Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 25, 2023

1,282 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $282.08/cwt ≈ $1,182/hd at 419 lb · 39 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $290.17/cwt ≈ $1,381/hd at 476 lb · 27 head
light 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $300.00/cwt -10.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,047/hd at 349 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,282 1,942 1,786
Feeder cattle 465 259 405
Slaughter cattle 615 891 986
Replacement cattle 202 792 395

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on all offerings. The first snow storm of the season is underway with freezing rain falling late last night and snow starting this morning. Offerings were light as a result. Quality was mostly plain to average today and mostly offered in very small packages or as singles. With sharply colder temperatures seen today along with rain and snow, many sets of calves were showing signs of stress. Demand for feeders was mostly light. Not as many buyers were active in purchasing feeders this week. Market activity was mostly slow. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Slaughter cows sold on light demand again this week. Packers continue to purchase the majority of the cow offering to put on feed and are only sending very poor or lame cows to immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00 to 3.00 lower on boning and lean cows; breaking cows sold mostly steady to frim. Feeding cow demand was moderate this sale. Several buyers were active in buying thin cows to feed or turn out on corn stalks this winter. These cows sold 1.00-2.00 lower. High quality feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold steady to weak. Weigh up conditions were average to below average this sale. With the change of weather many cows and bulls were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Cow quality today was mostly average. Several packages of young age cows sold this week. Demand for these offerings was mostly light to moderate. Demand from feeding buyers lightened significantly this week as CME positions sold off sharply. Young age cows sold 5.00-8.00 lower.

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
320 unweaned 320 7 357.50 $357.50 $1,144 -52.50
376 unweaned 376 18 347.50 $347.50 $1,307 —
473 473 2 286.00 $286.00 $1,353 —
476 unweaned 476 25 290.50 $290.50 $1,383 —
515 unweaned 515 4 277.00 $277.00 $1,427 -11.24
553 unweaned 553 12 250.00 $250.00 $1,382 —
1040 1040 2 207.50 $207.50 $2,158 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357 unweaned 357 6 325.00 $325.00 $1,160 —
425–435 unweaned 432 6 285.00–292.50 $289.59 $1,251 —
516–545 unweaned 534 11 252.50–262.50 $256.01 $1,367 —
590 unweaned 590 12 238.00 $238.00 $1,404 —
623 unweaned 623 4 221.00 $221.00 $1,377 —
811 811 7 219.00 $219.00 $1,776 —
931 931 5 204.00 $204.00 $1,899 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
701 701 7 238.50 $238.50 $1,672 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 unweaned 458 2 150.00 $150.00 $687 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
349 unweaned 349 20 300.00 $300.00 $1,047 -10.00
373 unweaned 373 5 280.00 $280.00 $1,044 -13.56
408–420 unweaned 419 39 270.00–283.00 $282.08 $1,182 —
470 unweaned 470 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,246 —
515 unweaned 515 4 251.00 $251.00 $1,293 -6.00
556–574 unweaned 566 11 221.00–230.00 $225.02 $1,274 -19.98
860 860 1 216.00 $216.00 $1,858 —
914 914 9 212.00 $212.00 $1,938 +1.47
1108 1108 8 183.00 $183.00 $2,028 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 unweaned 483 6 256.00 $256.00 $1,236 —
508–533 unweaned 519 19 230.00–240.00 $236.83 $1,229 —
715 715 10 228.00 $228.00 $1,630 —
924–929 927 12 200.00–204.00 $201.33 $1,866 -2.67
1030 1030 5 189.00 $189.00 $1,947 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005 1005 5 195.50 $195.50 $1,965 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
563 unweaned 563 4 221.00 $221.00 $1,244 —
648 unweaned 648 12 219.00 $219.00 $1,419 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 unweaned 465 4 265.00 $265.00 $1,232 —
620 unweaned 620 3 198.00 $198.00 $1,228 —
975 975 3 131.00 $131.00 $1,277 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,632 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $554 —
895 895 85-90% 1 56.00 $56.00 $501 —
955–1278 1131 85-90% 9 50.00–73.00 $64.07 $725 -10.95
1106–1295 1173 85-90% 26 97.50–103.50 $98.94 $1,161 +28.72
1150–1215 1183 85-90% 2 88.00–89.00 $88.49 $1,047 +18.27
995–1323 1217 85-90% 104 84.50–96.50 $90.14 $1,097 +8.34
1005–1303 1217 85-90% 65 75.00–85.00 $82.42 $1,003 +0.62
1015–1350 1221 85-90% 53 71.00–84.00 $77.61 $948 -13.66
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1224–1600 1346 80-85% 84 94.00–104.50 $98.77 $1,329 —
1307–1495 1354 80-85% 4 92.00–93.00 $92.72 $1,255 —
1320–1550 1385 80-85% 29 80.00–92.00 $87.59 $1,213 +1.29
1300–1460 1390 80-85% 12 72.50–91.00 $81.03 $1,126 -5.27
1440–1515 1494 80-85% 13 105.00–109.00 $105.57 $1,577 -1.87
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1519–1690 1538 75-80% 9 94.50–95.00 $94.94 $1,460 —
1638 1638 75-80% 3 109.00 $109.00 $1,785 +7.00
1345–1940 1696 75-80% 5 87.00–95.00 $92.19 $1,564 -7.15
1665–1765 1698 75-80% 3 104.00–106.00 $105.31 $1,788 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295–1305 1300 2 80.00–90.00 $84.98 $1,105 —
1160–1775 1513 16 86.00–102.00 $94.32 $1,427 —
1713 1713 2 108.00 $108.00 $1,850 —
1600–1845 1727 5 94.00–104.00 $98.38 $1,699 —
1880–2115 2023 4 106.00–115.00 $108.86 $2,202 —
2070–2265 2135 3 119.50–120.50 $120.15 $2,565 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
725 thin fleshed 725 (<2 yrs)Open 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,124
860 thin fleshed 860 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 105.00 $105.00 $903
795–1145 915 (<2 yrs)Open 89 120.50–177.50 $164.89 $1,509
900–1215 1027 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 78 102.00–155.00 $126.87 $1,303
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
720 720 (<2 yrs)Open 1 125.00 $125.00 $900
945–1205 1075 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 90.00–95.50 $93.08 $1,001

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1027–1190 1068 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 1,700.00–1,800.00 $1,772.14
1065–1247 1173 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 17 1,750.00–1,850.00 $1,798.53
1235 1235 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 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.