Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 31, 2021

835 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $131.05/cwt -0.38 vs last sale · ≈ $988/hd at 754 lb · 33 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $165.55/cwt +8.55 vs last sale · ≈ $945/hd at 571 lb · 20 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $149.00/cwt ≈ $697/hd at 468 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 835 823 789
Feeder cattle 217 446 318
Slaughter cattle 402 254 118
Replacement cattle 216 123 353

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested both this week and last to develop an accurate market trend, however steers and heifers sold with steady to higher undertones. Quality this week was mostly average and slightly better than last week. Demand was mostly moderate for light offerings. More buyers were on hand this sale compared to last week. CME feeder cattle positions sold off today on news of higher feed cost. All contracts traded with triple digit losses. The USDA prospective plantings report showed corn planting intentions just slightly higher than last year. Corn traded up the limit today to close at 564'2 on the May contract. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand again this week. Packers were very aggressive in bidding on slaughter cows for immediate harvest. Feeding buyers were also active in buying cows this week, which pushed all cow prices higher. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Cow weigh conditions were average to below average this sale, and overall weigh up conditions were poorer than last week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold sharply higher, with most sales 10.00-12.00 higher than last week. Demand increased for both cows to feed and rebreed quality cows. Quality was mostly average to attractive.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 2 187.50 $187.50 $778 —
450–488 482 14 176.50–184.00 $178.06 $858 +5.95
530–535 533 3 178.00–179.00 $178.67 $952 +6.35
570–583 571 20 165.50–166.00 $165.55 $945 +8.55
627 627 5 149.00 $149.00 $934 ±0.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 2 192.00 $192.00 $835 +0.57
503 503 2 182.00 $182.00 $915 +7.35
553–562 558 5 174.00–178.00 $175.58 $980 +10.86
615 615 3 160.00 $160.00 $984 -2.07
788 788 5 136.00 $136.00 $1,072 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428 428 5 188.00 $188.00 $805 —
580 580 2 166.00 $166.00 $963 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
453 453 4 160.00 $160.00 $725 —
660 660 1 137.00 $137.00 $904 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 2 124.00 $124.00 $1,302 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508–530 521 5 161.00–165.00 $162.56 $847 -0.59
575–585 576 10 150.00–155.00 $154.49 $890 +7.58
663–673 666 10 137.00–148.00 $143.57 $956 +4.92
750 750 26 132.00 $132.00 $990 +0.57
769 769 7 127.50 $127.50 $980 -3.93
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–437 428 5 145.00–161.00 $154.80 $663 -2.40
574 574 9 140.50 $140.50 $806 —
676 676 8 136.00 $136.00 $919 +7.74
763 763 4 128.00 $128.00 $977 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 8 153.00 $153.00 $592 —
468 468 14 149.00 $149.00 $697 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
695 695 2 133.50 $133.50 $928 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1033 1019 4 118.00–123.00 $120.47 $1,228 —
1075–1085 1080 2 120.00–121.00 $120.50 $1,301 +12.50
1120 1120 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,310 +22.00
1160–1185 1169 7 99.00–116.00 $109.30 $1,278 +14.30
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 2 178.00 $178.00 $828 —
570 570 1 162.00 $162.00 $923 —
935–940 938 2 121.00–130.00 $125.49 $1,177 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835 835 3 128.00 $128.00 $1,069 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–995 980 85-90% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.49 $534 +9.49
995 995 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $637 -1.00
1020–1200 1100 85-90% 3 45.00–54.00 $51.22 $563 —
900–1337 1140 85-90% 38 55.00–64.00 $61.54 $702 —
965–1290 1172 85-90% 23 64.00–69.50 $65.32 $766 -3.36
1090–1345 1175 85-90% 3 70.00–71.00 $70.38 $827 +1.70
1105–1355 1230 85-90% 27 55.50–64.00 $61.31 $754 -2.37
1105–1370 1258 85-90% 26 64.00–68.00 $65.99 $830 +8.87
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1257–1580 1352 80-85% 43 64.00–69.75 $67.72 $916 -0.78
1328–1590 1392 80-85% 29 64.00–70.00 $65.97 $918 +1.48
1405–1430 1418 80-85% 4 71.00–71.50 $71.25 $1,010 —
1260–1655 1437 80-85% 30 57.00–64.00 $62.83 $903 —
1460–1565 1512 80-85% 12 61.00–63.00 $61.98 $937 +1.02
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1845 1593 75-80% 14 56.00–66.00 $61.88 $986 +1.87
1548–1705 1610 75-80% 6 66.75–68.00 $67.04 $1,079 +2.35
1572–1785 1622 75-80% 14 58.00–66.50 $63.18 $1,025 -1.51
1670 1670 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $1,136 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1153–1380 1210 4 85.00–87.00 $86.43 $1,046 —
1365–1545 1455 2 83.00 $83.00 $1,208 —
1299–2020 1637 26 76.50–85.00 $81.16 $1,329 —
1703–2020 1794 9 93.00–99.50 $95.12 $1,706 +19.47
1605–2405 1988 18 86.00–92.50 $88.86 $1,767 —
2645 2645 1 94.00 $94.00 $2,486 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2635 2635 1 83.00 $83.00 $2,187 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
800–1275 1029 (<2 yrs)Open 119 78.00–120.00 $97.76 $1,006
875–1355 1097 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 51 64.00–106.00 $82.26 $902

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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.