Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 19, 2022

677 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 $155.48/cwt ≈ $919/hd at 591 lb · 21 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $169.00/cwt ≈ $901/hd at 533 lb · 17 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $154.00/cwt +9.24 vs last sale · ≈ $961/hd at 624 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 677 1,555 990
Feeder cattle 305 190 455
Slaughter cattle 190 688 430
Replacement cattle 182 677 105

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most calves were offered as singles or small lots. Demand for feeders was mostly light to moderate. Fewer buyers were on hand this week compared to last. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand light offerings. Cow quality this week was mostly plain to average with on a limited offering of high quality feeding cows on offer. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold generally steady in a very narrow comparison. Feeding cows sold generally steady. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality this week was mostly average.

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
445 445 11 205.00 $205.00 $912 —
533 533 17 169.00 $169.00 $901 —
624 624 10 165.00 $165.00 $1,030 —
741 741 4 150.00 $150.00 $1,112 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
461 461 6 205.00 $205.00 $945 —
591 591 10 185.50 $185.50 $1,096 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
693 693 3 132.50 $132.50 $918 —
748 748 3 137.00 $137.00 $1,025 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–483 475 15 162.00–167.00 $164.59 $782 -3.91
515 515 1 161.00 $161.00 $829 -2.00
589–594 591 21 150.00–158.25 $155.48 $919 —
624 624 16 154.00 $154.00 $961 +9.24
651–663 653 15 144.00–148.00 $145.61 $951 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635 635 11 137.00 $137.00 $870 —
692 692 5 137.50 $137.50 $952 —
778 778 2 127.00 $127.00 $988 —
847 847 3 130.00 $130.00 $1,101 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 4 122.50 $122.50 $1,403 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 3 145.00 $145.00 $670 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 11 136.00 $136.00 $755 —
608 608 6 131.00 $131.00 $796 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
548 548 4 177.00 $177.00 $970 —
592 592 5 166.00 $166.00 $983 —
603 603 3 159.00 $159.00 $959 —
680 680 3 144.00 $144.00 $979 +9.08
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1182 1182 3 106.00 $106.00 $1,253 +3.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1330 1323 80-85% 2 54.00 $54.00 $714 —
1333–1420 1377 80-85% 15 54.00–63.50 $57.46 $791 -1.54
1383–1470 1391 80-85% 31 55.75–64.00 $56.51 $786 -2.49
1300–1505 1427 80-85% 13 49.00–54.00 $52.53 $750 +2.89
1465–1573 1519 80-85% 4 65.00–66.00 $65.48 $995 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1223 1120 85-90% 5 51.00–52.00 $51.83 $580 —
1135 1135 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $704 —
1101–1338 1211 85-90% 24 48.00–53.00 $50.14 $607 -3.62
1145–1230 1219 85-90% 19 53.50–56.00 $55.24 $673 +2.03
1248–1285 1260 85-90% 3 54.00–58.00 $56.64 $714 —
1260 1260 85-90% 1 42.50 $42.50 $536 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 75-80% 2 57.00 $57.00 $855 —
1510–1593 1565 75-80% 3 65.00–66.00 $65.68 $1,028 —
1528–1690 1587 75-80% 12 56.00–64.00 $61.34 $973 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1238–1360 1346 19 80.50–89.00 $81.64 $1,099 —
1408–2405 1745 13 83.50–87.50 $84.42 $1,473 —
1630–2080 1805 6 71.00–82.00 $75.09 $1,355 —
1908 1908 2 81.00 $81.00 $1,545 —
1990 1990 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,851 —
2525 2525 1 85.00 $85.00 $2,146 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2680 2680 1 62.00 $62.00 $1,662 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
760–1345 1011 (<2 yrs)Open 51 75.00–99.00 $87.03 $880
895–1500 1088 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 18 61.00–82.00 $71.34 $776
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
795–968 933 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 60.00–62.50 $60.43 $564
1063 1063 (<2 yrs)Open 3 65.00 $65.00 $691

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1175 1175 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 7 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1293–1312 1307 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 1,150.00–1,225.00 $1,205.21
1326 1326 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 13 750.00 $750.00

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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.