Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 13, 2021

1,306 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 $149.26/cwt -2.74 vs last sale · ≈ $728/hd at 488 lb · 47 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $142.65/cwt +5.65 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 535 lb · 24 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $155.72/cwt ≈ $875/hd at 562 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,306 1,278 369
Feeder cattle 399 408 151
Slaughter cattle 631 659 19
Replacement cattle 276 211 199

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were scarcely tested. Yearling heifers sold with lower undertones in a narrow comparison. Weaned calves were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Cattle were of mostly plain to average quality today and offered in mostly small packages. Demand was mostly light, with the exception of a few offerings suitable to go to grass which sold on moderate demand. Not enough cattle were on offer for buyers to start loads. Most cattle were weaned this sale. CME feeder cattle positions continue to struggle as corn and bean prices surge. Demand for feeder cattle has been hampered by sharply higher feed costs. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for moderate offerings. Packer buyers showed lighter demand for all classes of cows this week. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 lower on breaking cows and boning cows, and steady to weak on lean cows. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Feeding buyers showed stronger demand than packer buyers for cows this week. Cow quality this week was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were average this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00 higher as feeding buyers and packer buyers competed over offerings. Young age cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand this sale. Quality was average to attractive. Young age cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher.

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
345 345 1 195.00 $195.00 $673 —
389 389 5 186.00 $186.00 $724 —
418–437 435 17 181.00–190.00 $182.02 $792 -6.98
535 535 11 163.00 $163.00 $872 -2.50
561–595 562 23 150.00–156.00 $155.72 $875 —
600 600 4 148.00 $148.00 $888 +6.91
736 736 5 127.00 $127.00 $935 -3.09
771 771 8 124.00 $124.00 $956 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 3 155.00 $155.00 $693 —
458–472 469 19 150.00–155.00 $154.21 $723 —
520 520 5 151.00 $151.00 $785 —
742 742 3 128.00 $128.00 $950 +3.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
534 534 5 139.00 $139.00 $742 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367 367 6 160.00 $160.00 $587 —
429 429 10 150.00 $150.00 $644 -4.00
470–494 488 47 145.00–152.50 $149.26 $728 -2.74
506–546 535 24 138.00–150.00 $142.65 $763 +5.65
635–637 636 7 122.00–128.00 $123.71 $787 -4.29
831 831 8 113.00 $113.00 $939 —
961 961 7 106.00 $106.00 $1,019 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
412 412 3 151.00 $151.00 $622 —
488 488 3 137.50 $137.50 $671 —
640 640 5 123.50 $123.50 $790 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454 454 4 131.00 $131.00 $595 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 3 129.00 $129.00 $800 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1203 1203 2 88.00 $88.00 $1,059 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–905 870 85-90% 2 29.00–33.00 $30.92 $269 —
827–933 881 85-90% 8 38.00–46.00 $41.99 $370 —
1046–1248 1090 85-90% 18 33.00–38.00 $36.62 $399 —
1005–1343 1161 85-90% 82 38.50–47.50 $44.15 $513 -1.30
1015–1955 1200 85-90% 36 42.00–47.50 $45.34 $544 +2.34
1050–1295 1211 85-90% 44 47.50–55.00 $49.99 $605 +6.99
1015–1405 1224 85-90% 45 47.50–51.50 $48.58 $595 -3.30
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1505 1385 80-85% 32 45.00–48.00 $45.36 $628 —
1260–1575 1389 80-85% 63 51.50–57.00 $54.09 $751 —
1290–1660 1413 80-85% 52 42.00–48.00 $46.21 $653 -7.83
1435 1435 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $832 +11.65
1490–1720 1655 80-85% 17 49.50–55.00 $53.24 $881 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–1785 1614 75-80% 8 48.75–54.00 $51.42 $830 -5.58
1625–1825 1742 75-80% 7 55.00–56.00 $55.79 $972 +5.56
1905 1905 75-80% 1 71.00 $71.00 $1,353 —
2060 2060 75-80% 1 53.50 $53.50 $1,102 —
2070 2070 75-80% 1 45.00 $45.00 $932 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1315 1225 3 62.00–70.00 $67.73 $830 —
1315–1890 1610 5 71.00–76.00 $74.39 $1,198 —
1470–1885 1640 13 77.50–84.25 $80.27 $1,316 —
1468–2415 1928 11 79.00–83.00 $80.64 $1,555 —
1820–2230 2025 2 74.00 $74.00 $1,498 -3.48
1963–2275 2070 9 85.00–88.00 $86.78 $1,796 —
2610 2610 1 77.50 $77.50 $2,023 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
783 thin fleshed 783 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 64.00 $64.00 $501
840–1335 997 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 188 47.00–89.00 $68.49 $683
845–1285 1038 (<2 yrs)Open 6 81.00–99.00 $91.94 $954
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
976 976 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 62.00 $62.00 $605

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1134 1134 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 950.00 $950.00
1135 thin fleshed 1135 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 550.00 $550.00
1388–1395 1388 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 19 735.00–760.00 $736.32

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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.