Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 10, 2021

1,278 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $161.56/cwt -0.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,070/hd at 662 lb · 107 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.88/cwt +8.39 vs last sale · ≈ $930/hd at 625 lb · 89 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $170.42/cwt -5.40 vs last sale · ≈ $973/hd at 571 lb · 77 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,278 3,127 2,293
Feeder cattle 1,028 3,082 1,960
Slaughter cattle 250 33 333
Replacement cattle — 12 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers traded 3.00-5.00 lower, while heifers traded 6.00-8.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls had no test. Demand was good with quality mostly long weaned (30 plus days) vaccinated feeders.

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
340 340 1 207.50 $207.50 $706 -8.50
370–385 378 4 195.00–205.00 $199.90 $756 -31.15
407–435 415 15 190.00–214.00 $207.19 $860 -14.96
457–460 458 23 182.50–188.00 $187.21 $857 -24.87
500–548 528 13 170.00–180.00 $173.92 $918 -13.21
550–597 571 77 163.00–177.50 $170.42 $973 -5.38
630–640 634 77 160.00–163.00 $161.09 $1,021 -3.57
653 unweaned 653 35 160.50 $160.50 $1,048 -6.50
653–681 667 72 158.00–165.50 $162.08 $1,081 -1.26
715–743 728 43 149.00–161.00 $157.28 $1,145 -3.43
753 753 6 149.50 $149.50 $1,126 —
850 850 6 150.00 $150.00 $1,275 —
1048 1048 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,341 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502–533 518 6 160.00–165.00 $162.57 $842 -10.28
572–583 575 7 142.50–156.00 $152.09 $875 -8.81
620–634 631 5 150.00–160.00 $158.04 $997 +5.28
653 653 5 148.00 $148.00 $966 —
764–770 767 9 140.00–154.50 $148.08 $1,136 —
835 835 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,094 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 2 190.00 $190.00 $842 —
487 487 3 180.00 $180.00 $877 —
665 665 4 155.00 $155.00 $1,031 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313 313 4 147.50 $147.50 $462 —
635 635 1 137.50 $137.50 $873 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 3 165.00 $165.00 $734 -10.45
491 491 4 164.00 $164.00 $805 +2.18
512 unweaned 512 9 153.00 $153.00 $783 +0.36
504–529 514 31 150.00–160.00 $153.59 $789 +1.46
567–592 577 34 152.00–164.50 $158.83 $916 +8.66
604 unweaned 604 33 151.50 $151.50 $915 +13.06
615–649 637 56 143.00–154.00 $147.34 $939 +5.82
659–678 670 10 153.00 $153.00 $1,025 +9.68
718–737 726 7 145.00–145.50 $145.22 $1,054 +5.72
805–845 810 20 124.00–147.00 $139.44 $1,129 —
868 868 2 137.00 $137.00 $1,189 —
887 887 27 102.00 $102.00 $905 —
915 915 17 145.00 $145.00 $1,327 —
1055 1055 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,287 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
321 321 12 140.00 $140.00 $449 -25.00
440 440 2 159.00 $159.00 $700 +3.00
515–525 522 12 130.00–136.00 $134.03 $700 -12.97
601–634 620 75 135.00–145.00 $143.23 $888 —
659 659 7 140.00 $140.00 $923 —
710–715 712 3 130.00–133.00 $131.00 $933 —
760 760 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,018 -3.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353 353 2 141.00 $141.00 $498 —
423–443 432 7 135.00–137.50 $136.40 $589 —
483 483 3 154.00 $154.00 $744 —
591 591 4 139.00 $139.00 $821 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
529 529 4 121.00 $121.00 $640 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
441 441 5 177.50 $177.50 $783 —
470 470 1 170.00 $170.00 $799 —
555 555 2 151.00 $151.00 $838 —
616 616 5 139.00 $139.00 $856 —
715–728 721 13 130.00–136.00 $133.63 $963 —
750–759 756 7 127.50–130.00 $129.29 $977 —
900 900 1 101.00 $101.00 $909 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 2 150.00 $150.00 $735 —
515 515 1 150.00 $150.00 $772 —
570 570 1 137.50 $137.50 $784 —
693 693 4 141.00 $141.00 $977 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1193 1109 85-90% 26 34.00–38.50 $36.51 $405 —
990–1530 1200 85-90% 100 38.00–47.00 $43.80 $526 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
851–1135 916 80-85% 37 65.00–98.00 $82.29 $754 —
905–1411 1240 80-85% 35 56.00–64.00 $59.35 $736 —
1290–1600 1375 80-85% 26 51.00–55.00 $53.42 $735 -5.58
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1645 1523 75-80% 2 66.00–77.50 $71.29 $1,086 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285 1285 2 63.00 $63.00 $810 —
1382–1862 1675 9 72.00–78.00 $73.70 $1,234 —
2138 2138 2 84.00 $84.00 $1,796 —

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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.