Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, January 29, 2021

2,265 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 heifers $148.55/cwt +4.29 vs last sale · ≈ $844/hd at 568 lb · 213 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $165.46/cwt -0.42 vs last sale · ≈ $956/hd at 577 lb · 175 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $138.48/cwt +7.33 vs last sale · ≈ $910/hd at 657 lb · 119 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,265 2,794 0
Feeder cattle 2,130 2,701 0
Slaughter cattle 91 74 0
Replacement cattle 44 19 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were not well compared. Steers all sold steady to 3.00 higher. Heifers under 400 lbs were not well compared steady to firm undertones were noticed. 400-649 lbs heifers sold 3.00-4.00 higher, 650-699 lbs heifers sold 4.00-8.00 higher; heavier weights of heifers were not well compared, higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Demand was mostly moderate to good for moderate offerings. Good demand continues to be seen for all cattle suitable to run on grass. Market activity was mostly active today. Weigh up cows and bulls were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Packers showed very good demand for all cows and bulls on offer as they pushed for fill both feeding and slaughter loads for the week.

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
320–346 342 9 190.00–196.00 $195.27 $668 +4.93
370–396 382 20 187.50–197.00 $194.49 $743 -7.80
400–445 436 46 190.00–198.00 $196.65 $857 +2.81
463 fancy 463 52 205.00 $205.00 $949 —
460–498 469 64 185.00–194.00 $191.65 $899 +5.00
501–542 511 75 174.50–187.50 $182.29 $932 +1.93
550–586 571 121 161.00–178.00 $168.30 $961 +2.42
565–598 unweaned 592 54 158.00–159.50 $159.11 $942 —
601–642 624 75 148.75–160.00 $153.93 $961 -1.97
655–696 670 112 145.00–155.00 $150.04 $1,005 +1.07
703 unweaned 703 13 143.50 $143.50 $1,009 —
720 720 3 143.50 $143.50 $1,033 +6.01
765–782 781 29 130.00–134.75 $134.59 $1,051 +5.09
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 4 177.50 $177.50 $648 -7.64
400–434 414 45 175.00–181.00 $177.14 $733 —
483–493 490 9 171.00–176.00 $172.65 $846 -3.76
611 611 12 145.00 $145.00 $886 +2.77
730 730 9 133.50 $133.50 $975 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 523 4 172.00 $172.00 $900 —
623–644 642 23 148.00 $148.00 $950 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
528 528 4 151.00 $151.00 $797 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–370 363 19 167.50–174.00 $170.33 $618 +0.59
416–442 434 92 162.00–166.00 $165.12 $717 +2.76
456–498 482 95 158.00–164.00 $160.89 $775 +3.95
500–536 517 85 149.00–160.00 $154.35 $798 +3.35
551–597 568 205 142.00–153.50 $149.08 $847 +4.82
578 unweaned 578 8 135.00 $135.00 $780 —
602–634 619 90 137.00–148.00 $140.23 $868 +1.38
645 unweaned 645 8 136.00 $136.00 $877 —
650–683 655 113 131.00–141.00 $139.14 $911 +7.99
696 696 6 126.00 $126.00 $877 -5.15
700 700 8 130.50 $130.50 $914 +4.05
810–812 810 17 121.00–122.50 $122.23 $990 —
987 987 22 116.50 $116.50 $1,150 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376–394 389 23 155.00–164.00 $157.27 $612 -2.32
431–448 438 12 150.00–159.00 $153.29 $671 +2.29
455 455 14 156.00 $156.00 $710 +8.23
462 unweaned 462 6 149.00 $149.00 $688 —
513–544 530 25 139.00–149.00 $145.39 $771 +1.75
559–563 561 10 130.00–137.00 $134.19 $753 +1.67
628 628 4 128.00 $128.00 $804 +1.01
842 842 17 111.00 $111.00 $935 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
499 499 65 150.00 $150.00 $748 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
449 449 9 139.00 $139.00 $624 —
454 454 7 122.00 $122.00 $554 —
537 537 8 125.00 $125.00 $671 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 424 11 154.00 $154.00 $653 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
563 563 5 117.00 $117.00 $659 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 5 189.00 $189.00 $739 +14.00
455–466 465 8 180.00–182.00 $180.24 $838 +0.93
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1001 1001 7 89.00 $89.00 $891 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–965 873 85-90% 2 40.00–44.00 $41.79 $365 —
910–975 949 85-90% 5 45.00–50.00 $46.16 $438 —
1023–1330 1157 85-90% 6 54.00–59.50 $55.91 $647 —
1090–1450 1225 85-90% 29 46.00–54.00 $51.22 $627 +2.33
1325 1325 85-90% 1 41.00 $41.00 $543 -15.33
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1363–1405 1377 80-85% 3 48.00–51.00 $49.98 $688 -11.52
1345–1555 1420 80-85% 8 54.00–60.50 $58.19 $826 +10.20
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1550 1550 75-80% 1 50.00 $50.00 $775 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2105 2105 1 87.50 $87.50 $1,842 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
940–1361 1239 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 50.00–80.00 $58.40 $724

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1165 thin fleshed 1165 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 9 625.00 $625.00
1203 1203 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1230–1367 1333 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 725.00–735.00 $732.69

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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.