Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 22, 2021

5,304 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 $157.95/cwt -4.68 vs last sale · ≈ $911/hd at 577 lb · 643 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $143.41/cwt -8.23 vs last sale · ≈ $756/hd at 527 lb · 543 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $165.09/cwt -2.53 vs last sale · ≈ $865/hd at 524 lb · 396 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,304 3,570 1,881
Feeder cattle 5,304 3,162 1,881
Slaughter cattle — 298 —
Replacement cattle — 110 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Friday: All yearlings were scarcely tested thus no trend is available. Steer calves under 550 lbs sold mostly sharply lower, however instances of steady were seen on very attractive calves. Steer calves over 550 lbs sold sold steady to weak as packer demand for these offerings was very good. Heifer calves under 600 lbs sold mostly 3.00-8.00 lower. Heifers over 600 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed. Transportation was the biggest factor limiting demand this sale. Demand for calves was moderate to good and buyers had willing takers for todays heavy offering. However, with no trucking available buyers would not buy calves without wheels to put under them. All calves sold lower as a result. Buyers focused on buying front end calves, especially ones with two rounds of vaccinations and passed or discounted average quality calves or calves with only spring shots. Heavy discounts were seen on plain or average quality cattle. Very large price spreads were seen today. Calf quality today was attractive to very attractive overall. The cattle on feed report showed cattle on feed totaled 11.6 million head on October 1, 2021. The inventory was 1 percent below October 1, 2020. Placements in feedlots during September totaled 2.16 million head, 3 percent below 2020. Marketing's of fed cattle during September totaled 1.79 million head, 3 percent below 2020. Market activity this sale was mostly slow to moderate.

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
287 unweaned 287 30 212.50 $212.50 $610 -22.50
307–343 unweaned 331 79 193.00–214.00 $199.72 $661 -17.28
354–399 unweaned 386 82 180.00–203.00 $191.62 $740 -28.24
407–449 unweaned 424 180 173.00–200.00 $186.31 $790 -8.77
431 431 18 184.00 $184.00 $793 —
457 457 56 179.00 $179.00 $818 —
460–497 unweaned 476 310 160.00–180.00 $166.29 $792 -16.84
505–549 unweaned 523 344 152.50–173.50 $164.42 $860 -3.20
524 524 28 166.50 $166.50 $872 —
534 fancy 534 24 173.00 $173.00 $924 —
550–598 unweaned 576 626 147.50–166.00 $157.92 $910 -4.71
598–599 598 17 156.00–160.50 $159.17 $952 —
600–648 unweaned 612 251 156.00–161.00 $159.51 $976 -1.23
653 653 5 158.00 $158.00 $1,032 —
652–698 unweaned 664 72 153.50–162.00 $159.17 $1,057 -2.99
715 715 18 147.00 $147.00 $1,051 +5.50
701–735 unweaned 716 58 147.00–161.00 $157.93 $1,131 -0.25
771 771 22 149.50 $149.50 $1,153 —
795 unweaned 795 2 149.00 $149.00 $1,185 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
289 289 35 184.50 $184.50 $533 —
352–396 unweaned 384 65 165.00–175.00 $168.96 $649 -23.86
411–448 unweaned 419 52 159.00–170.00 $164.83 $691 -5.17
468–472 unweaned 470 30 157.00–158.00 $157.53 $740 -10.31
510 unweaned 510 4 151.00 $151.00 $770 -9.88
534 534 5 137.00 $137.00 $732 —
675 unweaned 675 7 152.50 $152.50 $1,029 —
717 717 3 131.00 $131.00 $939 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
439–441 unweaned 440 15 162.00 $162.00 $713 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518 unweaned 518 2 120.00 $120.00 $622 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303–349 unweaned 335 51 170.00–184.50 $180.26 $604 +1.72
356–389 unweaned 364 92 171.00–180.00 $178.69 $650 -1.10
385 fancy 385 5 195.00 $195.00 $751 —
400–448 unweaned 430 172 157.50–173.50 $166.66 $717 -5.94
445–448 446 44 150.00–153.50 $151.12 $674 —
456–460 fancy 456 23 160.00–163.00 $162.74 $742 —
454–495 unweaned 474 291 142.00–159.50 $152.15 $721 -4.92
486–489 487 34 147.00–154.00 $151.31 $737 +6.31
503 fancy 503 14 155.00 $155.00 $780 —
503–545 unweaned 526 482 136.00–151.00 $142.85 $751 -8.79
544–549 546 47 138.50–151.50 $145.66 $795 —
556–599 unweaned 574 114 133.50–143.00 $139.12 $799 -6.69
601–645 unweaned 626 67 138.00–145.00 $141.77 $887 +1.27
643–647 645 29 141.00–143.50 $142.38 $918 —
661–674 unweaned 669 18 135.00–139.00 $137.46 $920 -7.18
733 733 2 138.00 $138.00 $1,012 —
746 unweaned 746 7 140.00 $140.00 $1,044 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 unweaned 298 7 177.00 $177.00 $527 -2.14
350–381 unweaned 376 27 150.00–160.00 $152.15 $572 -7.85
428 428 4 149.00 $149.00 $638 —
404–447 unweaned 430 13 141.00–152.50 $145.15 $624 -7.85
471–498 unweaned 480 18 137.00–137.50 $137.17 $658 —
518 518 62 135.75 $135.75 $703 —
514–544 unweaned 537 22 128.00–135.00 $133.46 $717 -6.54
565 unweaned 565 4 125.00 $125.00 $706 -12.00
642 642 12 127.00 $127.00 $815 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401–448 unweaned 426 29 130.00–155.00 $146.11 $622 —
448 448 9 127.50 $127.50 $571 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
429 unweaned 429 32 145.00 $145.00 $622 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356 356 9 139.00 $139.00 $495 —
431–441 unweaned 434 19 140.00–142.00 $141.36 $614 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373 373 10 135.00 $135.00 $504 —
448 448 17 120.00 $120.00 $538 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 unweaned 433 10 149.50 $149.50 $647 —
576 unweaned 576 36 139.00 $139.00 $801 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
455 unweaned 455 9 135.00 $135.00 $614 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475–495 unweaned 482 3 151.00 $151.00 $728 -4.00

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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.