Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 24, 2021

1,068 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M 1 steers $117.00/cwt ≈ $965/hd at 825 lb · 22 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $120.50/cwt ≈ $962/hd at 798 lb · 21 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.50/cwt ≈ $874/hd at 636 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,068 518 2,101
Feeder cattle 275 174 146
Slaughter cattle 528 299 170
Replacement cattle 265 45 1,785

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested this week to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain and offered in mostly small packages. Demand was mostly light for light offerings. Not enough cattle were on offer for buyers to put together loads of any weigh or class which also limited demand. Market activity was mostly slow. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Packer buyers showed significantly lighter demand for slaughter cows this week. Warmer weather has helped improve the number of cattle available to packers both delivered to the plant as well as in sales across the upper Plaines states. Cow quality this week was not as attractive overall as last week. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average with most set of cows pushing moderate to heavy amounts of fill. Packers opted to purchase most high quality cows to feed this week. Feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls sold steady in a narrow comparison. Most bulls were very full this week. Two year old to young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Many of these offerings freshly lost calves. Quality was average this week.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
691 691 10 121.00 $121.00 $836 —
825 825 22 117.00 $117.00 $965 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1018–1022 1020 5 116.00–118.00 $117.20 $1,195 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
586 586 5 142.50 $142.50 $835 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 2 184.00 $184.00 $810 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 377 11 171.00 $171.00 $645 —
514 514 5 150.00 $150.00 $771 -8.12
564 564 4 143.00 $143.00 $807 +6.72
636 636 16 137.50 $137.50 $874 —
673 673 2 133.00 $133.00 $895 —
700 700 6 125.50 $125.50 $878 -1.25
798 798 21 120.50 $120.50 $962 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 323 5 157.50 $157.50 $509 —
375 375 3 150.00 $150.00 $562 —
435–437 436 10 155.00–160.00 $156.50 $682 —
510 510 6 149.00 $149.00 $760 —
639 639 4 131.00 $131.00 $837 —
730 730 2 117.00 $117.00 $854 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 307 13 157.50 $157.50 $484 —
623 623 6 122.00 $122.00 $760 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1063–1073 1066 8 115.00–119.00 $117.99 $1,258 —
1111 1111 4 112.00 $112.00 $1,244 —
1216 1216 4 103.00 $103.00 $1,252 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 2 181.00 $181.00 $838 —
963 963 4 116.00 $116.00 $1,117 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 2 127.00 $127.00 $857 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1289–1668 1348 80-85% 84 51.50–57.00 $55.25 $745 -4.80
1275–1630 1369 80-85% 88 58.00–65.50 $61.07 $836 -3.48
1313–1505 1404 80-85% 6 66.00–68.00 $66.59 $935 +0.89
1154–1577 1406 80-85% 24 58.00–63.00 $59.35 $834 -6.35
1320–1635 1419 80-85% 13 54.50–57.00 $56.51 $802 -9.19
1510 1510 80-85% 1 50.00 $50.00 $755 —
1705 1705 80-85% 1 66.50 $66.50 $1,134 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 85-90% 1 38.00 $38.00 $334 -1.69
890–995 952 85-90% 7 48.00–55.00 $51.08 $486 —
975 975 85-90% 1 57.00 $57.00 $556 —
1146–1180 1151 85-90% 7 35.00–43.00 $36.17 $416 —
1005–1395 1193 85-90% 77 49.00–56.50 $53.94 $644 -11.86
1153–1325 1206 85-90% 13 57.50–62.50 $59.09 $713 —
1035–1300 1215 85-90% 12 57.00–63.00 $59.22 $720 —
1005–1343 1245 85-90% 29 47.00–57.00 $54.67 $681 —
1328 1328 85-90% 2 65.00 $65.00 $863 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1524–1575 1535 75-80% 8 55.00–60.00 $56.57 $868 -2.60
1490–1652 1572 75-80% 21 60.50–64.00 $62.06 $976 —
1500–1740 1642 75-80% 12 57.00–60.50 $57.53 $945 -7.98
1835–2045 1940 75-80% 2 62.00–63.50 $62.79 $1,218 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1710 1710 65-75% 1 59.00 $59.00 $1,009 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255 1255 2 76.00 $76.00 $954 —
1585–2190 1897 12 66.00–84.00 $75.77 $1,437 -10.01
1710–1993 1899 4 91.00–91.50 $91.11 $1,730 +5.33
1653–2335 1953 8 85.00–90.50 $87.43 $1,708 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2455 2455 1 82.00 $82.00 $2,013 —

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
862 thin fleshed 862 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 76.00 $76.00 $655
755–1156 959 (<2 yrs)Open 66 89.00–114.00 $99.37 $953
880–1485 1069 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 99 56.00–89.00 $69.11 $739
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1410 1410 (<2 yrs)Open 3 73.50 $73.50 $1,036

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1213 1213 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 775.00 $775.00
1223–1325 1227 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 25 835.00–900.00 $837.81

↑ Back to top

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.