Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 27, 2021

564 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 1-2 steers $143.65/cwt ≈ $901/hd at 627 lb · 13 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $128.50/cwt ≈ $925/hd at 720 lb · 11 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $126.00/cwt ≈ $1,090/hd at 865 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 564 990 856
Feeder cattle 105 455 285
Slaughter cattle 388 430 220
Replacement cattle 71 105 351

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was light to moderate for very light offerings. Quality was mostly plain to average. Not enough feeder cattle sold today for buyers to be able to put together loads, which limited demand. Market activity was mostly slow. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Winter weather near the packing plants has tightened supplies delivered to the plant so packers are looking for supplies to meet immediate kill needs. This pushed all cow prices higher as feeding buyers and packer buyers competed over offerings. Feeding cows sold mostly mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher in a narrow comparison on all classes. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Cow and bull quality this week was mostly plain to average. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average today with many very full cows on offer. Young age cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand this sale. Quality was average. Young age cows sold generally steady in a narrow 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
396 396 4 182.50 $182.50 $723 +0.50
407–420 410 6 180.00–182.50 $180.83 $741 -3.17
490 490 3 172.00 $172.00 $843 -8.00
510 510 2 172.00 $172.00 $877 +10.40
553 553 3 160.00 $160.00 $885 +0.50
865 865 10 126.00 $126.00 $1,090 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 2 165.00 $165.00 $833 —
613–630 627 13 142.50–144.50 $143.65 $901 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
476–492 483 7 153.00–156.00 $154.69 $747 -5.31
720 720 11 128.50 $128.50 $925 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 4 102.50 $102.50 $1,128 —
1139 1139 6 94.00 $94.00 $1,071 —
1305 1305 5 96.50 $96.50 $1,259 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
582 582 3 135.00 $135.00 $786 +16.00
915 915 2 103.50 $103.50 $947 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
732 732 3 126.50 $126.50 $926 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–998 944 85-90% 4 47.00–48.50 $47.79 $451 +3.15
1040 1040 85-90% 3 35.00 $35.00 $364 —
835–1317 1109 85-90% 55 44.00–54.50 $52.73 $585 +17.70
1026–1295 1149 85-90% 24 54.00–58.00 $54.93 $631 —
965–1375 1172 85-90% 65 45.00–54.25 $52.14 $611 -0.04
1020–1241 1222 85-90% 23 54.00–55.50 $54.09 $661 +6.57
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1550 1361 80-85% 24 56.00–61.50 $56.79 $773 —
1208–1680 1362 80-85% 15 54.00–58.50 $55.06 $750 —
1351–1383 1366 80-85% 17 51.00–53.50 $52.19 $713 —
1345–1590 1403 80-85% 6 51.00–53.00 $52.03 $730 +3.39
1494 1494 80-85% 4 60.00 $60.00 $896 +7.96
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1423–1465 1437 75-80% 3 55.00–56.25 $55.83 $802 —
1408–1566 1453 75-80% 48 57.50–58.25 $58.03 $843 +2.36
1253–1885 1486 75-80% 12 58.00–60.00 $58.53 $870 +2.86
1663 1663 75-80% 3 51.00 $51.00 $848 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1745 1745 65-75% 6 59.25 $59.25 $1,034 +1.35

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235 1235 1 73.00 $73.00 $902 —
1328 1328 5 77.00 $77.00 $1,023 —
1413–1985 1584 7 76.50–83.50 $80.25 $1,271 +4.32
1553–1728 1650 6 77.00–83.50 $80.60 $1,330 —
1781–1931 1891 15 89.75–90.25 $89.88 $1,700 +5.94
1905 1905 1 91.50 $91.50 $1,743 —
1815–2155 1939 9 84.00–90.50 $86.10 $1,669 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
935–1090 1014 (<2 yrs)Open 4 82.00–92.00 $86.86 $881
880–1423 1085 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 46 55.00–79.00 $67.32 $730

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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.