Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 13, 2024

892 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $240.82/cwt ≈ $1,958/hd at 813 lb · 22 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $259.90/cwt ≈ $1,754/hd at 675 lb · 17 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $340.59/cwt ≈ $1,437/hd at 422 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 892 1,827 917
Feeder cattle 333 25 395
Slaughter cattle 390 462 332
Replacement cattle 169 1,340 190

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle offerings were were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand for feeders was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Quality today was plain to average. Most calves were offered in small packages or as singles. Demand for light weight calves was mostly good as many on these offerings can be purchased and fed to fit a differed contract. Demand for cattle suitable to run on grass was very good. Market activity today was mostly active despite a small buyer pool. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Cow quality was average to very attractive today. Packers showed good demand for all cows on offer this week, however demand for cows was lighter than last week. Packers passed on several sets of feeding cows as they sold to private feeders this week. Demand from feeding buyers was very good. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold mostly 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average today. Several sets of cows were sold late in the sale straight off the truck and these offered buyer very good weigh conditions. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00-3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Several very attractive high yielding bulls were seen this sale. Young age cows were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Demand from feeding and rebreed 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
373 373 2 379.00 $379.00 $1,414 —
423 423 2 375.00 $375.00 $1,586 —
485 485 4 354.00 $354.00 $1,717 —
500–540 511 8 340.00–350.00 $345.17 $1,764 —
585–595 590 2 320.00–328.00 $323.97 $1,911 —
603–642 628 12 305.00–319.00 $311.33 $1,955 —
655–694 689 8 281.00–310.00 $284.45 $1,960 —
758 758 9 259.00 $259.00 $1,963 —
813–815 813 22 240.00–249.00 $240.82 $1,958 —
905 905 15 219.00 $219.00 $1,982 —
1053 1053 2 209.00 $209.00 $2,201 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 7 365.00 $365.00 $1,391 -5.00
418–423 422 16 337.50–362.50 $340.59 $1,437 —
488 488 5 337.50 $337.50 $1,647 —
540 540 2 317.00 $317.00 $1,712 —
658 658 2 277.00 $277.00 $1,823 —
785–790 788 3 240.00–243.00 $242.00 $1,907 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
631 631 4 253.00 $253.00 $1,596 —
665 665 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,629 —
745 745 2 244.00 $244.00 $1,818 +7.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–495 477 13 310.00–319.00 $317.29 $1,513 —
513–525 516 4 300.00–300.50 $300.13 $1,549 —
578 578 3 277.00 $277.00 $1,601 —
625 625 7 265.00–272.50 $267.14 $1,670 —
650–693 675 17 251.00–266.00 $259.90 $1,754 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 8 312.00 $312.00 $1,279 —
495 495 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,510 —
535 535 3 295.00 $295.00 $1,578 —
553–595 567 12 267.50–272.00 $269.91 $1,530 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
366 366 4 282.00 $282.00 $1,032 —
418 418 9 297.00 $297.00 $1,241 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 5 330.00 $330.00 $970 —
413 413 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,094 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
398 398 5 302.50 $302.50 $1,204 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 6 355.00 $355.00 $1,484 —
690 690 2 274.00 $274.00 $1,891 —
718 718 2 258.00 $258.00 $1,852 —
760–771 767 14 240.00–245.00 $242.87 $1,863 +3.87
988 988 2 210.00 $210.00 $2,075 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–326 317 6 360.00–365.00 $361.58 $1,146 —
502 502 3 297.50 $297.50 $1,493 —
575 575 2 277.50 $277.50 $1,596 —
692 692 3 257.00 $257.00 $1,778 —
763 763 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,717 —
835 835 1 223.00 $223.00 $1,862 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 2 205.00 $205.00 $2,255 —
1223 1223 3 176.00 $176.00 $2,152 +21.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895 895 85-90% 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,029 —
875–995 964 85-90% 13 90.00–105.00 $99.26 $957 -1.74
1015–1245 1064 85-90% 25 90.00–105.50 $98.03 $1,043 +10.99
1020–1120 1070 85-90% 2 98.00–106.00 $101.81 $1,089 +14.77
1085–1110 1098 85-90% 2 70.00–78.00 $73.95 $812 —
1067–1200 1130 85-90% 102 111.50–118.50 $116.16 $1,313 —
1135–1185 1160 85-90% 2 118.00–119.00 $118.51 $1,375 +15.16
1050–1298 1169 85-90% 59 119.00–128.00 $120.67 $1,411 +1.25
1120–1295 1224 85-90% 11 112.00–115.00 $113.80 $1,393 +3.32
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1454 1390 80-85% 11 114.50–119.50 $118.80 $1,651 +13.10
1275–1460 1391 80-85% 12 123.00–126.00 $123.84 $1,723 +18.14
1310–1500 1395 80-85% 3 106.00–108.00 $106.97 $1,492 +1.27
1302–1575 1399 80-85% 58 116.00–122.50 $120.23 $1,682 +14.53
1410–1810 1529 80-85% 4 122.00–125.00 $123.60 $1,890 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1468 1468 75-80% 6 125.00 $125.00 $1,835 +2.18
1449–1625 1474 75-80% 7 123.00–124.00 $123.84 $1,825 +1.02
1620–1815 1736 75-80% 7 117.00–122.00 $118.75 $2,062 —
1741 1741 75-80% 8 124.50 $124.50 $2,168 —
1760 1760 75-80% 1 116.00 $116.00 $2,042 —
1780 1780 75-80% 1 117.00 $117.00 $2,083 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 1 107.50 $107.50 $946 —
1240–1938 1705 3 105.00–118.00 $108.15 $1,844 —
1465–1980 1739 6 110.00–122.00 $117.99 $2,052 —
1620–2000 1809 8 123.00–131.00 $126.99 $2,297 —
2360 2360 1 142.00 $142.00 $3,351 —
2587 2587 3 139.00 $139.00 $3,596 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
940 thin fleshed 940 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,260
850–1140 1035 (<2 yrs)Open 17 171.00–185.00 $180.61 $1,869
895–1425 1126 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 34 123.00–180.00 $147.24 $1,658
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
845–888 877 (<2 yrs)Open 4 170.00–172.50 $171.90 $1,508

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1152 thin fleshed 1152 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 8 1,750.00 $1,750.00
1240–1403 1266 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 19 1,775.00–2,025.00 $1,818.75
1229–1700 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,900.00–2,100.00 $1,992.10
1455 1455 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 19 2,435.00 $2,435.00
1446–1753 1490 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 14 2,300.00 $2,300.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1568 1568 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 3 2,450.00 $2,450.00 —

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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.