Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 1, 2021

3,552 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 $173.90/cwt -13.82 vs last sale · ≈ $907/hd at 521 lb · 491 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $159.63/cwt -10.18 vs last sale · ≈ $776/hd at 486 lb · 431 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $177.12/cwt -21.09 vs last sale · ≈ $828/hd at 467 lb · 205 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,552 5,176 0
Feeder cattle 3,463 4,965 0
Slaughter cattle 52 97 0
Replacement cattle 37 114 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

This is the first Friday sale of the fall run so no comparisons are available. Demand was mostly moderate with moderate to good demand seen at times, especially on very attractive cattle. Quality this week was average to very attractive. Calves were mostly offered in moderate size packages this sale, however a couple load lots were seen as well. Mostly good demand was seen for feeders under 400 lbs suitable to develop into yearlings. Most cattle on offer were in light flesh as most were straight off the cow and coming out of very dry conditions. Market activity was moderate to active this sale, however a limited number of order buyers were in the seats this sale. Weigh up cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was moderate to good today as buyers pushed to fill loads from yesterdays sale.

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
275 unweaned 275 1 220.00 $220.00 $605 —
310–336 unweaned 328 17 210.00–215.00 $211.69 $694 —
350–391 unweaned 375 89 194.00–211.00 $206.84 $776 —
406–448 unweaned 426 199 179.00–199.00 $193.14 $823 —
453 453 8 175.00 $175.00 $793 -23.21
450–491 unweaned 468 197 170.00–182.00 $177.21 $829 —
517 fancy 517 177 183.00 $183.00 $946 —
502–548 unweaned 521 265 161.00–174.00 $168.57 $878 —
528–545 540 49 169.00–172.00 $169.90 $917 -17.82
553–592 unweaned 581 164 154.50–168.00 $159.82 $929 —
613–639 unweaned 619 81 151.00–156.50 $154.32 $955 —
655–671 unweaned 667 29 147.00–152.00 $148.89 $993 —
752–758 754 16 150.50–154.00 $152.68 $1,151 +22.53
844 844 42 149.50 $149.50 $1,262 +7.85
875–881 877 35 141.50–142.25 $142.06 $1,246 +8.79
925 925 5 136.00 $136.00 $1,258 +16.00
970–980 975 2 136.50–137.00 $136.75 $1,333 +15.75
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
274 unweaned 274 13 199.00 $199.00 $545 —
318–349 unweaned 346 37 184.00–190.00 $184.60 $639 —
379–393 unweaned 389 33 180.00–190.00 $183.43 $714 —
410–445 unweaned 419 39 164.00–176.00 $169.87 $712 —
475–489 unweaned 485 10 161.00–166.00 $164.53 $798 —
505–548 unweaned 515 73 152.00–158.50 $153.61 $791 —
665 unweaned 665 3 145.00 $145.00 $964 —
748 748 5 148.00 $148.00 $1,107 +20.00
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 unweaned 335 7 173.00 $173.00 $580 —
468 unweaned 468 31 162.50 $162.50 $760 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 unweaned 540 10 155.00 $155.00 $837 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
489 unweaned 489 4 145.00 $145.00 $709 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–348 unweaned 340 38 180.00–186.00 $182.70 $621 —
359–388 unweaned 377 34 171.00–183.50 $179.53 $677 —
403–448 unweaned 422 155 165.00–175.00 $167.79 $708 —
452 fancy 452 6 170.00 $170.00 $768 —
469 469 7 152.00 $152.00 $713 -17.81
454–498 unweaned 487 418 152.00–162.00 $159.61 $777 —
510 510 22 155.50 $155.50 $793 -7.48
502–543 unweaned 528 147 148.00–156.50 $150.54 $795 —
547 547 13 145.00 $145.00 $793 -17.98
572 fancy 572 53 150.25 $150.25 $859 —
555–595 unweaned 575 99 139.00–152.00 $146.51 $842 —
603–640 unweaned 614 13 136.00–140.50 $138.49 $850 —
669–685 unweaned 670 26 130.00–139.50 $138.75 $930 —
694 694 4 140.00 $140.00 $972 -1.63
713 unweaned 713 5 130.50 $130.50 $930 —
805–838 815 13 139.00–142.00 $141.05 $1,150 +11.83
916–948 930 47 132.00–135.00 $133.47 $1,241 —
978 978 6 125.00 $125.00 $1,222 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 unweaned 294 6 170.00 $170.00 $500 —
312–333 unweaned 323 13 175.00 $175.00 $565 —
396–398 unweaned 397 45 151.50–161.00 $156.77 $622 —
413–419 unweaned 417 14 151.00–163.00 $155.25 $647 —
453–476 unweaned 462 20 145.00–149.00 $147.11 $680 —
545 unweaned 545 13 144.00 $144.00 $785 —
762 762 22 136.50 $136.50 $1,040 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 unweaned 320 7 160.00 $160.00 $512 —
406–408 unweaned 407 24 145.00–151.00 $148.24 $603 —
454 unweaned 454 8 151.00 $151.00 $686 —
774 774 10 121.00 $121.00 $937 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
669 669 41 144.00 $144.00 $963 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 unweaned 470 10 149.00 $149.00 $700 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
269 unweaned 269 5 165.00 $165.00 $444 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
322 unweaned 322 3 195.00 $195.00 $628 —
523 unweaned 523 11 153.00 $153.00 $800 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1318–1440 1332 80-85% 9 75.00–77.00 $75.24 $1,002 —
1350–1420 1406 80-85% 9 60.00–70.00 $66.08 $929 —
1480 1480 80-85% 2 56.00 $56.00 $829 —
1490 1490 80-85% 3 71.00 $71.00 $1,058 —
1575 1575 80-85% 1 51.50 $51.50 $811 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890 890 85-90% 2 42.50 $42.50 $378 —
1125–1190 1158 85-90% 2 55.00–59.00 $56.94 $659 +4.55
1225 1225 85-90% 1 53.50 $53.50 $655 —
1238–1270 1252 85-90% 4 44.00 $44.00 $551 —
1235–1278 1267 85-90% 6 47.00–53.50 $52.11 $660 —
1267 1267 85-90% 3 57.50 $57.50 $729 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1585 1585 75-80% 3 82.50 $82.50 $1,308 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1680–2070 1843 4 81.00–87.00 $83.91 $1,546 —
1870 1870 2 94.00 $94.00 $1,758 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1039 thin fleshed 1039 (<2 yrs)Open 9 73.00 $73.00 $758
935–1195 1069 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 22 60.00–76.00 $69.03 $738
1078 1078 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 71.00 $71.00 $765
1093–1255 thin fleshed 1147 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 54.00–55.00 $54.64 $627

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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.