Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report, Billings, MT

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 29, 2023

1,798 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $200.00/cwt ≈ $1,410/hd at 705 lb · 12 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $192.81/cwt -11.85 vs last sale · ≈ $1,810/hd at 939 lb · 10 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $246.01/cwt ≈ $1,053/hd at 428 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,798 1,135 1,650
Feeder cattle 345 242 484
Slaughter cattle 1,120 705 863
Replacement cattle 333 188 303

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle offerings were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain. Most calves were offered in small packages or as singles. Demand was light to moderate. Quality hampered demand as buyers had a limited selection of feeders to build loads from. Market activity was slow. Weigh up cows comprised most of todays receipts. Demand for cows was moderate for moderate to heavy offerings. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to weak on all classes. A large pool of feeding cow buyers was seen this week and demand for feeding cows was mostly moderate to good. High quality feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold generally steady. Thin short term feeding cows or turn out cows sold steady to firm. Buyer participation was active this week. Quality this week was mostly average and not as attractive as last week. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average for buyers throughout the sale as most cows were carrying heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls traded unevenly steady as lower dressing bulls sold steady to firm and high dressing bulls sold lower. Feeding bull buyers pushed packers throughout the sale as they fought to fill loads. Young age cows sold sharply lower. Demand from rebreed buyers was significantly lower this week as most young cows were purchased to feed. Quality was mostly plain to average today which also hampered demand.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
339 unweaned 339 4 320.00 $320.00 $1,085 —
415 unweaned 415 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,245 —
490 unweaned 490 4 282.50 $282.50 $1,384 —
550–593 unweaned 582 9 230.00–237.50 $235.42 $1,370 —
613–635 unweaned 622 5 232.00–233.00 $232.41 $1,446 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
469 469 4 314.00 $314.00 $1,473 +34.00
480 unweaned 480 3 306.00 $306.00 $1,469 —
901 901 7 200.00 $200.00 $1,802 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353–370 unweaned 357 4 285.00–297.50 $288.24 $1,029 —
432 432 9 270.00 $270.00 $1,166 +64.97

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
441 441 8 281.00 $281.00 $1,239 +24.33
847 847 6 188.00 $188.00 $1,592 -5.30
851 851 9 203.00 $203.00 $1,728 -9.00
938–945 939 10 192.00–200.00 $192.81 $1,810 -11.85
988 988 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,877 +6.13
1019 1019 4 160.00 $160.00 $1,630 —
1030 1030 2 188.00 $188.00 $1,936 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413–443 unweaned 428 10 231.00–260.00 $246.01 $1,053 —
599 unweaned 599 5 228.00 $228.00 $1,366 —
705 705 12 200.00 $200.00 $1,410 —
777 777 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,632 —
880 880 4 195.00 $195.00 $1,716 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
389 389 10 240.00 $240.00 $934 +30.00
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
653 653 7 187.50 $187.50 $1,224 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–940 935 85-90% 2 62.50–64.00 $63.25 $591 —
975 975 85-90% 1 82.50 $82.50 $804 —
1000–1410 1133 85-90% 144 65.00–82.00 $78.75 $892 —
1045–1345 1161 85-90% 10 52.00–62.00 $58.61 $680 -18.08
1050–1480 1178 85-90% 27 63.00–77.00 $69.03 $813 +3.49
1155–1225 1193 85-90% 3 90.00–94.00 $91.63 $1,093 +26.09
1045–1316 1228 85-90% 183 81.00–89.00 $83.38 $1,024 +10.46
1025–1345 1232 85-90% 34 79.00–85.50 $82.58 $1,017 +9.66
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1630 1398 80-85% 112 78.00–84.00 $82.24 $1,150 —
1415 1415 80-85% 1 69.00 $69.00 $976 —
1430–1451 1447 80-85% 5 96.50–97.25 $97.10 $1,405 —
1286–1740 1449 80-85% 176 84.00–95.00 $89.45 $1,296 —
1320–1840 1485 80-85% 13 76.50–83.00 $81.24 $1,206 —
1445–1573 1527 80-85% 7 82.00–85.00 $84.45 $1,290 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1498–1710 1635 75-80% 37 92.00–96.50 $93.88 $1,535 —
1586–1925 1654 75-80% 5 92.50–94.50 $92.97 $1,538 —
1620–1803 1692 75-80% 6 87.00–89.00 $87.87 $1,487 —
1648–1850 1712 75-80% 5 88.00–89.00 $88.32 $1,512 —
2125 2125 75-80% 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,891 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1860 1529 12 83.00–108.00 $92.61 $1,416 —
1430–1928 1635 18 90.00–106.00 $99.30 $1,624 —
1583–1860 1712 8 111.00–116.50 $113.84 $1,949 —
1610–2080 1896 15 114.00–121.00 $118.74 $2,251 —
1745–2280 2073 3 121.00–128.00 $124.98 $2,591 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
755–1290 1024 (<2 yrs)Open 114 97.50–147.50 $122.27 $1,252
897–1320 1120 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 70 85.00–120.00 $94.31 $1,056
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
842–1015 908 (<2 yrs)Open 5 102.50–120.00 $113.89 $1,034

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1115 thin fleshed 1115 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00
1117 thin fleshed 1117 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 6 1,175.00 $1,175.00
1005–1245 1138 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 9 1,800.00–1,850.00 $1,830.38
1156 1156 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 6 1,450.00 $1,450.00
1210–1272 thin fleshed 1250 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 1,150.00–1,350.00 $1,288.27
1345 1345 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,450.00 $1,450.00
1225–1379 1355 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 1,600.00–1,700.00 $1,613.91
1453 1453 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 1,600.00 $1,600.00
1454 1454 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 15 1,475.00 $1,475.00

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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.