Cattle Market Pulse

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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 17, 2024

4,133 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $272.35/cwt +8.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,844/hd at 677 lb · 457 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $279.13/cwt +0.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,761/hd at 631 lb · 408 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $298.15/cwt -1.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,557/hd at 522 lb · 315 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,133 583 948
Feeder cattle 4,060 330 410
Slaughter cattle 73 168 538
Replacement cattle — 85 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to the last special sale: Steers steady. Heifers over 675lbs steady. Heifers under 675lbs 3.00 lower. Quality mostly average with some packages of attractive cattle. Demand moderate to good. Replacement heifers quality average to attractive. Slaughter bulls and cows steady in a light test. Cows returning to feed sold unevenly steady. Young age cows 5.00 higher in a light test.

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
375 375 3 377.50 $377.50 $1,416 -2.50
410 fancy 410 9 397.50 $397.50 $1,630 —
453–485 480 31 355.00–375.00 $363.47 $1,745 +3.47
503–545 507 30 325.00–342.50 $339.69 $1,722 —
553–568 fancy 564 58 348.00 $348.00 $1,963 —
550–599 574 147 321.00–341.00 $332.62 $1,909 —
605–616 fancy 616 105 330.00 $330.00 $2,033 —
603–648 621 65 295.00–325.00 $306.32 $1,902 +13.82
655–692 683 135 275.50–293.00 $281.85 $1,925 ±0.00
707 fancy 707 16 284.00 $284.00 $2,008 —
700–748 721 154 262.50–280.00 $267.70 $1,930 —
756–787 768 52 246.00–262.50 $254.82 $1,957 —
805–845 815 22 232.00–258.00 $246.75 $2,011 —
850–873 862 88 233.00–244.00 $239.26 $2,062 +2.26
906–938 918 78 220.00–230.50 $226.71 $2,081 —
958–990 962 50 219.50–229.00 $221.73 $2,133 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 300.00 $300.00 $675 —
345 345 2 365.00–367.50 $366.25 $1,264 —
415–443 438 15 335.00–365.00 $347.46 $1,522 —
453–493 474 11 325.00–340.00 $331.43 $1,571 —
510 510 6 320.00 $320.00 $1,632 —
550–596 582 23 303.00–320.00 $306.99 $1,787 —
625–648 645 15 275.00–289.00 $287.10 $1,852 —
672–695 676 11 267.00–272.00 $267.93 $1,811 —
708–735 716 7 251.00–256.00 $254.41 $1,822 —
750–785 762 9 250.00–255.00 $254.43 $1,939 —
838–843 841 4 215.00–223.00 $219.01 $1,842 —
853–873 857 26 225.00–234.00 $226.18 $1,938 —
945 945 1 217.00 $217.00 $2,051 —
983 983 2 203.00 $203.00 $1,995 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 6 317.00 $317.00 $1,531 —
538 538 2 257.50 $257.50 $1,385 —
569 569 9 279.00 $279.00 $1,588 —
620–641 637 15 241.00–255.00 $248.58 $1,583 —
680 680 1 247.50 $247.50 $1,683 —
732 732 6 246.00 $246.00 $1,801 —
765–799 793 6 239.00–240.00 $239.16 $1,897 —
863 863 2 209.00 $209.00 $1,804 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361–396 383 19 320.00–325.00 $323.36 $1,238 +0.86
407–445 436 14 290.00–310.00 $296.80 $1,294 —
451–499 481 21 305.00–320.00 $310.00 $1,491 +4.61
502–545 517 260 285.00–310.00 $294.66 $1,523 -5.18
545–547 fancy 546 55 314.00–315.00 $314.62 $1,718 —
551–575 fancy 568 54 307.00–315.25 $309.37 $1,757 —
553–598 579 112 278.50–298.50 $290.92 $1,684 +8.92
600–649 631 408 265.00–288.00 $279.13 $1,761 +0.44
651–695 677 457 264.00–275.50 $272.35 $1,844 +8.37
707 fancy 707 29 264.00 $264.00 $1,866 —
700–744 735 131 240.00–257.00 $252.06 $1,853 —
750–798 783 211 229.00–246.00 $235.98 $1,848 -3.02
800–848 831 34 220.00–239.00 $223.38 $1,856 —
865–875 868 12 217.00–222.00 $220.50 $1,914 +22.50
938–945 938 90 204.00–214.00 $213.17 $2,000 —
950–970 965 4 210.00–213.00 $212.26 $2,048 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
737 737 13 2,000.00 $2,000.00 —
779–794 785 153 1,875.00–2,000.00 $1,922.60 —
802 802 62 1,910.00 $1,910.00 —
878 878 54 1,950.00 $1,950.00 —
903 903 57 2,275.00 $2,275.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313 313 2 300.00 $300.00 $939 —
438–443 440 5 280.00–282.00 $281.19 $1,237 —
473–499 485 25 285.00–298.00 $292.71 $1,420 —
508–545 536 30 267.00–282.50 $272.47 $1,460 -12.53
567–595 575 32 252.00–271.00 $260.77 $1,499 +9.15
625–644 641 15 242.50–259.00 $256.52 $1,644 —
653–695 674 62 240.00–265.00 $250.85 $1,691 +20.85
705–722 718 4 236.00–237.50 $236.37 $1,697 —
750–793 774 9 220.00–238.00 $229.46 $1,776 —
811 811 1 211.00 $211.00 $1,711 —
928 928 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,763 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
312 312 1 250.00 $250.00 $780 —
480–486 485 5 235.00–265.00 $240.94 $1,169 —
509–545 523 9 225.00–255.00 $244.66 $1,280 —
568–592 583 8 227.50–242.50 $234.31 $1,366 —
632–648 639 16 229.00–233.00 $230.68 $1,474 —
658–675 667 4 225.00–233.00 $229.05 $1,528 —
703–708 706 4 205.00–212.50 $208.76 $1,474 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500 500 2 322.50 $322.50 $1,612 —
601 601 4 298.00 $298.00 $1,791 —
688 688 4 255.00 $255.00 $1,754 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,106 —
393 393 3 330.00 $330.00 $1,297 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1460 1237 80-85% 8 127.00–131.00 $127.77 $1,581 —
1215–1505 1357 80-85% 14 126.00–131.00 $129.21 $1,753 +6.65
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1765 1521 75-80% 8 135.00–142.00 $138.84 $2,112 +18.37
1430–1615 1523 75-80% 12 137.00–140.00 $139.73 $2,128 +19.26
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1145 1077 85-90% 3 112.00–119.00 $116.11 $1,251 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1685–1750 1718 2 128.00–134.00 $131.06 $2,252 —
1740–2640 2071 6 142.00–153.00 $147.27 $3,050 —

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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.