Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, June 16, 2021

945 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $155.81/cwt +14.55 vs last sale · ≈ $888/hd at 570 lb · 28 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $155.00/cwt +37.94 vs last sale · ≈ $1,093/hd at 705 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 945 1,533 693
Feeder cattle 143 244 298
Slaughter cattle 501 1,036 184
Replacement cattle 301 253 211

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate for light offerings. Quality today was mostly plain to average. Market activity was moderate. Weigh up cows comprised the majority of the offering this week. Packers continue to show good demand for cows for immediate harvest. Breaking and boning cows sold fully steady, while lean cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 1.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold with lower undertones in a narrow comparison. Demand for these offerings was light. Demand for cow calf pairs was light to moderate. Dry conditions continue to bring these offering to market and consequently also limited demand for these offerings.

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
705 705 11 155.00 $155.00 $1,093 +37.94
781 781 9 139.00 $139.00 $1,086 +16.30
848 848 7 137.00 $137.00 $1,162 —
878–888 883 8 134.00–137.00 $135.49 $1,196 +19.71
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
718 718 3 139.00 $139.00 $998 +61.47

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523 523 4 151.00 $151.00 $790 +12.00
552–593 570 28 150.00–160.50 $155.81 $888 +14.55
725–733 730 9 129.00–133.00 $131.68 $961 +6.11
875 875 2 122.50 $122.50 $1,072 +10.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
546 546 4 144.00 $144.00 $786 —
578 578 5 145.00 $145.00 $838 —
710 710 2 126.00 $126.00 $895 +45.00
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517 517 9 137.50 $137.50 $711 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
235 235 3 360.00 $360.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 2 113.00 $113.00 $1,186 —
1155 1155 2 107.00 $107.00 $1,236 —
1244 1244 6 101.50 $101.50 $1,263 —
1285 1285 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,272 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
898 898 3 117.00 $117.00 $1,051 +8.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1268–1595 1362 80-85% 115 69.00–76.50 $72.94 $993 —
1265–1500 1371 80-85% 30 62.00–67.50 $65.40 $897 —
1355–1395 1380 80-85% 5 67.00–73.50 $70.91 $979 —
1440 1440 80-85% 1 59.00 $59.00 $850 —
1245–1631 1451 80-85% 41 62.00–66.00 $64.68 $939 —
1335–1625 1514 80-85% 11 57.00–62.00 $59.72 $904 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–965 877 85-90% 9 52.00–59.00 $55.14 $484 -8.34
970 970 85-90% 1 61.00 $61.00 $592 —
980–1310 1125 85-90% 3 56.00–58.00 $57.36 $645 -3.04
1045–1355 1216 85-90% 20 54.00–60.00 $57.83 $703 -2.76
1090–1315 1218 85-90% 23 63.00–67.00 $64.48 $785 +3.89
1130–1327 1229 85-90% 6 67.00–71.00 $69.16 $850 +8.57
1170–1280 1232 85-90% 6 66.75–68.00 $67.03 $826 +6.44
1020–1485 1247 85-90% 76 61.00–66.00 $63.74 $795 +3.15
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1383 1383 75-80% 6 70.50 $70.50 $975 -4.20
1505 1505 75-80% 2 65.00 $65.00 $978 —
1535–1665 1632 75-80% 4 66.00–73.00 $70.96 $1,158 —
1688–1700 1694 75-80% 6 56.00–65.50 $62.17 $1,053 —
1520–2090 1772 75-80% 8 72.50–74.50 $73.14 $1,296 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1470 1470 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,205 —
1415–2006 1764 13 84.00–92.00 $89.57 $1,580 —
1675–2435 2047 19 94.00–103.00 $98.45 $2,015 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
785–1325 1022 (<2 yrs)Open 70 73.00–103.00 $92.24 $943
865–1428 1140 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 66 62.50–90.00 $72.76 $829
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
909 thin fleshed 909 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 61.00 $61.00 $554
1163 1163 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 63.00 $63.00 $733

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1165 1165 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,035.00 $1,035.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1168–1226 1201 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 40 1,385.00–1,460.00 $1,429.01 —
1350 1350 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 19 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —
1450 1450 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 4 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1316 1316 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 12 1,525.00 $1,525.00 —

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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.