Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 8, 2023

733 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $168.50/cwt ≈ $1,340/hd at 795 lb · 45 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $176.85/cwt ≈ $1,308/hd at 740 lb · 35 head
heavy 5-weight M 1 steers $236.00/cwt ≈ $1,350/hd at 572 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 733 1,729 312
Feeder cattle 220 — 51
Slaughter cattle 404 695 169
Replacement cattle 109 1,034 92

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were not tested last week due to the bred cattle special and cattle were too lightly tested today to develop any market trend. Demand for feeders was mostly good for light offerings. CME positions continue to inch higher and today marked new contract highs for most feeder cattle contracts. Lower grain prices continue to help support feeder cattle prices as well. Market activity was mostly active. Weigh up cows comprised most of todays sale receipts. Demand was mostly good for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher on all offerings. Packer buyers opted to send a few set of cows to feed this week. Feeding cows sold steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Cow quality was mostly plain to average this week and not as attractive as last week. Weigh up conditions were mixed. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed on a plain quality offering. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand. Packer buyers continue to buy the bottom or heavy weight end of these offerings for slaughter. Steady to firm undertones were noticed on young offerings.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
471 471 17 245.00 $245.00 $1,154 —
572 572 28 236.00 $236.00 $1,350 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
603–640 612 4 223.00–236.00 $232.60 $1,424 —
684 684 7 214.50 $214.50 $1,467 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
759 759 5 185.00 $185.00 $1,404 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 unweaned 370 2 240.00 $240.00 $888 —
405 405 3 265.00 $265.00 $1,073 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 12 199.00–204.00 $201.92 $1,191 —
728–740 731 4 179.00–185.00 $183.48 $1,341 —
741 741 31 176.00 $176.00 $1,304 —
795 795 45 168.50 $168.50 $1,340 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508 508 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,041 —
558 558 2 198.00 $198.00 $1,105 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
648 648 3 206.00 $206.00 $1,335 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1505 1382 80-85% 7 80.00–86.00 $84.02 $1,161 —
1250–1595 1390 80-85% 113 87.50–95.50 $91.71 $1,275 —
1300–1560 1399 80-85% 4 96.00–97.00 $96.23 $1,346 —
1308–1463 1410 80-85% 7 85.00–86.50 $85.92 $1,211 -7.08
1343–1495 1417 80-85% 41 93.00–94.00 $93.66 $1,327 +0.66
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–980 978 85-90% 2 82.00–83.00 $82.50 $807 +20.00
1065–1155 1125 85-90% 3 71.00–73.00 $71.63 $806 —
1120–1230 1156 85-90% 4 79.50–84.00 $81.55 $943 +13.62
1030–1325 1164 85-90% 58 75.00–86.00 $80.94 $942 +13.01
1040–1310 1257 85-90% 33 86.50–92.00 $87.39 $1,098 —
1302 1302 85-90% 23 92.50 $92.50 $1,204 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535–1725 1630 75-80% 2 97.50 $97.50 $1,589 —
1485–1810 1641 75-80% 8 92.50–95.00 $93.86 $1,540 —
1670 1670 75-80% 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,570 +1.02
1585–1830 1738 75-80% 5 90.00–91.50 $91.09 $1,583 +3.23

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 1 73.00 $73.00 $993 —
1398 1398 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,538 —
1315–2243 1737 14 87.50–107.00 $97.29 $1,690 —
1975–2323 2173 7 108.00–119.00 $111.15 $2,415 —
2265 2265 1 129.00 $129.00 $2,922 —
YG2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2685 2685 1 103.00 $103.00 $2,766 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
710–1270 1042 (<2 yrs)Open 39 113.00–140.00 $126.71 $1,320
810–1290 1095 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 30 85.00–112.50 $93.51 $1,024
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
830–1130 970 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 85.00–95.00 $89.70 $870
805–1153 994 (<2 yrs)Open 7 104.00–115.00 $110.19 $1,095
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
940–1225 1089 (<2 yrs)Open 8 105.00–137.50 $124.56 $1,356
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
960 960 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 82.00 $82.00 $787

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1183 1183 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,175.00 $1,175.00
1218 1218 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,075.00 $1,075.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1037 1037 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,325.00 $1,325.00

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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.