last sale · ≈ $805/hd at 474 lb · 193 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,679 2,017 3,162
Feeder cattle 2,425 1,881 2,906
Slaughter cattle 214 101 111
Replacement cattle 40 35 145

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Unweaned steers sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher on all weights. Unweaned heifers 400-549 lbs sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher; 550-649 lbs heifers sold steady to firm. Demand was mostly moderate today for moderate offerings. Quality this sale was plain to attractive. Calves with 2 rounds of preconditioning shots sold with the best demand. Several sets of calves sold this sale that were short weaned. Most short weaned calves showed signs of stress and sold a large discount. Warmer, drier weather coupled with higher CME positions led to better demand this week. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand for light offerings. Packers showed lighter demand for both feeding cows and slaughter cows this sale. Cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average this week with many cows pushing heavy amounts of fill.

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
369–378 unweaned 374 22 185.00–205.00 $196.89 $736 +2.77
400–443 unweaned 423 76 170.00–182.50 $177.90 $753 +3.64
456 fancy 456 37 187.00 $187.00 $853 —
454–499 unweaned 478 156 155.00–184.00 $165.93 $793 +5.99
502–549 unweaned 526 137 145.00–161.00 $154.48 $813 +4.61
555–597 unweaned 575 268 141.00–151.00 $146.40 $842 +4.16
605–647 unweaned 625 167 137.50–148.00 $143.86 $899 +4.14
665 665 7 130.50 $130.50 $868 —
670–696 unweaned 681 66 138.50–144.75 $140.15 $954 +1.82
700–725 unweaned 708 32 131.50–137.75 $135.33 $958 -2.27
763–782 unweaned 775 8 127.00–129.50 $128.58 $996 —
778 778 4 143.00 $143.00 $1,113 —
840 unweaned 840 3 128.00 $128.00 $1,075 —
922–930 922 27 133.00 $133.00 $1,226 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 unweaned 381 4 172.00 $172.00 $655 -15.50
423–445 unweaned 435 26 162.50–170.00 $164.11 $714 -1.44
497 unweaned 497 9 154.50 $154.50 $768 +7.56
507–547 unweaned 531 32 136.00–149.00 $139.98 $743 +2.96
550–587 unweaned 572 22 139.00–141.00 $139.95 $801 +11.66
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314 unweaned 314 8 160.00 $160.00 $502 —
402 unweaned 402 11 145.00 $145.00 $583 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 unweaned 344 9 154.00 $154.00 $530 -11.79
350–391 unweaned 369 16 152.00–154.00 $152.59 $563 -2.15
400–448 unweaned 424 90 146.00–156.50 $152.23 $645 +5.80
450–499 unweaned 480 249 141.50–148.50 $145.35 $698 +5.71
501–547 unweaned 519 179 135.50–145.00 $141.69 $735 +8.51
557–588 unweaned 573 111 132.50–139.50 $136.48 $782 +1.25
600–647 unweaned 624 33 128.00–134.00 $131.10 $818 +0.77
700–740 unweaned 713 3 124.00–131.75 $126.68 $903 +10.68
963 963 2 121.50 $121.50 $1,170 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373 unweaned 373 20 132.00 $132.00 $492 —
415–443 unweaned 436 14 133.00–145.00 $137.68 $600 —
465–490 unweaned 478 38 132.00–144.00 $137.57 $658 +7.53
520 unweaned 520 11 134.50 $134.50 $699 —
888 888 11 109.00 $109.00 $968 —
903 903 3 114.50 $114.50 $1,034 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 unweaned 510 6 138.00 $138.00 $704 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 unweaned 520 5 137.00 $137.00 $712 —
563 unweaned 563 22 122.00 $122.00 $687 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
601–648 unweaned 617 14 123.00–124.00 $123.50 $762 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1322–1455 1350 80-85% 10 47.50–50.00 $49.23 $665 -16.62
1415–1510 1437 80-85% 5 41.50–42.50 $41.81 $601 -0.19
1250–1540 1442 80-85% 15 50.50–60.00 $53.01 $764 +11.01
1375–1605 1473 80-85% 12 43.50–48.00 $45.05 $664 —
1410–1540 1484 80-85% 7 50.00–58.50 $51.82 $769 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1029–1338 1134 85-90% 26 33.00–43.00 $40.33 $457 —
1145–1260 1203 85-90% 2 53.00 $53.00 $638 —
1020–1305 1231 85-90% 12 44.50–47.00 $45.44 $559 —
1290–1292 1292 85-90% 8 47.00–50.00 $49.25 $636 +1.64
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1616 1616 75-80% 13 53.75 $53.75 $869 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1665–1805 1726 5 63.00–74.50 $69.40 $1,198 —
1610–2090 1872 3 76.50–78.50 $77.33 $1,448 —
1755–2180 1897 3 65.00–73.50 $68.26 $1,295 —
2085 2085 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,710 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
912–1375 1030 (<2 yrs)Open 12 64.00–85.00 $79.66 $820
913–1215 1082 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 15 58.00–77.00 $66.43 $719

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1337 1337 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,050.00 $1,050.00

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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.