Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 15, 2023

303 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $238.40/cwt ≈ $1,261/hd at 529 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 303 770 846
Feeder cattle 177 326 490
Slaughter cattle 70 385 256
Replacement cattle 56 59 100

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Receipts were light today due to cold weather seen today and snowy conditions seen yesterday. Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this sale was mostly plain. Most calves were offered in small packages or as singles. Demand for feeder cattle remains good, but quality hampered demand this sale. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Packer buyers showed good demand for slaughter cows this sale. Cow quality was mostly plain to average. A large consignment of mini Herefords was seen this sale and packers showed mostly light demand for these lightweight offerings. Too few cows sold to establish a full market trend for slaughter or feeding cows, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. 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 any market trend. A few heifers that lost calves have started to come to market. These offering sold at a discount open heifers and lowered the price of <2 year old stock 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
527–538 529 21 229.00–240.00 $238.40 $1,261 —
670–684 682 6 200.00–204.00 $200.66 $1,369 +11.05
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
686–693 689 7 183.00–189.00 $186.41 $1,284 —
926 926 6 163.00 $163.00 $1,509 —
973 973 4 158.00 $158.00 $1,537 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 5 210.00 $210.00 $821 —
528 528 4 187.50 $187.50 $990 —

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Feeder Heifers

Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317 317 7 90.00 $90.00 $285 —
426 426 9 90.00 $90.00 $383 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,014 —
944 944 7 126.00 $126.00 $1,189 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 2 197.50 $197.50 $849 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 5 157.50 $157.50 $658 —
493 493 6 147.50 $147.50 $727 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 217.50 $217.50 $1,055 —
600–645 629 6 178.00–181.00 $178.82 $1,125 —
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 6 105.00 $105.00 $441 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 3 175.00 $175.00 $892 —
843 843 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,096 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070 1070 2 127.00 $127.00 $1,359 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–905 846 85-90% 5 61.00–73.00 $69.15 $585 —
1010–1345 1092 85-90% 13 68.00–79.00 $73.10 $798 —
1130–1168 1159 85-90% 4 82.00–83.00 $82.76 $959 +21.97
1180 1180 85-90% 1 87.50 $87.50 $1,032 +12.21
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875 875 80-85% 3 70.00 $70.00 $612 —
1305–1510 1399 80-85% 5 85.00–89.00 $87.22 $1,220 +2.91
1370–1460 1415 80-85% 2 74.50–77.00 $75.71 $1,071 -8.24
1440–1459 1455 80-85% 5 91.25–91.50 $91.30 $1,328 +1.36
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1718 1718 75-80% 4 87.50 $87.50 $1,503 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
921–1303 1009 13 86.50–92.00 $90.36 $912 —
1305 1305 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,122 —
1420 1420 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,463 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
888–1117 1052 (<2 yrs)Open 12 118.00–136.00 $123.59 $1,300
1043–1210 1107 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 83.00–113.00 $94.19 $1,043
1217–1280 1267 (<2 yrs)Open 14 113.75–114.00 $113.80 $1,442
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
935–1070 974 (<2 yrs)Open 5 103.00–131.00 $117.75 $1,147
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
880 880 (<2 yrs)Open 1 100.00 $100.00 $880

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Bred Cows

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1001 1001 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 8 73.50 $73.50 $736
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1325–1445 1385 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,225.00–1,325.00 $1,272.83

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Bred Heifers

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
743 743 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 70.00 $70.00 $520

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Dairy Steers

Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
818 818 4 50.00 $50.00 $409 —

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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.