Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 1, 2023

227 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight S 2-3 steers $71.00/cwt ≈ $530/hd at 747 lb · 31 head
heavy 6-weight S 2-3 steers $70.47/cwt ≈ $466/hd at 661 lb · 19 head
light 6-weight S 2-3 steers $71.00/cwt ≈ $452/hd at 636 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 227 649 842
Feeder cattle 156 375 0
Slaughter cattle 49 219 356
Replacement cattle 22 55 486

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Todays sale was very light on reciepts due to extremely cold weather over the last few days. Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Several consignments of corriente cross cattle were seen today. Feeder cattle quality was mostly plain. Demand was light to moderate. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light offerings. Packer buyers showed significanly stronger demand for slaughter cows this sale as they bid on very limited offerings. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, higher undertones were noticed as slaughter buyers pushed all offerings higher.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
636 636 17 71.00 $71.00 $452 —
660–663 661 19 70.00–71.00 $70.47 $466 —
747 747 31 71.00 $71.00 $530 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 4 240.00 $240.00 $1,063 —
510–526 524 8 212.00–214.00 $212.24 $1,112 -12.76
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635 635 5 137.00 $137.00 $870 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
753 753 3 148.00 $148.00 $1,114 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
379 379 7 185.00 $185.00 $701 —
467 467 9 174.00 $174.00 $813 —
Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
581 581 8 50.00 $50.00 $290 —
734 734 4 60.00 $60.00 $440 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–515 514 5 190.00–201.00 $198.82 $1,022 +8.82
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
772 772 5 109.00 $109.00 $841 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1227 1227 3 109.00 $109.00 $1,337 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905 905 3 117.00 $117.00 $1,059 -12.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935 935 85-90% 1 67.00 $67.00 $626 +5.32
945 945 85-90% 1 73.00 $73.00 $690 +11.32
1205–1214 1213 85-90% 6 81.00–83.00 $81.33 $987 +11.83
1190–1240 1215 85-90% 2 75.00–76.00 $75.49 $917 +5.99
1175–1290 1261 85-90% 4 83.00–85.50 $84.92 $1,071 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395–1412 1408 80-85% 4 75.00–76.00 $75.75 $1,067 -3.25
1395–1565 1444 80-85% 9 80.00–84.00 $81.93 $1,183 +13.29
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1760 1760 65-75% 1 84.50 $84.50 $1,487 —
1868 1868 65-75% 6 83.50 $83.50 $1,560 —
2015 2015 65-75% 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,552 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1618–1680 1639 75-80% 3 75.00–79.50 $77.96 $1,278 +0.15
1783 1783 75-80% 2 82.00 $82.00 $1,462 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1215 1203 2 85.00–91.00 $87.97 $1,058 —
1325 1325 1 72.00 $72.00 $954 —
1875–2285 2084 4 98.00–110.00 $105.09 $2,190 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
828–835 832 (<2 yrs)Open 8 147.00 $147.00 $1,223
808–1540 1132 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 85.50–106.00 $92.44 $1,046
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
777 777 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 80.00 $80.00 $622

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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.