Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 2, 2026

2,160 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $348.79/cwt -4.84 vs last sale · ≈ $2,689/hd at 771 lb · 171 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $334.62/cwt -8.16 vs last sale · ≈ $2,765/hd at 826 lb · 124 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $456.00/cwt -61.06 vs last sale · ≈ $2,399/hd at 526 lb · 124 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,160 4,034 1,732
Feeder cattle 2,149 3,988 1,663
Slaughter cattle 8 36 46
Replacement cattle 3 10 23

Market comments — USDA reporter

This is the First Friday feeder special of the Fall. No recent Friday feeder specials to make any market comparison. Feeder calves all sold on good demand for light to moderate offerings. Yearlings sold on mostly good to very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Cooperate packer buyers showed good demand for green, high quality yearlings today as several long strings of attractive cattle off grass were seen. Additionally several backgrounded offerings out of grow lots were seen and demand for these offerings was moderate to good. Most grow lot offerings were in moderate to moderate plus; a few discounted offerings were seen and marked as fleshy. Feeder calves are starting to be marketed and demand for calves was mostly good. Lots of variation of quality was noticed today. Most calves were in small to moderate size packages, forcing buyers to piece together loads. Demand was good from private feeders and Canadian buyers. Cooperate packers were mostly sidelined today as they showed limited interest in new crop calves. A large crowd of buyers was on hand for todays sale with over 15 different buyers actively bidding on offerings. Market activity was mostly active as a result. Weigh up cows sold on light demand for very light offerings. Too few cows and bulls were seen 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
312–320 unweaned 313 13 600.00–627.50 $625.33 $1,957 —
380 unweaned 380 2 570.00 $570.00 $2,166 —
410–443 unweaned 427 40 487.50–537.50 $509.28 $2,175 —
462–497 unweaned 478 108 460.00–495.00 $479.68 $2,293 —
511–545 unweaned 526 124 435.00–474.00 $456.00 $2,399 —
553–597 unweaned 578 109 409.00–437.00 $421.15 $2,434 —
606–639 unweaned 627 97 390.00–409.00 $401.62 $2,518 —
657–679 unweaned 670 14 387.00–395.00 $388.79 $2,605 —
710–722 unweaned 719 9 365.00–375.00 $369.43 $2,656 —
885–893 892 23 344.00 $344.00 $3,068 -4.00
952 952 53 315.00 $315.00 $2,999 -13.00
962 962 50 336.50 $336.50 $3,237 +8.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
243 unweaned 243 2 600.00 $600.00 $1,458 —
325–345 unweaned 341 5 500.00–545.00 $536.42 $1,829 —
446 unweaned 446 4 450.00 $450.00 $2,007 —
458–486 unweaned 466 25 436.00–457.50 $448.18 $2,089 —
505–533 unweaned 517 21 395.00–440.00 $418.90 $2,166 —
550–593 unweaned 557 19 375.00–408.00 $404.14 $2,251 —
618 unweaned 618 2 385.00 $385.00 $2,379 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
466–497 unweaned 473 20 406.00–440.00 $425.40 $2,012 —
599 unweaned 599 21 390.00 $390.00 $2,336 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503–526 unweaned 516 7 375.00–440.00 $402.15 $2,075 —
612 unweaned 612 10 388.00 $388.00 $2,375 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 unweaned 525 2 375.00 $375.00 $1,969 —
848 848 3 310.00 $310.00 $2,629 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303–344 unweaned 335 22 510.00–565.00 $521.15 $1,746 —
360–391 unweaned 372 25 470.00–505.00 $492.02 $1,830 —
424–425 unweaned 424 21 460.00–465.00 $460.24 $1,951 —
455–496 unweaned 468 84 414.00–465.00 $441.03 $2,064 —
501–537 unweaned 519 83 408.00–422.00 $414.23 $2,150 —
524 524 5 412.50 $412.50 $2,162 -63.20
553–589 unweaned 566 61 375.00–398.00 $386.16 $2,186 —
608–620 unweaned 613 32 365.00–379.00 $375.22 $2,300 —
622 thin fleshed 622 19 370.00 $370.00 $2,301 —
661 unweaned 661 4 365.00 $365.00 $2,413 —
663–668 667 34 354.00–360.00 $355.67 $2,372 -31.97
702–732 726 28 360.00–360.50 $360.40 $2,617 -18.29
754–795 771 171 339.00–355.00 $348.79 $2,689 -11.00
809 thin fleshed 809 29 354.50 $354.50 $2,868 —
828 828 45 322.00 $322.00 $2,666 -20.78
808–846 835 50 329.00–340.00 $334.45 $2,793 -8.33
864–888 867 99 312.00–324.00 $322.39 $2,795 —
938 938 10 305.00 $305.00 $2,861 —
941 941 6 290.00 $290.00 $2,729 —
972–993 974 90 300.00–303.00 $302.73 $2,949 —
1007 1007 7 293.00 $293.00 $2,951 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 unweaned 340 1 470.00 $470.00 $1,598 —
373 unweaned 373 2 455.00 $455.00 $1,697 —
422 unweaned 422 6 445.00 $445.00 $1,878 —
475–497 unweaned 494 13 380.00–405.00 $402.58 $1,989 —
670 unweaned 670 3 347.50 $347.50 $2,328 —
721–748 729 17 330.00–342.00 $338.69 $2,469 -17.31
758 758 2 330.00 $330.00 $2,501 —
800 800 6 305.00 $305.00 $2,440 -25.00
942 942 34 284.00 $284.00 $2,675 —
990 990 2 285.00 $285.00 $2,822 -27.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
513 unweaned 513 4 385.00 $385.00 $1,975 —
979 979 12 279.00 $279.00 $2,731 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 unweaned 436 4 430.00 $430.00 $1,875 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
337 unweaned 337 5 545.00 $545.00 $1,837 —
355 unweaned 355 1 545.00 $545.00 $1,935 —
500–513 unweaned 507 25 411.00–430.00 $420.65 $2,133 —
558–559 unweaned 559 8 392.50 $392.50 $2,194 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 85-90% 1 82.00 $82.00 $681 —
1130–1210 1170 85-90% 2 123.00–132.00 $127.35 $1,490 -13.44
1230 1230 85-90% 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,353 -51.00
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1568 1568 75-80% 2 132.00 $132.00 $2,070 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190 1190 80-85% 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,488 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375 1375 1 168.00 $168.00 $2,310 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
998–1195 1064 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 168.00–205.00 $191.14 $2,034

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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.