Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 20, 2021

990 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $130.58/cwt +6.87 vs last sale · ≈ $836/hd at 640 lb · 70 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $150.20/cwt +7.55 vs last sale · ≈ $787/hd at 524 lb · 48 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $134.00/cwt ≈ $760/hd at 567 lb · 33 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 990 1,306 925
Feeder cattle 455 399 467
Slaughter cattle 430 631 189
Replacement cattle 105 276 269

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Quality this sale was mostly plain to average in small packages, with many singles in the mix. Demand was mostly moderate on an active market. Most cattle were weaned this sale. CME feeder cattle positions have inched higher over the past week as grain prices slid slightly lower. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packer buyers showed stronger demand for slaughter classes this week. The cutter cow cutout has inched higher in recent days and packer demand for cows has followed. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher on all classes. Feeding cows sold steady on a lower quality offering. Packers opted to send most cows to immediate slaughter this week. Cow quality this week was mostly plain to average and lower than last week. Weigh up conditions were below average this week with many full offerings seen throughout the day. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher as feeding buyers and packer buyers competed over offerings. Young age cows sold on mostly light demand this sale. Quality was mostly average. Young age cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower.

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
343 343 4 185.00 $185.00 $635 -10.00
391 391 4 182.00 $182.00 $712 -4.00
412 412 17 184.00 $184.00 $758 +1.98
457 457 18 180.00 $180.00 $823 —
502–540 526 27 160.00–165.00 $161.60 $850 -1.40
550–557 555 4 159.00–161.00 $159.50 $885 +3.78
603 603 7 155.00 $155.00 $935 +7.00
654–678 663 16 136.00–143.00 $140.11 $929 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 3 165.00 $165.00 $759 +10.79
570 570 2 151.00 $151.00 $861 —
653 653 2 137.00 $137.00 $895 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012 1012 3 114.00 $114.00 $1,154 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810 810 3 113.00 $113.00 $915 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411–425 414 22 155.00 $155.00 $642 +5.00
460 460 18 160.00 $160.00 $736 +10.74
505–533 524 48 146.00–151.50 $150.20 $787 +7.55
567 567 33 134.00 $134.00 $760 —
610–643 640 70 128.00–131.00 $130.58 $836 +6.87
675 675 4 124.50 $124.50 $840 —
878 878 11 109.00 $109.00 $957 —
976–983 980 10 103.50–106.00 $104.50 $1,024 -1.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437–449 445 10 140.00–151.00 $143.24 $637 -7.76
558 558 6 119.00 $119.00 $664 —
602 602 5 129.00 $129.00 $777 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1223 1210 8 94.00–98.00 $95.01 $1,150 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
542 542 3 146.00 $146.00 $791 —
842 842 3 122.00 $122.00 $1,027 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1196 1196 4 92.50 $92.50 $1,106 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–990 943 85-90% 7 35.00–48.50 $44.64 $421 —
1045–1245 1112 85-90% 15 33.00–42.00 $35.03 $390 —
1147–1305 1192 85-90% 21 51.00–54.00 $52.18 $622 +8.03
1025–1303 1207 85-90% 10 44.00–50.25 $49.29 $595 -0.70
1005–1348 1218 85-90% 72 43.00–50.50 $47.52 $579 -1.06
1110–1308 1234 85-90% 41 51.00–52.00 $51.10 $631 +2.52
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325 1325 80-85% 1 59.00 $59.00 $782 —
1273–1525 1408 80-85% 21 46.50–51.00 $48.64 $685 +2.43
1345–1492 1427 80-85% 19 47.00–51.00 $49.79 $711 -8.21
1249–1638 1434 80-85% 54 51.00–57.00 $52.78 $757 -5.22
1350–1568 1490 80-85% 4 51.00–52.50 $52.04 $775 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1625–1900 1739 65-75% 21 57.75–60.50 $57.90 $1,007 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1705 1476 75-80% 5 55.00–57.00 $55.67 $822 —
1495–1528 1523 75-80% 6 54.50–55.50 $54.66 $832 —
1535 1535 75-80% 2 59.00 $59.00 $906 —
1738 1738 75-80% 2 53.00 $53.00 $921 -2.79

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470–1675 1573 2 73.00–78.50 $75.93 $1,194 —
1340–1875 1608 2 71.00–78.00 $73.92 $1,189 -0.47
1735–1967 1880 5 83.25–89.50 $84.75 $1,593 —
1625–2265 1884 8 80.00–88.00 $83.94 $1,581 —
2015–2160 2059 4 90.50–98.00 $93.57 $1,927 +6.79
2440–2560 2495 3 84.00–90.00 $86.29 $2,153 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2205 2205 1 72.00 $72.00 $1,588 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
793 thin fleshed 793 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 65.00 $65.00 $515
808–1450 1022 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 61 52.00–72.00 $64.79 $662
1040–1103 1094 (<2 yrs)Open 7 92.00–94.00 $93.73 $1,025

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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.