Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 16, 2026

2,239 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 $425.35/cwt +7.16 vs last sale · ≈ $2,403/hd at 565 lb · 245 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $439.52/cwt +8.12 vs last sale · ≈ $2,079/hd at 473 lb · 155 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $405.32/cwt +4.68 vs last sale · ≈ $2,148/hd at 530 lb · 137 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,239 2,203 2,340
Feeder cattle 2,142 2,093 2,023
Slaughter cattle 89 70 245
Replacement cattle 8 40 72

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week steer calves under 450 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however sharply higher undertones were noticed. 450-599 lbs steers sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher, steer calves over 600 lbs sold steady to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves under 450 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Heifers 450-549 lbs sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher, heifers over 550 lbs sold unevenly steady. Yearling cattle were scarcely traded this sale. No comparison is available. Calves sold on mixed demand for mostly moderate offerings. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Many buyers stated they had trouble finding trucks and exited the market after filling loads. This put downward pressure on offerings especially late in the day. Cooperate packers buyers this week but were limited on the volume of cattle they could take. This led to wide spreads, especially for calves over 600 lbs. Most offerings were offered in small to moderate size packages. Canadian buyers were not as active again this week due to tight trucking. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows and bulls sold on moderate demand for light offerings. Feeding cows, slaughter cows and slaughter bulls all sold with steady to lower undertones compared to Wednesdays sale.

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
320–326 unweaned 325 10 620.00–625.00 $624.51 $2,030 +26.23
355–378 unweaned 366 38 570.00–620.00 $593.85 $2,173 +55.65
402–423 unweaned 411 72 520.00–562.50 $546.18 $2,245 +44.46
453–475 unweaned 467 63 480.00–520.00 $497.57 $2,324 +14.31
507–535 unweaned 524 109 432.50–470.00 $455.66 $2,388 +6.14
551–598 unweaned 565 245 405.00–441.00 $425.35 $2,403 +4.77
603–637 unweaned 623 97 380.00–410.00 $394.71 $2,459 -3.30
650–692 unweaned 663 106 369.00–389.50 $383.14 $2,540 +2.01
703–713 unweaned 710 35 351.00–369.00 $358.15 $2,543 -12.47
715 fancy 715 4 385.00–387.00 $385.50 $2,756 —
752–755 unweaned 753 43 344.00–366.00 $360.92 $2,718 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 unweaned 205 1 650.00 $650.00 $1,332 +30.00
296 unweaned 296 4 605.00 $605.00 $1,791 —
315–338 unweaned 336 11 587.00–615.00 $612.61 $2,058 +82.61
376–383 unweaned 378 8 542.50–550.00 $548.10 $2,072 +33.94
406–445 unweaned 436 44 500.00–530.00 $506.52 $2,208 +57.60
479–493 unweaned 491 37 464.00–485.00 $466.77 $2,292 +41.77
535–546 unweaned 540 18 422.00–440.00 $431.91 $2,332 +8.37
567–597 unweaned 587 42 387.00–405.00 $398.36 $2,338 +0.77
646 unweaned 646 45 372.00 $372.00 $2,403 -9.11
651–683 unweaned 674 31 361.00–370.00 $363.69 $2,451 -7.31
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 unweaned 387 6 550.00 $550.00 $2,128 —
523–543 unweaned 527 19 385.00–387.50 $385.54 $2,032 —
583 unweaned 583 3 380.00 $380.00 $2,215 —
779 779 6 335.00 $335.00 $2,610 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 unweaned 307 3 510.00 $510.00 $1,566 —
465–489 unweaned 482 7 440.00–447.50 $445.43 $2,147 +40.43
500 unweaned 500 1 400.00 $400.00 $2,000 —
597 unweaned 597 3 365.00 $365.00 $2,179 —
637 637 3 370.00 $370.00 $2,357 —
696 696 11 340.00 $340.00 $2,366 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
321–334 unweaned 325 19 520.00–530.00 $527.03 $1,713 +18.94
353–395 unweaned 384 29 490.00–515.00 $495.42 $1,902 -7.81
400–438 unweaned 419 44 460.00–515.00 $478.12 $2,003 +16.76
451–498 unweaned 473 155 419.00–460.00 $439.52 $2,079 +6.86
500–547 unweaned 530 137 390.00–421.00 $405.32 $2,148 +1.33
550–586 unweaned 571 21 360.00–380.00 $368.84 $2,106 -11.28
627–644 unweaned 633 29 357.50–373.00 $366.70 $2,321 +2.36
653–660 unweaned 655 20 347.00 $347.00 $2,273 —
657 657 11 320.00 $320.00 $2,102 —
664 664 6 325.00 $325.00 $2,158 —
700 unweaned 700 17 339.00 $339.00 $2,373 +16.48
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303–322 unweaned 313 6 500.00–520.00 $509.70 $1,595 +19.70
370–395 unweaned 385 52 455.00–485.00 $476.97 $1,836 +19.17
405–444 unweaned 439 20 440.00–448.00 $445.36 $1,955 +5.82
484–485 unweaned 484 5 385.00–390.00 $389.00 $1,883 -7.52
508–537 unweaned 531 23 352.50–381.00 $376.66 $2,000 -4.31
550–573 unweaned 555 20 325.00–360.00 $354.88 $1,970 -13.69
670 unweaned 670 2 337.00 $337.00 $2,258 -8.00
705 705 2 325.00 $325.00 $2,291 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 unweaned 397 3 465.00 $465.00 $1,846 —
447 unweaned 447 3 403.00 $403.00 $1,801 —
515–545 unweaned 524 14 342.50 $342.50 $1,795 —
650 650 22 331.00 $331.00 $2,152 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
589 unweaned 589 5 347.50 $347.50 $2,047 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635 unweaned 635 2 345.00 $345.00 $2,191 —
720 unweaned 720 3 324.00 $324.00 $2,333 —
840 unweaned 840 3 309.00 $309.00 $2,596 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
507 unweaned 507 3 360.00 $360.00 $1,825 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1585 1585 75-80% 24 150.00 $150.00 $2,378 —
1550–1975 1667 75-80% 9 114.00–123.00 $119.50 $1,992 -22.50
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $581 —
1115 1115 85-90% 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,728 —
1068–1300 1164 85-90% 18 90.00–114.00 $103.94 $1,210 —
1023–1263 1171 85-90% 7 80.00–89.00 $86.75 $1,016 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1425 1346 80-85% 7 137.50–150.00 $147.08 $1,980 —
1365 1365 80-85% 1 119.00 $119.00 $1,624 —
1310–1580 1409 80-85% 10 95.00–113.00 $105.17 $1,482 -41.25
1493 1493 80-85% 2 124.00 $124.00 $1,851 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345 1345 1 170.00 $170.00 $2,286 —
1380–1445 1413 2 145.00–155.00 $149.88 $2,118 —
2005 2005 1 185.00 $185.00 $3,709 —
1865–2395 2110 3 161.00–165.00 $163.82 $3,457 —
2090–2425 2258 2 180.00–183.00 $181.61 $4,101 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1310 1310 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 175.00 $175.00 $2,292
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1030 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 225.00–230.00 $227.50 $2,343

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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.