Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 11, 2020

2,403 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 $150.52/cwt -8.56 vs last sale · ≈ $879/hd at 584 lb · 187 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $167.90/cwt +0.35 vs last sale · ≈ $892/hd at 531 lb · 181 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $174.73/cwt -3.19 vs last sale · ≈ $824/hd at 471 lb · 129 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,403 3,624 3,266
Feeder cattle 1,960 3,530 2,876
Slaughter cattle 333 80 98
Replacement cattle 110 14 292

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago: Yearling steers and heifers were not well compared. A moderate offering of yearlings was seen this sale. These offerings sold on mostly light demand. Yearlings were mostly out of backgrounding lots, however these offerings were in light to moderate flesh. Weaned and unweaned steers under 500 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower; 500-549 lbs steers sold steady to 5.00 higher; 550 lbs steers and heavier sold mostly 3.00-7.00 lower on a much lower quality offering compared to last sale. All weaned and unweaned heifers sold steady to 5.00 higher. Demand this sale was mostly moderate for light to moderate offerings. Demand for heifers was stronger than demand for steers as buyers started to purchase heifers to run on grass. Market activity this week was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Feeding buyers were the driving force behind the market as they pushed to fill loads for the week. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average this sale as most cows were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly good demand as well. Bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Two year old to young age cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand this sale. Quality was average. This class of cows was too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed.

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
335–349 unweaned 346 5 187.50–197.00 $195.16 $675 —
383–393 unweaned 387 9 183.00–185.00 $183.90 $712 -1.45
421 421 9 183.00 $183.00 $770 -4.96
405–434 unweaned 425 32 185.00–190.00 $186.89 $794 -0.31
452–497 unweaned 471 84 171.00–184.00 $176.69 $832 -2.81
456–489 472 45 170.00–174.00 $171.07 $807 -6.27
503–536 527 115 165.00–176.50 $171.55 $904 +4.14
512–542 unweaned 538 66 159.00–178.50 $161.53 $869 -6.16
558–592 579 121 148.00–155.00 $151.82 $879 +7.82
571–598 unweaned 594 66 146.00–151.00 $148.13 $880 -11.99
602–617 unweaned 608 52 148.25–151.00 $149.93 $912 -6.80
613–630 619 21 146.00–149.00 $147.91 $916 -8.03
669–678 672 15 140.00–145.00 $143.80 $966 +7.80
685 unweaned 685 2 143.00 $143.00 $980 -2.00
715 715 10 135.00 $135.00 $965 -1.00
795 795 2 133.00 $133.00 $1,057 —
829 829 87 136.50 $136.50 $1,132 —
930 930 2 125.00 $125.00 $1,162 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 unweaned 362 6 181.00 $181.00 $655 +7.00
388–390 389 21 172.00–180.00 $174.29 $678 -4.76
430 unweaned 430 1 171.50 $171.50 $737 -1.19
484 484 7 165.00 $165.00 $799 +0.09
500 500 2 150.00 $150.00 $750 +7.00
580 unweaned 580 4 138.00 $138.00 $800 -14.00
586 586 6 144.00 $144.00 $844 —
623 623 2 140.00 $140.00 $872 ±0.00
661 661 4 138.00 $138.00 $912 —
846 846 9 131.00 $131.00 $1,108 —
929 929 7 121.00 $121.00 $1,124 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 10 164.50 $164.50 $638 -12.07
762 762 12 127.00 $127.00 $968 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
341 341 6 167.00 $167.00 $569 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
551 551 5 110.00 $110.00 $606 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 2 170.00 $170.00 $575 —
350–363 unweaned 353 12 163.00–168.00 $165.09 $583 +5.84
364 364 16 171.00 $171.00 $622 +9.63
416–437 unweaned 424 50 160.00–165.00 $162.92 $691 +8.57
448–449 448 27 159.50–165.00 $161.13 $722 +5.41
470–478 476 43 158.50 $158.50 $754 +2.22
462–488 unweaned 482 46 150.00–158.00 $152.40 $735 -4.15
508–532 unweaned 519 27 142.00–144.50 $142.45 $739 -5.61
520–523 523 78 151.00–153.00 $151.03 $790 -2.42
567–580 569 28 140.00–141.00 $140.82 $801 +2.90
555–596 unweaned 573 82 135.00–144.25 $141.12 $809 +5.08
625–630 627 8 127.00–134.00 $131.36 $824 -0.73
600–638 unweaned 634 13 131.00–135.50 $134.78 $855 +4.98
673–691 688 46 128.25–129.00 $128.89 $887 -0.85
707 unweaned 707 8 125.50 $125.50 $887 —
704–734 727 26 126.00–132.25 $131.26 $954 +5.43
792 792 13 133.00 $133.00 $1,053 —
806 806 108 134.25 $134.25 $1,082 —
875–884 879 46 129.00–133.50 $131.07 $1,152 —
980 980 24 121.75 $121.75 $1,193 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 unweaned 343 3 157.50 $157.50 $540 —
388 unweaned 388 6 150.00 $150.00 $582 -4.30
395–396 396 14 157.00 $157.00 $622 —
453 453 3 142.00 $142.00 $643 +5.79
501 unweaned 501 5 131.00 $131.00 $656 -7.43
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 unweaned 424 5 147.00 $147.00 $623 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1068–1087 1081 29 95.00–103.00 $100.55 $1,087 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454 unweaned 454 4 154.00 $154.00 $699 —
579 unweaned 579 11 137.50 $137.50 $796 —
723 723 2 127.00 $127.00 $918 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 unweaned 478 2 135.00 $135.00 $645 —
720 unweaned 720 1 126.00 $126.00 $907 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
903 903 85-90% 2 38.00 $38.00 $343 —
960 960 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $384 —
915–1380 1113 85-90% 37 40.00–50.00 $46.04 $512 —
1035–1275 1148 85-90% 16 42.00–49.00 $43.56 $500 —
1015–1231 1162 85-90% 44 49.25–53.25 $52.09 $605 —
1175 1175 85-90% 1 37.50 $37.50 $441 —
1190–1279 1270 85-90% 10 52.50–53.00 $52.55 $667 +2.72
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1494 1315 80-85% 58 51.00–61.00 $58.21 $765 —
1358–1390 1361 80-85% 12 54.00–56.50 $54.21 $738 -7.79
1340–1418 1387 80-85% 14 61.50–66.00 $62.45 $866 +8.95
1345–1498 1461 80-85% 12 44.50–50.00 $48.38 $707 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $885 —
1510–1668 1589 75-80% 4 63.50–67.00 $65.16 $1,035 —
1600 1600 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $1,088 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1825 1578 3 62.00–75.00 $68.27 $1,077 —
1725–2010 1869 9 79.00–83.00 $81.35 $1,520 +3.07
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1958–2240 2018 9 76.00–83.00 $78.46 $1,583 —
2135 2135 1 75.50 $75.50 $1,612 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
810–1080 903 (<2 yrs)Open 62 69.00–93.00 $82.16 $742
839–965 934 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 23 51.00–78.00 $64.90 $606

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 13 60.50 $60.50 $505 —
930 930 16 59.00 $59.00 $549 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
516 516 9 66.00 $66.00 $341 —
707 707 9 68.50 $68.50 $484 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
419 419 4 60.00 $60.00 $251 —

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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.