Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, November 3, 2023

2,384 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 $272.67/cwt +2.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,565/hd at 574 lb · 168 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $292.91/cwt +4.17 vs last sale · ≈ $1,529/hd at 522 lb · 128 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $259.23/cwt -2.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,359/hd at 524 lb · 111 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,384 2,907 3,159
Feeder cattle 2,280 2,728 2,797
Slaughter cattle 77 110 261
Replacement cattle 27 69 101

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: No sale was held last week do to a snowstorm and poor road conditions. All feeder comparisons are to two weeks ago. Steers under 500 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Steer calves over 500 lbs sold steady to firm. Heifer calves under 450 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on a poorer quality offering; heifers over 450 lbs sold steady to firm. All yearlings were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate for light to moderate offerings. Most cattle were offered in small packages this sale. Only 5 packages of 30 head or more was seen this sale, forcing buyers to piece together loads. Quality was mixed from plain to attractive, however most cattle were plain to average with only a limited selection of attractive cattle seen. Large price spreads were seen today as buyers had a difficult time building loads of like weight and quality. Many frozen ears and tails were noticed today as many sets of calves were cutbacks off summer videos. While these cattle are not included in the report below, most of these offerings sold with a 12.00-18.00 discount to none frozen cattle. A moderate size buyer pool was seen today and market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for cows and bulls was mostly good as buyers pushed to fill loads for the week. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average today with many very full offerings noticed.

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
290 unweaned 290 3 380.00 $380.00 $1,102 —
353–395 unweaned 375 18 345.00–365.00 $349.39 $1,310 -26.84
400–447 unweaned 430 51 339.00–367.50 $351.34 $1,511 +11.36
453–498 unweaned 474 57 300.00–325.00 $311.65 $1,477 -11.86
500–543 unweaned 522 128 280.00–315.00 $292.91 $1,529 +3.91
550–594 unweaned 574 168 245.00–284.00 $272.67 $1,565 +0.81
600–641 unweaned 621 108 255.00–270.00 $260.32 $1,617 -0.49
652–693 unweaned 657 67 240.00–257.00 $252.33 $1,658 -2.55
681 681 4 225.00 $225.00 $1,532 -24.81
714 714 7 222.00 $222.00 $1,585 -18.00
751 751 8 221.50 $221.50 $1,663 —
759 unweaned 759 6 232.00 $232.00 $1,761 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323–344 unweaned 339 18 325.00–350.00 $332.71 $1,128 —
392–395 unweaned 392 32 322.50–335.00 $322.89 $1,266 -16.29
406–448 unweaned 426 37 307.50–322.50 $312.28 $1,330 -9.11
474–498 unweaned 479 25 281.00–299.00 $290.46 $1,391 +0.47
508–548 unweaned 537 67 250.00–279.00 $272.63 $1,464 +2.07
551–599 unweaned 587 24 244.00–264.00 $256.78 $1,507 +2.90
600–633 unweaned 614 9 235.00–249.00 $244.60 $1,502 -4.62
690 unweaned 690 2 232.00 $232.00 $1,601 -5.31
754 754 12 229.00 $229.00 $1,727 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
457–486 unweaned 472 10 275.00–303.00 $288.57 $1,362 —
504–535 unweaned 507 21 262.50–275.00 $270.71 $1,372 —
566 unweaned 566 12 270.00 $270.00 $1,528 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 5 300.00 $300.00 $1,434 —
524 unweaned 524 10 276.00 $276.00 $1,446 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
697 697 11 227.50 $227.50 $1,586 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 unweaned 275 1 325.00 $325.00 $894 -15.00
343 unweaned 343 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,063 -23.19
353–389 unweaned 374 22 293.00–320.00 $301.66 $1,128 -15.28
405–448 unweaned 430 47 280.00–310.00 $292.24 $1,257 +1.70
469 469 10 252.50 $252.50 $1,184 —
455–495 unweaned 475 84 260.00–285.00 $273.69 $1,300 +1.35
497 497 8 260.00 $260.00 $1,292 —
517 517 52 259.50 $259.50 $1,342 —
500–544 unweaned 530 53 250.00–268.00 $260.46 $1,380 -1.74
538 538 6 246.00 $246.00 $1,323 —
550 fancy 550 4 269.00 $269.00 $1,480 —
551–581 unweaned 564 91 244.00–264.00 $252.13 $1,422 -2.86
602 602 7 233.00 $233.00 $1,403 —
601–634 unweaned 613 52 239.00–247.00 $244.24 $1,497 -1.90
668 unweaned 668 9 236.00 $236.00 $1,576 ±0.00
682 682 31 223.00 $223.00 $1,521 —
717 unweaned 717 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,506 —
725 725 29 219.00 $219.00 $1,588 -6.00
739 739 5 211.00 $211.00 $1,559 -14.00
808–821 815 21 218.00–219.50 $218.71 $1,782 +5.71
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 unweaned 328 2 300.00–305.00 $302.44 $992 —
354–386 unweaned 358 27 260.00–290.00 $281.71 $1,009 -11.46
410–446 unweaned 431 40 247.00–277.50 $256.06 $1,104 -3.94
475 475 10 222.50 $222.50 $1,057 —
477–494 unweaned 489 15 254.00–261.00 $256.83 $1,256 -1.34
505–546 unweaned 526 62 231.00–255.00 $241.42 $1,270 -10.76
557–590 unweaned 564 11 224.00–240.00 $234.81 $1,324 -0.19
646 646 5 207.50 $207.50 $1,340 -9.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–498 unweaned 486 5 237.50–244.00 $241.50 $1,174 —
504–540 unweaned 530 21 214.00–225.00 $217.16 $1,151 —
614 unweaned 614 22 211.00 $211.00 $1,296 —
655–685 unweaned 668 10 205.00–231.50 $218.21 $1,458 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
309 unweaned 309 4 285.00 $285.00 $881 —
487 unweaned 487 5 231.00 $231.00 $1,125 —
572–586 unweaned 580 7 202.50–207.50 $205.39 $1,191 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
336 unweaned 336 4 255.00 $255.00 $857 —
596 unweaned 596 4 211.00 $211.00 $1,258 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 unweaned 390 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,131 —
485 unweaned 485 1 222.50 $222.50 $1,079 —
607 unweaned 607 3 227.00 $227.00 $1,378 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
497 497 5 260.00 $260.00 $1,292 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 unweaned 390 1 340.00 $340.00 $1,326 +10.00
535 unweaned 535 2 267.50 $267.50 $1,431 -2.50

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995 995 85-90% 2 68.00 $68.00 $677 -14.00
1060 1060 85-90% 2 80.00 $80.00 $848 —
1154 1154 85-90% 6 102.00 $102.00 $1,177 +29.50
1105–1270 1164 85-90% 13 75.00–84.00 $79.06 $920 +6.56
1030–1365 1209 85-90% 10 59.00–74.00 $70.72 $855 -13.28
1254 1254 85-90% 4 89.00 $89.00 $1,116 —
1070–1320 1269 85-90% 13 85.00–91.00 $87.24 $1,107 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1338–1417 1372 80-85% 7 77.00–94.00 $84.53 $1,160 —
1390–1413 1405 80-85% 3 80.00–89.50 $86.37 $1,213 -10.63
1355–1810 1433 80-85% 6 101.00–103.00 $101.42 $1,453 +3.26
1420–1560 1473 80-85% 5 90.00–94.00 $92.08 $1,356 +2.08
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1835 1835 75-80% 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,578 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390–2155 1708 3 91.00–98.00 $94.75 $1,618 -10.25
1810 1810 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,683 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
816–950 854 (<2 yrs)Open 7 132.50–182.00 $166.27 $1,420
874–1125 928 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 8 122.50–142.50 $127.69 $1,185
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
877–1000 908 (<2 yrs)Open 4 110.00–132.50 $126.30 $1,147
1135 1135 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 92.50 $92.50 $1,050

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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.