Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 3, 2021

654 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M 1 steers $138.00/cwt ≈ $958/hd at 694 lb · 16 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $132.90/cwt ≈ $1,029/hd at 774 lb · 13 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $125.00/cwt -3.50 vs last sale · ≈ $905/hd at 724 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 654 564 717
Feeder cattle 222 105 263
Slaughter cattle 309 388 195
Replacement cattle 123 71 259

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate for very light offerings. Quality was mostly average. Despite light feeder cattle supplies, buyers were quick to bid on offerings as a good crowd of buyers was on hand actively bidding on offerings. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher in a narrow comparison on all classes. The cutter cow cutout continues to push higher as seasonally light supplies have packers bidding up offerings in order to obtain supplies. Feeding buyers were active today as they pushed packer buyers to put together loads. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold were too lightly tested either this week or last to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Cow and bull quality this week was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were average to below average today, but better overall than last week. Young age cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand this sale. Quality was average. Young age cows sold steady to 5.00 higher 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
410–445 433 4 180.00–186.00 $182.45 $790 +1.62
552–580 558 7 159.00–166.00 $163.54 $913 +3.54
661 661 4 145.00 $145.00 $958 —
766–783 774 13 130.50–135.00 $132.90 $1,029 —
848 848 5 128.50 $128.50 $1,090 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
694 694 16 138.00 $138.00 $958 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508 unweaned 508 2 165.00 $165.00 $838 —
789 789 4 127.50 $127.50 $1,006 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1028 1028 5 122.50 $122.50 $1,259 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
527 527 3 151.00 $151.00 $796 —
590–595 594 10 137.00–142.00 $138.30 $822 —
625 625 5 137.00 $137.00 $856 —
724 724 12 125.00 $125.00 $905 -3.50
896 896 4 113.00 $113.00 $1,012 —
910–945 926 11 110.00–115.50 $112.54 $1,042 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473–490 479 3 141.00–149.00 $143.73 $688 —
505–545 533 4 134.00–143.00 $138.67 $739 —
600 600 2 134.00 $134.00 $804 —
723 723 3 124.00 $124.00 $897 —
826 826 5 109.00 $109.00 $900 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055 1055 8 93.00 $93.00 $981 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245 1245 5 99.50 $99.50 $1,239 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 153.00 $153.00 $826 —
570 570 1 148.00 $148.00 $844 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915 915 85-90% 1 53.00 $53.00 $485 +5.21
960–1017 1010 85-90% 19 35.00–43.00 $39.45 $398 +4.45
865–1190 1143 85-90% 57 44.00–55.00 $51.80 $592 -3.13
1160 1160 85-90% 3 62.00 $62.00 $719 +9.86
1165 1165 85-90% 1 38.00 $38.00 $443 -14.14
1151–1222 1173 85-90% 15 56.00–60.50 $57.53 $675 +5.39
995–1448 1193 85-90% 53 43.00–55.50 $53.38 $637 +1.24
1100–1310 1269 85-90% 29 54.00–59.00 $56.54 $717 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1308 1308 80-85% 2 63.00 $63.00 $824 —
1340–1577 1403 80-85% 21 52.00–55.00 $53.34 $748 +1.31
1345–1555 1403 80-85% 7 58.00–62.50 $59.72 $838 +7.69
1305–1635 1404 80-85% 19 63.00–65.75 $64.90 $911 +12.87
1338–1485 1436 80-85% 6 53.00–54.50 $54.03 $776 +2.00
1350–1653 1559 80-85% 12 55.00–59.00 $58.49 $912 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315 1315 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $776 —
1468 1468 75-80% 3 56.75 $56.75 $833 -1.28
1555 1555 75-80% 1 52.00 $52.00 $809 —
1450–1765 1626 75-80% 13 59.50–62.50 $61.29 $997 —
1700 1700 75-80% 1 62.75 $62.75 $1,067 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1575 1545 2 83.00–85.00 $83.98 $1,297 —
1535–1890 1639 12 70.00–80.00 $74.79 $1,226 —
1640 1640 1 78.00 $78.00 $1,279 —
1600–2070 1843 6 85.00–90.00 $86.54 $1,595 —
1905–1910 1908 2 92.50–93.00 $92.75 $1,770 +1.25

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
895 895 (<2 yrs)Open 1 94.00 $94.00 $841
943 thin fleshed 943 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 54.00 $54.00 $509
803–1340 974 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 77 57.00–86.00 $75.10 $731

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1549 1549 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 7 56.00 $56.00 $867

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Dairy Heifers

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
643 643 9 128.00 $128.00 $823 —
808 808 11 121.00 $121.00 $978 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665 665 10 133.00 $133.00 $884 —
809 809 16 127.50 $127.50 $1,031 —

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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.