Cattle Market Pulse

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction Market Report

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 14, 2024

771 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M 1 heifers $280.00/cwt -2.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,481/hd at 529 lb · 25 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $278.00/cwt ≈ $1,846/hd at 664 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $329.50/cwt ≈ $1,792/hd at 544 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 771 558 303
Feeder cattle 194 273 177
Slaughter cattle 453 220 70
Replacement cattle 124 65 56

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle offerings were limited this week. All feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality today was mostly plain to average. Most cattle were offered in small packages or as singles. Demand was mostly light to moderate as quality put a damper on demand. Market activity today was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows comprised most of the sale this week. Demand was mostly good for light to moderate offerings. Packers continue to buy both feeding and slaughter cows. Packers continue to show need for cows for immediate harvest as snow and winter weather have limited offerings coming to market. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher on breaking and lean cows, boning cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Boning cows sold with the greatest demand this week as packers and feeding buyers both showed very good demand for high quality offerings suitable to feed. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Cow quality today was mostly average to attractive. Weigh up conditions were average to below average as many cows were pushing fill with the latest change in weather. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Demand from feeding cow buyers continues to be good.

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
544 544 14 329.50 $329.50 $1,792 —
595 595 1 303.00 $303.00 $1,803 -13.52
664 664 22 278.00 $278.00 $1,846 —
748 748 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,870 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 7 290.00 $290.00 $1,067 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
527 527 3 308.00 $308.00 $1,623 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
680 680 2 262.50 $262.50 $1,785 -12.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
416–418 417 6 285.00–297.50 $293.32 $1,223 —
529 529 25 280.00 $280.00 $1,481 -2.00
584 584 4 271.00 $271.00 $1,583 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–538 531 8 278.50–282.00 $280.63 $1,490 -5.45
565 565 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,497 +12.00
633 633 3 254.00 $254.00 $1,608 -6.00
748 748 3 220.00 $220.00 $1,646 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
778 778 2 239.00 $239.00 $1,859 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525 525 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,339 -15.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
533 533 6 316.00 $316.00 $1,684 —
588 588 2 301.00 $301.00 $1,770 +21.00
639 639 4 285.00 $285.00 $1,821 —
963 963 4 196.00 $196.00 $1,887 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 1 180.00 $180.00 $2,034 —
1238 1238 2 155.00 $155.00 $1,919 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–996 966 85-90% 12 80.00–86.00 $84.36 $815 -5.64
985 985 85-90% 1 91.00 $91.00 $896 +1.00
1030–1285 1074 85-90% 23 73.00–77.00 $75.83 $814 —
1028–1258 1089 85-90% 55 91.00–95.00 $91.82 $1,000 —
1015–1390 1189 85-90% 36 81.00–95.50 $88.12 $1,048 -10.75
1090–1535 1199 85-90% 17 94.00–100.00 $97.01 $1,163 -1.86
1060–1328 1213 85-90% 43 95.00–105.00 $98.68 $1,197 —
1170–1255 1224 85-90% 5 104.00–112.00 $106.71 $1,306 —
1285 1285 85-90% 3 105.00 $105.00 $1,349 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1435 1297 80-85% 6 85.00–95.00 $91.66 $1,189 —
1220–1555 1315 80-85% 54 96.00–108.00 $104.79 $1,378 —
1315 1315 80-85% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,407 —
1300–1570 1388 80-85% 16 97.00–105.00 $101.03 $1,402 -4.97
1366–1575 1401 80-85% 17 111.00–113.00 $111.58 $1,563 +15.13
1360–1470 1415 80-85% 2 92.00–95.00 $93.56 $1,324 -2.89
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1550 1533 75-80% 2 110.00–114.50 $112.22 $1,720 —
1502–1880 1555 75-80% 20 108.75–110.50 $109.00 $1,695 -0.01
1445–1718 1585 75-80% 5 105.00–107.50 $106.23 $1,684 -2.78
1535–1785 1618 75-80% 3 95.00–101.00 $98.79 $1,598 —
1513–1955 1663 75-80% 10 103.00–108.00 $105.74 $1,758 -6.26
1705 1705 75-80% 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,466 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1630 1630 65-75% 4 108.50 $108.50 $1,769 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1320 1288 2 96.50–103.00 $99.83 $1,286 —
1360–2410 1648 25 101.00–114.00 $106.47 $1,755 —
1665–2090 1753 23 115.00–120.00 $115.87 $2,031 —
2585 2585 1 105.00 $105.00 $2,714 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–1120 864 (<2 yrs)Open 12 165.00–197.50 $187.26 $1,618
915–1360 1084 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 31 106.00–152.50 $128.78 $1,396
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–878 877 (<2 yrs)Open 3 150.00–172.50 $165.02 $1,447

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1318 1318 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 15 1,635.00 $1,635.00
1320–1390 1335 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 14 1,625.00–1,700.00 $1,641.73
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1146 1146 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 2,175.00 $2,175.00
1168 thin fleshed 1168 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1215 1215 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,350.00 $1,350.00

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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.