Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 26, 2022

2,918 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 steers $178.04/cwt ≈ $1,109/hd at 623 lb · 182 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $156.95/cwt +2.95 vs last sale · ≈ $970/hd at 618 lb · 180 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $164.61/cwt +3.61 vs last sale · ≈ $868/hd at 527 lb · 160 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,918 677 564
Feeder cattle 2,407 305 105
Slaughter cattle 322 190 388
Replacement cattle 189 182 71

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Heifer calves were too lightly tested last week to trend, however calves under 600 lbs sold with higher undertones and calves over 600 lbs sold with steady to firm undertones. Quality this week was average to attractive. Most calves were offered in average size packages and demand was mostly good to very good throughout todays sale. A good crowd of order buyers was on hand for todays sale and demand improved throughout the sale as buyers pushed to fill loads. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to run on grass. Of note, red hided cattle sold on lighter demand than black hided cattle of similar quality. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packer buyers showed the best demand for cows this week as they purchased the majority of the cow offering for immediate harvest. Packers pushed to own the majority of the cows on offer. Slaughter cows sold mostly 5.00-7.00 higher on all classes. Too few cows sold to feed this week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Demand for one iron home-raised offerings continues to be good to very good and these type offerings often top the market for their prospective age. Quality this week was average to attractive and better than last week.

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
329 329 7 215.00 $215.00 $707 —
390–399 395 11 220.00–222.50 $221.38 $874 —
415–447 432 21 217.00–235.00 $226.83 $980 —
447 thin fleshed 447 10 241.00 $241.00 $1,077 —
461 thin fleshed 461 12 237.00 $237.00 $1,093 —
451–498 475 90 207.50–230.00 $219.99 $1,045 +14.99
521–540 535 142 194.00–206.00 $204.28 $1,093 —
559 fancy 559 16 205.50 $205.50 $1,149 —
555–583 570 66 184.00–196.00 $187.13 $1,067 +1.63
600–649 623 182 170.00–182.00 $178.04 $1,109 —
654–681 669 144 170.50–176.50 $172.18 $1,152 —
702–729 726 49 161.00–168.75 $166.83 $1,211 —
758–799 789 70 154.00–162.00 $156.58 $1,235 —
808–837 835 24 152.00–155.00 $154.76 $1,292 —
854–855 854 9 155.00 $155.00 $1,324 —
911 911 6 149.00 $149.00 $1,357 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–439 418 21 210.00–212.50 $211.07 $882 +6.07
492 492 5 203.00 $203.00 $999 —
575–598 587 12 152.00–172.00 $168.69 $990 —
603–638 613 25 146.00–169.50 $161.36 $989 -3.64
718–725 722 4 145.00–153.00 $148.98 $1,076 -1.02
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361 361 7 210.00 $210.00 $758 —
476 476 4 195.00 $195.00 $928 —
865 865 11 137.50 $137.50 $1,189 —
925 925 12 138.00 $138.00 $1,276 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
533 533 14 147.00 $147.00 $784 —
672 672 5 141.00 $141.00 $948 +8.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
756 756 16 148.50 $148.50 $1,123 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 16 189.00 $189.00 $696 —
410–438 427 59 186.00–197.00 $190.73 $814 —
458–495 478 120 169.00–183.00 $177.81 $850 +13.22
500–545 526 145 160.00–170.00 $165.24 $869 +4.24
537 537 15 158.50 $158.50 $851 -2.50
566 fancy 566 22 170.50 $170.50 $965 —
555–591 569 127 158.00–166.50 $162.04 $922 +6.56
575 575 4 152.00 $152.00 $874 -3.48
600–641 618 180 150.50–160.50 $156.95 $970 +2.95
653–663 656 11 145.00–147.00 $145.55 $955 -0.06
651–674 668 32 136.00–142.00 $140.35 $938 -5.26
704–736 719 73 142.50–148.00 $144.87 $1,042 —
819–826 823 42 139.00–142.00 $140.71 $1,158 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–431 426 7 157.50–166.00 $162.41 $692 —
470–493 482 36 150.00–167.50 $159.05 $767 —
508–523 516 12 147.50–159.00 $155.58 $803 —
562–598 580 16 150.00–157.50 $154.20 $894 —
623 623 5 146.00 $146.00 $910 +9.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
667 667 5 143.00 $143.00 $954 —
763–778 773 9 135.00–138.50 $137.35 $1,062 —
1010–1019 1015 7 131.00–132.50 $131.64 $1,336 —
1122 fancy 1122 6 130.00 $130.00 $1,459 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530–533 531 25 135.00–137.00 $135.64 $720 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
448 448 8 154.00 $154.00 $690 —
500 500 7 155.00 $155.00 $775 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408 408 2 155.00 $155.00 $632 —
585 585 27 153.00 $153.00 $895 -13.00
755–796 772 19 131.00–137.00 $133.60 $1,031 —
950 950 2 125.00 $125.00 $1,188 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
727 727 3 129.00 $129.00 $938 —
778 778 5 128.00 $128.00 $996 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920 920 85-90% 1 54.00 $54.00 $497 —
980–995 981 85-90% 17 46.00–51.00 $50.70 $497 —
1005–1295 1170 85-90% 52 57.00–64.00 $58.76 $687 —
1000–1348 1171 85-90% 45 47.00–57.00 $52.02 $609 —
1153–1315 1207 85-90% 3 32.00–44.00 $36.36 $439 -13.78
1290 1290 85-90% 1 67.00 $67.00 $864 +10.36
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1645 1383 80-85% 65 59.50–66.00 $62.98 $871 +5.52
1340–1564 1442 80-85% 19 52.00–59.00 $56.51 $815 +3.98
1218–1550 1511 80-85% 24 63.00–64.00 $63.84 $965 -1.64
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1750 1588 75-80% 7 68.50–72.00 $69.76 $1,108 +8.42
1600 1600 75-80% 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,168 —
1560–1850 1665 75-80% 12 60.00–67.00 $64.52 $1,074 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1339–1500 1359 8 90.00–92.00 $90.28 $1,227 —
1220–2070 1591 6 71.00–82.00 $74.95 $1,192 —
1650–2055 1930 5 84.00–88.00 $85.82 $1,656 +4.82
2300–2340 2320 2 94.00–96.50 $95.26 $2,210 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2515 2515 1 89.50 $89.50 $2,251 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
900 thin fleshed 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 58.00 $58.00 $522
795–1575 940 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 72 64.00–99.00 $90.50 $851
862–1310 995 (<2 yrs)Open 41 81.00–115.00 $92.05 $916
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1110 1110 (<2 yrs)Open 4 65.00 $65.00 $722

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1210–1275 1253 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 3 875.00–900.00 $883.05
1200–1278 1255 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 1,100.00 $1,100.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1216 1216 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 70.00 $70.00 $851

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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.