Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 16, 2022

698 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $154.00/cwt ≈ $1,138/hd at 739 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 698 312 676
Feeder cattle 45 51 304
Slaughter cattle 335 169 252
Replacement cattle 318 92 120

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder calves were scarcely tested this week thus no trend on feed cattle is available. Demand for limited offerings was moderate to good. Quality was mostly plain and cattle were offered mostly as singles. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers were very aggressive as they bid on offerings for immediate harvest. Packers pushed to own as many of the cow offering as possible, pushing all offerings higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to 3.00 higher on all classes. Packers continue to put high quality feeding cows away on feed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher as well as the whole cow complex rose on increased packer demand. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Packers showed very good demand for high dressing bulls this week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed. 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
543 543 5 205.00 $205.00 $1,113 —
561–573 564 8 201.00 $201.00 $1,134 +7.00
739 739 11 154.00 $154.00 $1,138 —
750–770 760 4 155.00 $155.00 $1,178 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
628 628 2 149.00 $149.00 $936 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
891 891 5 128.00 $128.00 $1,140 —
917 917 3 119.00 $119.00 $1,091 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–930 925 85-90% 2 69.00–70.00 $69.50 $643 —
1033–1070 1050 85-90% 5 56.00–62.00 $59.16 $621 -1.11
1001–1340 1205 85-90% 37 66.00–75.50 $71.89 $866 -9.11
1055–1305 1217 85-90% 45 75.00–83.00 $78.52 $956 -2.48
1200–1277 1247 85-90% 13 69.00 $69.00 $860 -12.00
1337 1337 85-90% 9 81.00 $81.00 $1,083 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1590 1405 80-85% 19 80.00–84.00 $82.11 $1,154 +2.37
1322–1680 1423 80-85% 15 85.00–89.50 $87.15 $1,240 +7.41
1090–1650 1428 80-85% 7 64.00–76.00 $74.06 $1,058 -5.68
1310–1720 1458 80-85% 45 76.00–84.00 $80.40 $1,172 +0.27
1515 1515 80-85% 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,318 +3.51
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1645 1463 75-80% 3 83.50–86.50 $84.63 $1,238 —
1685 1685 75-80% 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,500 —
1433–1960 1734 75-80% 6 76.00–81.00 $79.31 $1,375 -1.84
1786 1786 75-80% 4 72.00 $72.00 $1,286 —
2025 2025 75-80% 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,559 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1570 1570 65-75% 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,366 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1495 1495 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,286 —
1595 1595 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,611 —
1590–1880 1696 9 83.00–95.00 $89.06 $1,510 —
1545–2200 1900 19 97.00–109.00 $102.59 $1,949 —
1895–2128 2070 4 113.50–119.00 $114.76 $2,376 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1715 1715 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,629 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
685–1340 984 (<2 yrs)Open 234 101.00–134.00 $120.84 $1,189
1000–1390 1175 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 40 79.00–100.00 $87.00 $1,022
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–985 912 (<2 yrs)Open 3 94.00–107.50 $98.86 $902
760–1217 1093 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 70.00–77.50 $72.01 $787

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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.