Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 7, 2022

3,179 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $201.54/cwt +5.54 vs last sale · ≈ $857/hd at 425 lb · 253 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $200.84/cwt -10.92 vs last sale · ≈ $1,048/hd at 522 lb · 223 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $199.22/cwt -10.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,146/hd at 575 lb · 212 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,179 2,015 4,099
Feeder cattle 3,101 1,930 3,626
Slaughter cattle 58 67 372
Replacement cattle 20 18 101

Market comments — USDA reporter

Public auction yards held their first Friday sale of the fall marketing season today. This was the first Friday sale of the season so no comparisons can be made. Demand was mostly moderate to good for moderate to heavy offerings. Quality today was mostly average to very attractive. Calves were offered in mostly medium to large packages. The best demand seen today was for light calves which could be developed into yearlings, or heavy calves which buyers could feed hard and market against the April contract. Order buyers purchasing calves for packers showed very good demand for very attractive heavy weight cattle this sale. Heavier calves often sold for the same price per cwt. as their lighter mates as high feed costs make it more advantageous to buy weight than to feed it. A big crowd was on hand for todays sale. Market activity was mostly active this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for very light offerings. Packer buyers needing to fill loads for the week showed good demand for limited offerings. Too few weigh up cows and bulls were sold to develop any market trend.

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
305 unweaned 305 1 240.00 $240.00 $732 —
362–397 unweaned 382 73 227.50–238.00 $232.64 $889 —
413–437 unweaned 430 94 214.00–227.00 $224.92 $967 —
450–499 unweaned 470 77 198.50–213.50 $205.81 $967 —
503–549 unweaned 522 223 193.00–206.50 $200.84 $1,048 —
554–599 unweaned 575 212 190.50–202.00 $199.22 $1,146 —
600–643 unweaned 619 209 186.00–203.00 $196.13 $1,214 —
650–671 unweaned 662 46 186.00–196.50 $190.72 $1,263 —
707 fancy 707 28 195.50 $195.50 $1,382 —
703–745 unweaned 731 58 171.00–181.00 $175.60 $1,284 —
746 746 7 180.00 $180.00 $1,343 +7.64
825 825 3 178.00 $178.00 $1,468 +17.00
856–885 857 27 170.00–176.50 $176.25 $1,510 +21.63
991 991 8 164.50 $164.50 $1,630 +19.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374–375 unweaned 375 18 212.00–217.00 $215.61 $809 —
467–499 unweaned 486 53 185.00–198.00 $191.73 $932 —
522–530 unweaned 523 11 187.50–192.00 $191.17 $1,000 —
558–593 unweaned 565 45 171.00–189.00 $183.02 $1,034 —
601–623 unweaned 613 9 180.00–184.00 $181.74 $1,114 —
655 unweaned 655 7 175.00 $175.00 $1,146 —
718 718 8 172.50 $172.50 $1,239 —
870 870 4 163.00 $163.00 $1,418 —
930 930 5 164.50 $164.50 $1,530 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 unweaned 425 4 187.00 $187.00 $795 —
484 unweaned 484 16 186.00 $186.00 $900 —
503–534 unweaned 525 7 186.00–187.50 $187.09 $982 —
550–570 unweaned 567 7 180.00–182.00 $180.28 $1,022 —
633 unweaned 633 8 157.00 $157.00 $994 —
671 unweaned 671 10 169.50 $169.50 $1,137 —
738 unweaned 738 4 145.00 $145.00 $1,070 —
1000 1000 13 165.50 $165.50 $1,655 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468 unweaned 468 8 170.00 $170.00 $796 —
551 unweaned 551 14 161.00 $161.00 $887 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
488 unweaned 488 3 185.00 $185.00 $903 —
704 704 10 173.00 $173.00 $1,218 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
488 unweaned 488 4 173.00 $173.00 $844 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323–342 unweaned 333 9 207.00–212.00 $209.16 $697 —
354–369 unweaned 361 53 204.00–212.00 $210.22 $759 —
400–445 unweaned 425 253 192.50–212.00 $201.54 $857 —
454–499 unweaned 476 162 177.50–191.00 $183.22 $872 —
512 512 112 198.50 $198.50 $1,016 +10.17
515–535 unweaned 519 66 180.00–184.50 $180.57 $937 —
564–598 unweaned 581 134 172.00–184.00 $179.87 $1,045 —
608–637 unweaned 620 53 167.00–181.00 $178.58 $1,107 —
670 670 3 182.00 $182.00 $1,219 +16.26
675 unweaned 675 24 155.00 $155.00 $1,046 —
705–733 unweaned 717 9 150.00–164.00 $156.36 $1,121 —
709–742 724 68 175.00–181.50 $178.56 $1,293 +16.96
750–778 757 21 172.00–178.00 $173.42 $1,313 +15.91
853–873 865 22 164.00–170.00 $168.67 $1,459 +23.67
957–994 965 37 160.00–164.50 $163.62 $1,579 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343 unweaned 343 3 190.00 $190.00 $652 —
384 unweaned 384 14 194.50 $194.50 $747 —
420–446 unweaned 434 15 180.00–188.00 $181.62 $788 —
461–491 unweaned 483 66 169.00–176.00 $174.32 $842 —
526–548 unweaned 539 14 166.00–178.00 $171.02 $922 —
577 unweaned 577 8 167.00 $167.00 $964 —
925 925 3 155.00 $155.00 $1,434 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
612 612 24 176.50 $176.50 $1,080 +14.50
672–698 682 16 167.00–174.50 $169.88 $1,159 —
722 722 31 173.75 $173.75 $1,254 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 unweaned 436 16 167.00 $167.00 $728 —
505 unweaned 505 13 140.00 $140.00 $707 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 unweaned 545 6 175.00 $175.00 $954 —
640 unweaned 640 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,056 —
1095 1095 14 150.25 $150.25 $1,645 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 unweaned 330 3 209.00 $209.00 $690 —
357 unweaned 357 3 207.50 $207.50 $741 —
605 unweaned 605 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,089 —
660 unweaned 660 4 174.00 $174.00 $1,148 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
479 unweaned 479 4 173.00 $173.00 $829 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1337 1337 80-85% 3 84.50 $84.50 $1,130 —
1398–1440 1409 80-85% 4 67.00–68.00 $67.26 $948 -12.31
1430–1480 1468 80-85% 4 81.00–82.50 $81.37 $1,195 +2.92
1330–1588 1474 80-85% 4 74.00–75.50 $74.92 $1,104 -3.53
1665 1665 80-85% 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,382 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–962 934 85-90% 4 58.00–64.50 $63.02 $589 +4.65
940 940 85-90% 1 52.50 $52.50 $494 —
1067–1145 1105 85-90% 8 60.50–66.00 $64.34 $711 —
1270 1270 85-90% 1 73.00 $73.00 $927 -1.80
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1800 1800 75-80% 1 74.00 $74.00 $1,332 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410 1410 2 81.50 $81.50 $1,149 —
1475–1905 1624 4 74.50–80.50 $78.28 $1,271 —
1608–2075 1790 7 87.50–91.00 $88.40 $1,582 —
2255 2255 1 101.00 $101.00 $2,278 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1005–1250 1151 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 10 80.00–89.50 $86.23 $993
1177 1177 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 77.00 $77.00 $906
1240 thin fleshed 1240 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 75.50 $75.50 $936
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
745–965 852 (<2 yrs)Open 3 80.00–93.00 $86.37 $736

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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.