Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 14, 2020

1,582 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 $146.14/cwt -0.44 vs last sale · ≈ $846/hd at 579 lb · 57 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $133.78/cwt +4.78 vs last sale · ≈ $744/hd at 556 lb · 53 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $159.14/cwt -1.14 vs last sale · ≈ $751/hd at 472 lb · 49 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,582 1,480 2,193
Feeder cattle 608 564 913
Slaughter cattle 702 581 555
Replacement cattle 272 335 725

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers and heifers sold steady. Buyer demand for feeder cattle was moderate to good on a moderate supply. Feeder cattle were sold in small packages with no load lots sold with quality being average. Feeding breaker cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower; feeding boner and lean cows sold 5.00 to 6.00 lower. Slaughter breaker cows sold steady to 2.00 lower; slaughter boner and lean cows sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher. Buyer demand for slaughter cattle was moderate on a moderate to heavy supply. Replacement cows sold strong on a light comparison.

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
313–328 321 4 185.00–194.00 $189.61 $609 —
350–399 385 11 174.00–181.00 $174.93 $673 —
405–448 437 19 165.00–168.00 $166.39 $727 —
453–481 472 49 157.00–164.00 $159.14 $751 —
514–547 531 39 148.00–150.00 $149.22 $792 —
556–595 579 57 143.50–148.00 $146.14 $846 —
600–645 606 46 137.00–141.00 $137.71 $835 —
659 659 4 134.50 $134.50 $886 -17.50
725 725 1 131.00 $131.00 $950 —
751–783 761 16 130.00–137.00 $134.40 $1,023 —
865 865 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,133 -8.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313–349 343 12 165.00–172.50 $171.36 $588 —
365 365 2 162.50 $162.50 $593 —
418–438 426 5 156.00–159.00 $157.77 $672 —
455–481 475 8 144.00–154.00 $151.05 $717 —
501–545 520 17 141.00–149.00 $145.60 $757 —
558–575 566 8 137.00–145.00 $142.43 $806 —
602–645 613 7 133.00–138.00 $136.53 $837 —
651–675 656 5 137.50–138.50 $138.29 $907 —
763–765 765 13 123.00–125.00 $124.69 $954 -15.31
823 823 3 123.00 $123.00 $1,012 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 156.00 $156.00 $491 —
370–388 379 31 142.00–150.00 $144.70 $548 —
425–427 426 11 137.00 $137.00 $584 —
455–471 465 15 135.00–144.00 $139.93 $651 —
508–548 518 25 130.00–137.00 $134.12 $695 —
552–574 556 53 130.00–136.50 $133.78 $744 —
605–620 608 15 129.50–130.50 $129.70 $789 —
727 727 3 123.50 $123.50 $898 —
759 759 20 122.00–126.00 $124.00 $941 —
783–790 784 6 128.00–130.00 $129.66 $1,017 —
805–820 819 13 123.00–133.50 $132.71 $1,087 +4.15
835 835 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,069 -0.56
908 908 3 115.00 $115.00 $1,044 -10.61
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 3 135.00 $135.00 $479 —
430 430 1 120.00 $120.00 $516 —
465–480 470 3 125.00–133.00 $128.66 $605 —
557–585 564 4 125.00–128.00 $125.78 $709 —
623 623 2 119.00 $119.00 $741 —
767–775 770 5 110.00–116.00 $114.19 $879 —
853 853 7 106.00 $106.00 $904 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 5 94.00 $94.00 $940 -31.50
1065 1065 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,129 -14.70

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 169.00 $169.00 $634 —
407–420 408 12 161.00–171.00 $170.14 $694 —
517 517 6 141.00 $141.00 $729 —
563–585 576 5 136.00–140.00 $137.56 $792 —
700 700 1 118.00 $118.00 $826 —
750–768 766 9 119.00–121.00 $120.78 $925 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 120.00 $120.00 $444 —
485 485 1 134.00 $134.00 $650 —
575 575 1 102.50 $102.50 $589 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
893–1494 1257 75-80% 44 61.00–66.50 $63.35 $796 —
1040–1700 1359 75-80% 37 51.00–56.00 $53.00 $720 —
1110–1565 1366 75-80% 42 60.00–65.50 $61.75 $844 —
1247–1417 1372 75-80% 20 58.00–58.50 $58.40 $801 —
1093–1693 1428 75-80% 68 67.50–72.50 $70.37 $1,005 —
1133–1965 1576 75-80% 17 67.00–73.00 $69.62 $1,097 +17.12
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1447 1281 80-85% 29 51.00–55.00 $52.86 $677 —
1000–1370 1305 80-85% 26 56.00–60.00 $57.92 $756 —
1050–1382 1312 80-85% 24 45.50–48.00 $47.36 $621 —
1048–1580 1339 80-85% 73 49.00–54.50 $51.60 $691 —
1220–1528 1370 80-85% 32 55.00–58.50 $56.55 $775 +5.73
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1045 950 85-90% 4 40.00–43.00 $41.53 $395 —
1045–1260 1099 85-90% 4 48.00–49.00 $48.29 $531 —
1055–1205 1148 85-90% 6 41.00–43.00 $42.18 $484 +5.13
1165 1165 85-90% 4 51.00 $51.00 $594 -11.00
840–1370 1178 85-90% 50 43.00–47.50 $45.26 $533 -16.74
1163–1205 1184 85-90% 4 41.00–42.50 $41.74 $494 -20.26

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1940 1558 3 71.50–80.00 $74.85 $1,166 —
1220–2150 1754 30 74.00–85.00 $77.75 $1,364 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
730–1265 1080 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 34 71.00–79.00 $75.73 $818
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
710–1169 1008 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 16 80.00–85.00 $81.40 $821

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1167 1167 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 12 677.00 $677.00
1170 1170 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 725.00 $725.00
1160–1380 1228 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,000.00–1,085.00 $1,056.35
1241 1241 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 860.00 $860.00
1050–1277 1259 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 15 600.00–725.00 $696.09
1295 1295 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 860.00 $860.00

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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.