Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 12, 2021

3,066 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 $151.06/cwt +11.61 vs last sale · ≈ $946/hd at 626 lb · 354 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $157.63/cwt +6.76 vs last sale · ≈ $888/hd at 563 lb · 299 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $136.79/cwt -1.55 vs last sale · ≈ $926/hd at 677 lb · 179 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,066 880 3,751
Feeder cattle 2,256 348 2,974
Slaughter cattle 322 389 130
Replacement cattle 488 143 647

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Feeder cattle quality was average to attractive and much higher than last week. Demand was mostly moderate to good for moderate to heavy offerings. Local ranchers showed very good demand for feeders today as they attempted to buy feeders to finish filling summer pasture and range. Order buyers were forced to fill loads later in the sale and pushed all cattle higher to do so. CME feeder cattle contracts traded with triple digit gains today. The May contract closed 1.425 higher to settle at 136.75, while the August contract closed 1.675 higher at 150.525. Market activity was mostly active today. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand today for light offerings. Packers were very aggressive as they bid on cows for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold mostly 1.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher. Lean cows saw the biggest increase in demand this week. The cutter cow cutout continues to climb higher, todays close was 204.16. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher. Demand for cow calf pairs was mostly light. Higher feed costs and drought conditions, which are bringing these offerings to market, are also what is hindering demand. Demand for bred cows is also light as it is getting late in the breeding season. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady to firm. Quality this week was average to attractive.

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
508 508 12 181.00 $181.00 $919 +16.00
556–595 560 34 170.00–184.00 $177.26 $993 +17.26
557–568 thin fleshed 560 88 188.00–190.00 $188.46 $1,055 —
605–623 614 6 166.00–176.00 $170.93 $1,050 +18.77
616 thin fleshed 616 33 180.00 $180.00 $1,109 —
650–690 674 80 151.00–163.00 $157.36 $1,061 +13.04
705–746 733 24 141.00–144.00 $142.93 $1,048 +7.92
753–775 762 14 133.00–143.00 $135.00 $1,029 —
825–842 831 51 125.00–134.00 $130.88 $1,088 +10.38
895–897 897 67 125.00–126.00 $125.99 $1,130 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
439–444 441 20 155.00–157.50 $156.74 $691 —
468–470 468 16 157.50–162.00 $158.06 $740 -3.94
500–542 519 45 156.00–167.00 $159.90 $830 —
570 570 5 147.50 $147.50 $841 —
600–642 624 38 145.00–148.00 $147.01 $917 -0.99
663 663 6 141.00–147.00 $143.00 $948 —
710–748 720 8 135.00–140.00 $136.30 $981 —
830 830 18 118.50 $118.50 $984 +1.50
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 7 147.50 $147.50 $727 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
637 637 5 161.00 $161.00 $1,026 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561 561 5 144.00 $144.00 $808 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
451 451 9 160.00 $160.00 $722 —
508–539 514 87 150.00–158.00 $152.61 $784 —
551 thin fleshed 551 12 173.00 $173.00 $953 —
555–595 564 287 147.00–159.50 $156.99 $885 +6.12
609–622 thin fleshed 615 119 157.00–158.75 $157.96 $971 —
613–640 632 235 142.50–149.00 $147.56 $933 +8.11
667 thin fleshed 667 36 149.50 $149.50 $997 —
653–698 679 143 127.00–136.50 $133.59 $907 -4.75
701 fancy 701 17 137.00 $137.00 $960 —
705–732 723 12 122.00–129.00 $126.47 $914 -0.08
780–798 792 49 118.00–121.50 $119.11 $943 —
816 816 26 127.50 $127.50 $1,040 +16.50
820 820 3 119.00 $119.00 $976 +8.00
878 878 16 120.00 $120.00 $1,054 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
386 386 11 150.00 $150.00 $579 —
460–483 467 27 147.00–151.00 $148.49 $693 +6.49
504–539 524 23 145.00–147.00 $145.63 $763 —
563–596 582 125 132.00–147.00 $143.39 $835 +3.32
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472 472 18 140.00 $140.00 $661 —
512 512 24 127.50 $127.50 $653 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 20 142.50 $142.50 $598 —
548 548 6 135.00 $135.00 $740 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
96–98 97 6 200.00–250.00 $216.90 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 4 120.00 $120.00 $568 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
105–130 125 9 250.00–350.00 $289.97 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1508 1392 80-85% 19 58.00–63.00 $60.72 $845 -2.28
1303–1580 1399 80-85% 53 64.00–69.50 $67.13 $939 +4.13
1345–1775 1406 80-85% 33 57.00–62.00 $60.57 $852 -10.76
1450–1470 1453 80-85% 6 72.50 $72.50 $1,053 +14.56
1450–1460 1455 80-85% 2 71.00 $71.00 $1,033 +13.06
1330–1547 1482 80-85% 24 63.75–68.00 $64.68 $959 +3.74
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–920 865 85-90% 2 56.00–57.00 $56.47 $488 —
1010–1096 1082 85-90% 6 49.00–49.50 $49.42 $535 —
900–1303 1152 85-90% 16 54.00–62.00 $58.34 $672 +3.61
1030–1315 1158 85-90% 43 52.00–61.50 $57.87 $670 +3.14
1195–1290 1220 85-90% 13 63.50–66.00 $63.97 $780 +4.96
1222 1222 85-90% 3 69.50 $69.50 $849 +10.49
1058–1335 1248 85-90% 13 63.00–64.50 $63.47 $792 -2.22
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1790 1618 75-80% 7 64.00–68.50 $65.90 $1,066 -1.86
1535–1735 1635 75-80% 2 71.00–72.00 $71.47 $1,169 +3.71
1485–1795 1640 75-80% 4 63.00–66.50 $64.92 $1,065 -2.84
1838 1838 75-80% 2 69.50 $69.50 $1,277 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–2085 1721 14 74.00–83.50 $80.79 $1,390 —
1555–2168 1965 5 86.00–92.00 $90.07 $1,770 -5.45
1810–2260 2076 7 94.00–103.00 $97.50 $2,024 —
2525 2525 1 96.00 $96.00 $2,424 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1030 thin fleshed 1030 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 65.00 $65.00 $670
915–1325 1113 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 33 68.00–88.00 $75.96 $845
760–1279 1127 (<2 yrs)Open 29 74.00–100.00 $89.92 $1,013
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1125 1125 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 72.00 $72.00 $810

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1238–1253 1244 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 21 1,050.00 $1,050.00
1392 1392 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 13 1,035.00 $1,035.00
1355–1423 1406 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 910.00–1,050.00 $943.73

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1205 1205 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,425.00 $1,425.00 —
1208 thin fleshed 1208 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 950.00 $950.00 —
1224 1224 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
1232–1471 1303 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 44 1,060.00–1,100.00 $1,082.55 —
1343 thin fleshed 1343 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 13 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
1341–1466 1383 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 59 1,050.00–1,100.00 $1,072.04 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
988 988 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 8 1,375.00 $1,375.00 —

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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.