Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report, Billings, MT

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 10, 2021

3,956 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.93/cwt +0.05 vs last sale · ≈ $1,290/hd at 935 lb · 70 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $134.85/cwt ≈ $567/hd at 421 lb · 36 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $149.55/cwt ≈ $785/hd at 525 lb · 22 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,956 3,302 2,544
Feeder cattle 743 458 569
Slaughter cattle 1,135 1,906 1,553
Replacement cattle 2,078 938 422

Compared to last week: Yearling feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noted. Demand for feeder calves was mostly good on average offerings. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand with moderate offerings. The majority of the cow offering sold as feeding cows this week. Demand for boning flesh cows and young cows was good as both packers and feeding buyers purchased these cows to feed to premium white. Feeding cows sold mostly steady on these type offerings. Packer buyers opted to only purchase extremely lame or cows with major blemishes to send to slaughter. Both packers and feeding buyers purchased cows with slight blemishes to feed until the market improves. A moderate offering of thin cows was seen this sale. Thin feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower. Cow quality this week was average to attractive. Feeding buyers continue to be active in purchasing very thin cows. These offerings offer lots of compensatory gain. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Competition with feeding buyers helped keep offerings steady. Over 1,400 head of bred cows and heifers sold in todays offerings. Young age cows sold mostly firm compared to a light test last week. Too few bred cows and heifers were tested last week for a market comparison this week, but overall sold with moderate to good demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
329 unweaned 329 6 175.00 $175.00 $576 —
333 333 3 180.00 $180.00 $599 —
410 unweaned 410 4 155.00 $155.00 $636 —
520–527 unweaned 525 22 148.00–150.00 $149.55 $785 —
620–647 unweaned 642 11 140.00–152.00 $142.11 $912 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
334–338 336 15 140.00–145.00 $142.68 $479 —
423 423 19 141.00 $141.00 $596 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374 374 7 167.50 $167.50 $626 —
591 unweaned 591 7 141.00 $141.00 $833 —
640 unweaned 640 2 141.00 $141.00 $902 —

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 unweaned 383 2 150.00 $150.00 $574 —
409 unweaned 409 4 155.00 $155.00 $634 —
413–449 422 32 131.00–136.00 $132.33 $558 —
493 unweaned 493 4 132.00 $132.00 $651 —
517 unweaned 517 3 132.00 $132.00 $682 —
553 unweaned 553 5 132.50 $132.50 $733 —
688 unweaned 688 5 135.00 $135.00 $929 —
773 773 6 140.00 $140.00 $1,082 —
800–848 823 12 134.00–141.00 $137.84 $1,134 -5.16
851 851 5 141.00 $141.00 $1,200 -1.67
923–936 935 70 132.50–141.00 $137.93 $1,290 +0.05
960–995 978 9 130.00–138.50 $136.18 $1,332 +1.68
1023 1023 18 122.00 $122.00 $1,248 —
1011–1042 1024 7 111.00–114.00 $112.31 $1,150 —
1085 1085 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,356 —
1108 1108 9 119.00 $119.00 $1,319 —

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725–1380 905 85-90% 30 25.50–32.00 $28.44 $257 -13.03
715–1355 1133 85-90% 317 34.00–45.50 $41.03 $465 +8.73
1000–1200 1141 85-90% 19 30.00–33.50 $32.83 $375 +0.53
1115–1520 1157 85-90% 41 45.00–51.50 $47.27 $547 +1.27
1020–1396 1227 85-90% 44 35.00–44.00 $40.39 $496 -17.80
855–1478 1235 85-90% 98 46.00–55.00 $49.09 $606 -9.10
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1410 1205 80-85% 14 36.00–42.00 $39.90 $481 —
1030–1490 1311 80-85% 58 55.00–65.50 $61.30 $804 —
1030–1593 1343 80-85% 129 44.00–54.00 $48.39 $650 —
1283–1585 1384 80-85% 18 41.00–50.00 $46.57 $645 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1555 1459 75-80% 9 43.00–49.00 $45.66 $666 —
1336–1597 1485 75-80% 27 50.00–59.50 $54.95 $816 —
1410–1700 1530 75-80% 20 60.00–66.00 $61.72 $944 —
1522–1650 1573 75-80% 6 45.00–59.00 $50.86 $800 -15.55
1550–1745 1618 75-80% 6 61.00–65.00 $62.80 $1,016 —

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1830 1510 6 65.00–76.00 $72.63 $1,097 —
1200–1873 1683 15 67.00–78.00 $74.23 $1,249 —
1175–1878 1737 34 76.50–87.00 $78.63 $1,366 —
1828–1900 1852 3 88.00–90.00 $89.32 $1,654 —
1690–2115 1912 15 78.00–88.00 $82.97 $1,586 -0.68

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
729–1143 850 (<2 yrs)Open 337 75.00–126.00 $107.09 $910
828–1419 987 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 72 63.00–86.00 $75.71 $747
1102–1158 thin fleshed 1122 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 11 54.00–57.00 $55.87 $627
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
690–1180 828 (<2 yrs)Open 30 62.50–84.50 $74.22 $615

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Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1003 1003 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 475.00 $475.00
1125 1125 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 17 835.00 $835.00
1143–1200 thin fleshed 1149 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 20 600.00–650.00 $605.22
1146–1350 1177 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 560.00–760.00 $595.28
924–1445 1205 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 393 760.00–1,475.00 $1,162.93
874–1430 1223 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 229 700.00–1,225.00 $860.54
1188–1330 1226 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 26 585.00–950.00 $694.15
1217–1459 1340 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 117 750.00–1,300.00 $1,073.90
1060–1376 thin fleshed 1341 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 9 660.00–725.00 $665.71
1200–1479 1381 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 33 650.00–1,050.00 $826.06
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000–1352 1247 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 34 525.00–675.00 $642.82
1120–1359 1268 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 124 650.00–775.00 $708.44
1322 1322 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 18 710.00 $710.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
874 874 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 77.00 $77.00 $673
838–1155 974 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 61.00–100.00 $80.18 $781
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115 1115 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00
1185 1185 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 625.00 $625.00
1202 1202 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 775.00 $775.00
1240 1240 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 625.00 $625.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
760–1055 887 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 58 1,025.00–1,360.00 $1,304.08
843–1038 959 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 101 950.00–1,350.00 $1,267.57

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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.