Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 21, 2020

1,912 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $136.15/cwt -3.78 vs last sale · ≈ $634/hd at 466 lb · 84 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $147.49/cwt -11.65 vs last sale · ≈ $701/hd at 475 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $130.15/cwt -3.97 vs last sale · ≈ $677/hd at 520 lb · 60 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,912 1,582 2,492
Feeder cattle 860 608 916
Slaughter cattle 635 702 576
Replacement cattle 417 272 1,000

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Unweaned steer calves under 450 lbs sold with steady undertones. 450-599 lbs steers sold mostly 10.00 lower in a narrow comparison. All other weights of steer calves were too lightly tested to trend. Unweaned heifer calves under 450 lbs sold with steady to firm undertones, 450-649 lbs heifers sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. All other weights of heifers were too lightly tested to develop an any market trend. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly light to moderate. Lower calf prices are reflective of lower CME positions as contracts have fallen sharply over the last week. Calves continue to be in light flesh as many are coming out of dry country. Market activity this week was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for moderate offerings. Snow and muddy conditions have made it difficult to get offerings to town as many locations saw up to a foot or more snow this past weekend. Packers showed slightly stronger demand this sale for both feeding cows as well as slaughter cows. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-3.00 higher on boning and lean cows breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher as packers pushed feeding buyers to try to secure offerings. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding buyers showed moderate to good demand for sound bulls that would feed.

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
325–345 unweaned 332 3 192.50–202.50 $199.03 $661 —
400–420 unweaned 417 23 172.50–187.50 $174.53 $728 —
465–484 unweaned 475 64 146.00–148.50 $147.49 $701 —
505–539 unweaned 518 26 138.50–144.00 $140.70 $729 —
560–595 unweaned 566 58 132.00–139.00 $136.74 $774 —
613–625 unweaned 615 26 130.00–135.50 $134.47 $827 —
650–688 unweaned 666 40 133.00–138.00 $135.47 $902 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505–538 unweaned 526 7 127.00–135.00 $131.20 $690 —
617 unweaned 617 3 126.00 $126.00 $777 —
745 745 3 129.00 $129.00 $961 —
813 813 4 125.00 $125.00 $1,016 +2.00
878 878 2 123.50 $123.50 $1,084 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 unweaned 320 4 175.00 $175.00 $560 —
445 unweaned 445 4 151.00 $151.00 $672 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376–394 unweaned 385 14 148.00–150.50 $149.22 $574 —
402 unweaned 402 3 140.00 $140.00 $563 —
458–472 unweaned 466 84 131.50–140.00 $136.15 $634 —
506–549 unweaned 520 60 125.00–133.00 $130.15 $677 —
555 unweaned 555 57 133.50 $133.50 $741 —
605–649 unweaned 621 41 122.50–126.75 $125.20 $777 —
728 unweaned 728 2 117.00 $117.00 $852 —
904–918 905 38 121.00–125.50 $125.02 $1,131 +10.02
973–988 977 11 118.50–119.00 $118.64 $1,159 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
392 unweaned 392 7 144.00 $144.00 $564 —
439 unweaned 439 7 136.00 $136.00 $597 —
451–488 unweaned 467 21 121.00–129.00 $124.11 $580 —
520 unweaned 520 2 116.00 $116.00 $603 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1043 1042 16 115.50–117.25 $116.92 $1,218 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
787 787 5 121.00 $121.00 $952 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
893–1223 1033 85-90% 17 30.00–42.00 $37.39 $386 —
1021–1310 1153 85-90% 50 45.00–52.00 $47.69 $550 -3.31
1148–1430 1247 85-90% 54 51.75–58.00 $52.75 $658 —
1200–1320 1260 85-90% 2 65.00–71.00 $68.14 $859 —
1140–1455 1288 85-90% 38 49.00–55.00 $50.63 $652 —
1045–1505 1293 85-90% 38 45.00–48.00 $46.58 $602 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1511 1343 80-85% 69 53.00–63.50 $58.70 $788 +7.10
1273–1441 1371 80-85% 26 49.00–52.00 $51.33 $704 -5.22
1225–1668 1394 80-85% 49 64.00–72.00 $66.82 $931 +10.27
1319–1800 1430 80-85% 26 52.00–56.50 $53.82 $770 —
1315–1568 1463 80-85% 22 46.50–51.50 $48.63 $711 —
1480 1480 80-85% 1 45.00 $45.00 $666 —
1473–1595 1504 80-85% 4 58.00–69.50 $61.05 $918 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1471–1700 1554 75-80% 14 54.00–64.00 $62.98 $979 -6.64
1505–1778 1603 75-80% 22 65.00–71.00 $68.95 $1,105 —
1455–1940 1628 75-80% 11 70.50–74.50 $72.30 $1,177 —
1735 1735 75-80% 1 58.00 $58.00 $1,006 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1440 1243 3 72.50–74.00 $73.42 $913 —
1173–1765 1387 6 80.00–82.00 $80.87 $1,122 —
1675 1675 2 84.00 $84.00 $1,407 —
1660–2130 1868 3 65.00–74.00 $69.61 $1,300 —
1490–2295 1874 10 76.00–80.00 $78.77 $1,476 —
1885–2160 2023 2 84.00 $84.00 $1,699 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–1290 995 (<2 yrs)Open 122 65.00–99.00 $84.14 $837
1015–1105 thin fleshed 1060 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 51.00–53.00 $51.96 $551
815–1280 1091 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 47 57.00–84.00 $67.40 $735
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1225 1225 (<2 yrs)Open 2 63.00 $63.00 $772

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1147 1147 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 775.00 $775.00
1134–1374 1202 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 47 1,000.00–1,025.00 $1,012.47
1206 1206 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 750.00 $750.00
1149–1339 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 25 750.00–825.00 $788.94
1315–1470 1387 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 750.00–835.00 $791.59
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1339–1463 1392 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 25 52.00–56.00 $53.15 $740

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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.