Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, November 20, 2020

3,199 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $142.22/cwt -3.19 vs last sale · ≈ $876/hd at 616 lb · 252 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $139.65/cwt -6.74 vs last sale · ≈ $743/hd at 532 lb · 245 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $147.67/cwt -3.26 vs last sale · ≈ $839/hd at 568 lb · 224 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,199 3,511 3,050
Feeder cattle 2,918 3,345 2,837
Slaughter cattle 202 131 121
Replacement cattle 79 35 92

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Unweaned steers under 400 lbs sold sharply lower with most sales 20.00 lower; 400 lbs and heavier steers sold mostly 3.00-6.00 lower. Unweaned heifer calves under 400 lbs not well compared; heifers over 400 lbs sold 4.00-7.00 lower. Quality this week was plain to average and significantly lower than last week. Many calves were dirty this sale. Many sets were short weaned and buyers discounted these calves, as most were very dirty, full and not eye appealing. Demand was mostly light to moderate for moderate to heavy offerings. CME positions were lower throughout much of the week and were sharply lower this morning before closing down 0.95 on the January and down 0.575 on the March. The cattle on feed report was released this afternoon and it showed on feed 1% higher than last year, placements 11% lower than last year and marketings slightly lower than last year. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light offerings. Offerings were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate market trend. Feeding buyers showed good demand for all cows this week as buyers tried to finish loads for the week. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to trend. Most bulls sold to feeding buyers this sale. 2-3 year olds were too lightly tested to trend. Demand was moderate. Quality was plain to average.

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
347 unweaned 347 3 182.00 $182.00 $632 -21.77
368–385 unweaned 376 25 178.00–183.00 $180.02 $677 -22.32
418 418 7 181.00 $181.00 $757 -1.00
412–443 unweaned 433 71 172.00–178.00 $174.96 $758 -4.49
451–493 unweaned 467 50 162.00–174.00 $166.75 $779 -1.16
502–544 unweaned 532 188 148.75–164.00 $153.14 $815 -7.70
521–535 532 18 152.50–160.00 $154.13 $820 —
550–579 unweaned 566 199 144.00–151.00 $147.78 $836 -3.22
553–594 587 25 145.50–147.00 $146.77 $862 -3.31
603–641 613 78 135.50–146.50 $143.32 $879 +1.42
602–643 unweaned 617 174 133.50–145.25 $141.72 $874 -3.99
652–671 658 20 132.00–143.50 $137.40 $904 -4.72
664–691 unweaned 673 22 133.00–139.00 $135.22 $910 -6.19
717–722 unweaned 719 8 128.00–132.00 $129.51 $931 -3.99
712–745 733 14 132.50–133.50 $133.15 $976 -5.18
819 819 5 135.50 $135.50 $1,110 —
915–936 934 25 126.00–129.50 $129.23 $1,207 -6.02
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 unweaned 348 4 177.50 $177.50 $618 —
351 unweaned 351 12 160.00 $160.00 $562 -16.77
414–447 unweaned 424 45 156.00–164.00 $161.81 $686 +1.95
454 unweaned 454 5 160.00 $160.00 $726 +2.23
502–541 unweaned 516 113 136.00–155.00 $150.42 $776 -1.66
549 549 8 144.00 $144.00 $791 -7.50
555 unweaned 555 1 142.00 $142.00 $788 -3.31
635 unweaned 635 2 134.00 $134.00 $851 -2.37
685 unweaned 685 2 127.00 $127.00 $870 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1019 fancy 1019 31 122.50 $122.50 $1,248 —
1127 1127 17 108.50 $108.50 $1,223 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318 unweaned 318 2 165.00 $165.00 $525 +5.00
392 unweaned 392 3 157.00 $157.00 $615 -9.00
407–448 unweaned 425 158 148.00–154.00 $150.35 $639 -6.80
443 443 2 151.00 $151.00 $669 —
450–491 unweaned 470 102 140.00–151.00 $143.19 $673 -3.81
470–484 472 37 142.00–143.00 $142.89 $674 -9.61
486 486 11 136.50 $136.50 $663 -16.00
512–549 unweaned 531 218 135.50–142.50 $139.91 $743 -7.01
531–543 539 27 136.50–138.00 $137.56 $741 -1.94
552–589 563 21 128.00–137.00 $134.31 $756 -0.89
558–599 unweaned 573 79 128.00–135.50 $131.35 $753 -5.06
600–638 unweaned 614 60 124.50–132.50 $127.56 $783 -7.40
634 634 4 130.00 $130.00 $824 -3.50
668 unweaned 668 6 127.00 $127.00 $848 -4.07
915 915 15 121.50 $121.50 $1,112 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307–344 unweaned 330 31 142.50–148.00 $144.48 $477 —
416 416 7 147.00 $147.00 $612 —
436 unweaned 436 8 145.00 $145.00 $632 +2.37
472–496 unweaned 489 47 128.00–139.00 $137.24 $671 -5.71
497 497 9 134.00 $134.00 $666 —
510–522 unweaned 511 49 134.50–146.00 $135.94 $695 +1.41
529–532 531 20 127.00–131.00 $129.41 $687 —
569 unweaned 569 7 129.00 $129.00 $734 -2.00
573–592 589 17 129.00 $129.00 $760 —
750–790 770 6 122.50–128.00 $125.18 $964 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
439 unweaned 439 15 141.00 $141.00 $619 —
548 unweaned 548 29 132.00 $132.00 $723 —
1011–1039 1023 16 115.00–115.50 $115.22 $1,179 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374 unweaned 374 7 137.50 $137.50 $514 -3.00
404–438 unweaned 413 31 130.00–137.00 $131.92 $545 —
497 unweaned 497 8 125.00 $125.00 $621 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
371 371 11 145.00 $145.00 $538 —
432 unweaned 432 15 145.00 $145.00 $626 —
452–479 unweaned 463 18 131.00–132.00 $131.60 $609 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 unweaned 300 1 160.00 $160.00 $480 —
459–478 unweaned 465 10 144.00–152.00 $146.47 $681 -0.53
556 556 11 138.00 $138.00 $767 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 unweaned 424 5 149.00 $149.00 $632 —
518 518 3 132.00 $132.00 $684 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060 1060 85-90% 1 38.00 $38.00 $403 —
848–1375 1116 85-90% 75 43.00–51.50 $47.31 $528 —
1085–1240 1117 85-90% 8 37.00–40.00 $37.76 $422 —
920–1270 1177 85-90% 28 49.50–53.00 $51.32 $604 +13.40
1204 1204 85-90% 6 54.50 $54.50 $656 +4.75
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285 1285 80-85% 3 50.00 $50.00 $642 -11.40
1363 1363 80-85% 3 51.00 $51.00 $695 -3.97
1230–1590 1384 80-85% 56 51.00–61.00 $55.38 $766 +0.41
1200–1485 1392 80-85% 5 47.00–50.00 $47.92 $667 -7.05
1505 1505 80-85% 1 62.00 $62.00 $933 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1573 1573 75-80% 2 59.00 $59.00 $928 -3.93

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1650 1453 2 57.00–66.00 $62.11 $902 —
1770 1770 1 83.50 $83.50 $1,478 —
2028 2028 2 72.00 $72.00 $1,460 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
855–1105 941 (<2 yrs)Open 21 66.00–95.00 $81.01 $762
910–1265 1051 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 40 54.00–77.00 $63.29 $665

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1106 1106 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 985.00 $985.00
1160–1170 1165 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,025.00–1,050.00 $1,037.55

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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.