Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 23, 2022

1,140 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 heifers $158.66/cwt ≈ $1,008/hd at 636 lb · 48 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.87/cwt ≈ $1,096/hd at 736 lb · 37 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $202.84/cwt -2.16 vs last sale · ≈ $1,057/hd at 521 lb · 25 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,140 698 823
Feeder cattle 355 45 446
Slaughter cattle 486 335 254
Replacement cattle 299 318 123

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder calves were scarcely tested this week, thus a full market trend isn't available, however lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly plain to average and was a big drag on demand. Additionally most cattle were offered in small groups and many buyers were not willing to start loads due to light offerings and no other sales this week to fill out loads. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Packers were very aggressive as they bid on offerings for both immediate harvest and to feed. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to firm on all classes. Packers pushed to own as much of the cow offering as possible again this week. Packers continue to put high quality feeding cows away on feed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this week. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality this week was average to attractive. Many sets of cattle are being purchased to feed as most are just not starting to turn 2 years old. Demand for young cows that lost calves continues to be good as well as order buyers ask to sort heifers from wet bagged cows.

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
417 417 8 218.00 $218.00 $909 —
466 466 4 208.00 $208.00 $969 —
507–545 521 25 197.00–207.00 $202.84 $1,057 -2.16
568–580 573 6 185.00–193.00 $187.65 $1,075 -13.35
635–646 645 9 178.00–180.00 $179.78 $1,160 —
659 659 4 160.00 $160.00 $1,054 —
710 710 4 165.00 $165.00 $1,172 +11.00
768 768 13 163.00 $163.00 $1,252 +8.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 2 195.00 $195.00 $624 —
514–545 527 9 190.00–194.00 $193.43 $1,019 —
557–591 571 12 181.00 $181.00 $1,034 —
673 673 4 163.00 $163.00 $1,097 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
422–432 426 8 182.00 $182.00 $775 —
525–528 527 5 178.00–185.00 $183.61 $968 —
547 547 7 161.00 $161.00 $881 —
559 559 4 172.00 $172.00 $961 —
610–648 633 27 157.00–169.00 $162.28 $1,027 —
639 639 21 154.00 $154.00 $984 —
668–680 673 7 151.00–154.00 $153.14 $1,031 —
707–743 736 37 146.00–154.00 $148.87 $1,096 —
805 805 2 143.50 $143.50 $1,155 —
888 888 17 130.50 $130.50 $1,159 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 9 179.00 $179.00 $859 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
351 351 4 160.00 $160.00 $562 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
432 432 3 208.50 $208.50 $901 —
466 466 4 204.00 $204.00 $951 —
585–590 586 5 178.00–187.00 $185.19 $1,085 —
618–644 637 14 168.00–175.00 $169.94 $1,083 —
808 808 2 139.00 $139.00 $1,123 —
900 900 3 128.00 $128.00 $1,152 —
1180 1180 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,310 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
918 918 3 111.00 $111.00 $1,019 —
1019 1019 7 118.00 $118.00 $1,202 —
1153 1153 13 110.00 $110.00 $1,268 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
105 105 1 350.00 $350.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1309–1570 1359 80-85% 14 71.00–76.00 $73.83 $1,003 —
1365–1445 1397 80-85% 3 84.00–86.50 $85.47 $1,194 —
1305–1545 1420 80-85% 43 76.50–83.50 $79.00 $1,122 -8.15
1298–1745 1444 80-85% 59 78.50–86.50 $81.90 $1,183 +7.84
1370–1498 1480 80-85% 7 87.00 $87.00 $1,288 +6.60
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860 860 85-90% 1 57.50 $57.50 $494 —
925 925 85-90% 1 71.00 $71.00 $657 +1.50
1130 1130 85-90% 1 88.00 $88.00 $994 —
1070–1235 1153 85-90% 2 82.00–83.50 $82.70 $954 —
1070–1310 1194 85-90% 39 64.00–75.50 $71.83 $858 —
1095–1310 1203 85-90% 22 75.00–81.00 $76.68 $922 +4.79
1215–1255 1239 85-90% 4 80.00–82.00 $81.00 $1,004 +12.00
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1393–1725 1514 75-80% 13 85.00–87.00 $86.05 $1,303 —
1565–1615 1584 75-80% 4 78.50–80.50 $79.50 $1,259 —
1657 1657 75-80% 28 89.25 $89.25 $1,479 +0.25
1335–1830 1670 75-80% 7 78.50–82.00 $79.53 $1,328 -9.47
1472–1905 1683 75-80% 9 83.50–86.00 $84.72 $1,426 -4.28
1695–1840 1768 75-80% 2 87.00–88.00 $87.52 $1,547 +15.52
2025 2025 75-80% 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,721 +8.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1372–1543 1424 19 84.00–95.00 $88.36 $1,258 —
1365–1865 1578 28 80.00–94.50 $91.41 $1,442 -9.59
1529–1667 1625 23 96.00–103.50 $101.35 $1,647 —
1450–2280 1778 31 95.00–108.00 $101.19 $1,799 —
1855–2310 2111 12 108.50–112.00 $109.81 $2,318 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
738–1320 1009 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 60 75.00–105.00 $92.98 $938
755–1410 1026 (<2 yrs)Open 137 100.00–135.00 $118.97 $1,221
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–965 941 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 77.00–79.00 $78.49 $739
890–1195 1085 (<2 yrs)Open 4 99.00–103.00 $100.37 $1,089

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1123–1335 1288 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,325.00–1,450.00 $1,349.22
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1215 thin fleshed 1215 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 73.00 $73.00 $887

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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.