Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 8, 2023

770 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 $212.96/cwt ≈ $1,303/hd at 612 lb · 26 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $177.50/cwt ≈ $1,727/hd at 973 lb · 25 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $210.00/cwt ≈ $882/hd at 420 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 770 227 748
Feeder cattle 326 156 236
Slaughter cattle 385 49 424
Replacement cattle 59 22 88

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Last weeks sale had very light receipts due to extremely cold weather. Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested either this week or last to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive, and quality was better this week compared to last. Demand was mostly moderate. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Packer buyers showed moderate to good demand for slaughter cows this sale. Very light receipts were seen last week thus no trend can be established. Steady to higher undertones were noticed on breaking and boing cows, lean cows sold with steady to lower undertones after last weeks sharply higher move. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Slaughter buyers continue to keep this class of cows inflated as they buy some young offerings to fill feeding and slaughter orders.

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
475 475 1 234.00 $234.00 $1,112 —
585–591 588 9 213.00–215.00 $214.12 $1,259 —
602–630 612 26 199.00–216.00 $212.96 $1,303 —
662–682 675 9 187.00–195.00 $189.61 $1,280 —
755 755 15 177.50 $177.50 $1,340 —
973 973 25 177.50 $177.50 $1,727 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660 660 7 174.00 $174.00 $1,148 —
867 867 3 162.00 $162.00 $1,405 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 2 217.50 $217.50 $837 —
495 495 4 220.00 $220.00 $1,089 —
568–593 581 4 196.00–200.00 $197.96 $1,150 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437 437 5 182.50 $182.50 $798 —
470–495 483 2 185.00–190.00 $187.44 $905 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 15 210.00 $210.00 $882 —
483–485 484 5 207.50 $207.50 $1,004 —
504–530 511 11 194.00–203.00 $197.68 $1,010 -1.14
628–648 643 14 181.00–187.00 $186.58 $1,200 —
654–662 657 12 175.00–185.00 $180.80 $1,188 —
885 885 3 149.00 $149.00 $1,319 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 5 172.50 $172.50 $833 —
510–539 524 15 185.00–192.00 $189.47 $993 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
448 448 6 160.00 $160.00 $717 —
558 558 4 130.00 $130.00 $725 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 344 6 207.50 $207.50 $714 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 5 140.00 $140.00 $626 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,145 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950 950 85-90% 1 71.00 $71.00 $674 —
1020–1305 1172 85-90% 3 59.00–64.00 $60.79 $712 —
1020–1305 1179 85-90% 22 69.00–77.50 $75.29 $888 —
1190 1190 85-90% 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,047 —
920–1274 1193 85-90% 53 77.00–85.75 $81.13 $968 —
1185–1270 1206 85-90% 4 87.50–91.00 $88.42 $1,066 +7.09
1060–1268 1208 85-90% 40 77.50–84.00 $79.21 $957 -2.12
885–1326 1226 85-90% 42 72.50–77.00 $74.89 $918 -0.60
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1480 1359 80-85% 10 89.00–93.00 $91.06 $1,238 —
1315–1495 1386 80-85% 40 80.50–88.50 $84.31 $1,169 —
1323–1480 1402 80-85% 24 76.00–80.50 $79.36 $1,113 +3.61
1405 1405 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $843 -15.75
1335–1605 1416 80-85% 34 81.00–88.00 $83.95 $1,189 +8.20
1323–1775 1422 80-85% 15 73.00–80.00 $76.82 $1,092 +1.07
1368–1715 1458 80-85% 4 89.00–90.50 $89.94 $1,311 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1538–1940 1616 75-80% 11 83.00–86.00 $84.72 $1,369 +6.76
1530–1928 1639 75-80% 31 80.00–83.00 $80.72 $1,323 +2.76

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1373 1373 2 89.50 $89.50 $1,229 —
1390 1390 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,070 —
1408–1710 1499 5 91.00–95.00 $92.12 $1,381 —
1555–2145 1826 11 96.00–107.00 $102.29 $1,868 —
1835 1835 1 109.00 $109.00 $2,000 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
740–1240 1042 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 47 76.00–109.00 $90.95 $948
1265 1265 (<2 yrs)Open 1 127.00 $127.00 $1,607

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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.