Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 4, 2023

742 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $272.10/cwt ≈ $1,292/hd at 475 lb · 20 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $251.33/cwt ≈ $1,093/hd at 435 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $246.00/cwt ≈ $1,333/hd at 542 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 742 636 912
Feeder cattle 374 176 409
Slaughter cattle 216 347 402
Replacement cattle 152 113 101

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested either this sale or last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most offerings sold in small packages or as singles this sale. Demand for feeders was light to moderate as not enough feeder cattle were offered to put together loads. CME positions sold off sharply over the past few days and buyers showed slightly lighter demand for all feeder cattle on offer as a result. Market activity was mostly moderate this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold on lighter demand this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Feeding cow demand was lighter this sale as quality limited demand for feeding offerings. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. Packers are reluctant to put many wet bagged cows on feed. Most cows sold today still had wet bags, having freshly weaned calves. Slaughter bulls sold sold generally steady to 4.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average to start the sale but improved slightly later in the day. Cow quality today was mostly average today. Several packages of young age cows sold this week. Demand for these offerings was mostly good as feeding and rebreeding buyers competed over attractive offerings. Young age cows sold 5.00-10.00 higher as demand for this class of cow improved. Bred cow offerings were very attractive this week and sold on very good demand.

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
340 unweaned 340 6 332.50 $332.50 $1,130 —
399 unweaned 399 5 332.50 $332.50 $1,327 —
475 unweaned 475 4 302.50 $302.50 $1,437 —
515 unweaned 515 4 302.50 $302.50 $1,558 —
568–598 unweaned 576 10 260.00–277.00 $271.50 $1,564 -6.63
611 unweaned 611 11 272.00 $272.00 $1,662 —
965 965 2 225.50 $225.50 $2,176 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 unweaned 391 8 300.00 $300.00 $1,173 —
405 unweaned 405 8 310.00 $310.00 $1,256 —
478–490 unweaned 484 4 272.50–277.50 $274.97 $1,331 -20.03
658 unweaned 658 2 243.00 $243.00 $1,599 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
710–712 712 4 242.50–247.50 $246.25 $1,753 —
758 758 2 232.50 $232.50 $1,762 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 unweaned 325 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,008 —
368 unweaned 368 2 285.00 $285.00 $1,049 —
413 unweaned 413 4 285.00 $285.00 $1,177 —
451–490 unweaned 475 20 261.00–282.50 $272.10 $1,292 —
542 unweaned 542 16 246.00 $246.00 $1,333 —
582 unweaned 582 12 251.00 $251.00 $1,461 +4.29
608 unweaned 608 4 241.00 $241.00 $1,465 —
933–938 936 6 219.50–221.00 $220.25 $2,062 +2.89
974 974 4 217.00 $217.00 $2,114 —
1018–1040 1029 4 208.50–210.00 $209.24 $2,153 +1.24
1066–1081 1076 18 205.50–215.50 $208.80 $2,247 +10.80
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 unweaned 385 2 295.00 $295.00 $1,136 —
425–439 unweaned 435 20 240.00–260.00 $251.33 $1,093 —
828–838 833 6 220.00–225.00 $222.48 $1,853 —
860–882 877 4 217.50–222.50 $218.73 $1,918 —
930 930 1 215.00 $215.00 $2,000 -3.00
980–985 982 5 200.00–204.00 $201.60 $1,980 -10.40
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
634 634 9 240.00 $240.00 $1,522 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1111 1111 6 203.00 $203.00 $2,255 —
1175 1175 1 192.50 $192.50 $2,262 +2.50
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
679 679 6 250.50 $250.50 $1,701 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730 730 5 227.50 $227.50 $1,661 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110 1110 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,942 —
1185 1185 3 165.00 $165.00 $1,955 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,887 —
1170 1170 1 172.50 $172.50 $2,018 —
1275 1275 1 146.00 $146.00 $1,862 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295–1535 1369 80-85% 9 111.00–118.00 $114.34 $1,565 +1.34
1275–1659 1438 80-85% 20 98.00–108.00 $102.80 $1,478 +3.98
1300–1695 1451 80-85% 18 88.00–98.00 $93.07 $1,350 —
1323–1570 1456 80-85% 34 104.00–109.50 $105.17 $1,531 —
1445–1610 1532 80-85% 3 110.50–111.00 $110.66 $1,695 —
1585 1585 80-85% 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,522 -19.60
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 85-90% 1 72.50 $72.50 $761 —
1000–1273 1170 85-90% 12 96.00–103.00 $100.09 $1,171 +5.01
1050–1270 1185 85-90% 28 78.00–95.00 $87.29 $1,034 -7.79
1125–1235 1197 85-90% 3 110.00–111.00 $110.48 $1,322 +15.40
1015–1274 1211 85-90% 15 95.00–102.00 $98.85 $1,197 -3.01
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1545–1647 1619 75-80% 8 108.50–112.50 $110.62 $1,791 —
1685 1685 75-80% 2 101.00 $101.00 $1,702 —
1565–1813 1704 75-80% 6 100.00–106.50 $103.64 $1,766 —
1610–1868 1719 75-80% 7 107.00–112.50 $108.82 $1,871 -3.93

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1560 1425 3 107.00–116.00 $110.28 $1,571 +3.74
1400–1805 1564 8 92.00–104.00 $96.09 $1,503 —
1440–2145 1856 15 100.00–106.00 $104.48 $1,939 —
1925–1980 1953 2 122.50–125.00 $123.77 $2,417 +0.22
1520–2290 1999 18 107.00–117.00 $110.38 $2,206 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
803–1345 1016 (<2 yrs)Open 70 129.00–188.50 $163.20 $1,658
870–1320 1104 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 17 110.00–159.00 $124.54 $1,375
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
710–940 828 (<2 yrs)Open 3 120.00–150.00 $136.97 $1,134
793–1185 978 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 93.00–110.00 $105.89 $1,036

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1227 1227 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 11 2,800.00 $2,800.00
1270 1270 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 2,250.00 $2,250.00
1477 1477 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 7 1,750.00 $1,750.00
1510 1510 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 16 2,400.00 $2,400.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1083 1083 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,600.00 $1,600.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1101 1101 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 2,500.00 $2,500.00

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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.