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

Billings, Montana · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 15, 2026

3,146 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 heifers $386.95/cwt ≈ $2,780/hd at 719 lb · 274 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $399.13/cwt ≈ $2,696/hd at 676 lb · 214 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $410.56/cwt +0.56 vs last sale · ≈ $2,578/hd at 628 lb · 138 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,146	707	5,840
Feeder cattle	2,988	192	5,620
Slaughter cattle	125	303	158
Replacement cattle	33	212	62

Market comments — USDA reporter

Today was the Annual April Fest Feeder and Replacement Special. Demand for feeder cattle was mostly good to very good, especially for several loads of attractive quality replacement heifers. Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend. Feeders were mostly offered in moderate size packages this week, with a few load lots on offer as well. Feeding cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop a market trend, however higher undertones were noted. Slaughter cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop a market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noted. Buyer demand overall was good to very good.

→ Feeder cattle: Demand for feeder cattle was mostly good to very good
→ Feeder heifers: especially for several loads of attractive quality replacement heifers
→ Slaughter bulls: Slaughter cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop a market trend
→ Slaughter cows: Slaughter cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop a market trend

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
255–290	263	5	700.00–710.00	$701.94	$1,846	—
335–348	345	4	650.00–670.00	$665.14	$2,295	—
352–375	353	26	652.50–680.00	$654.28	$2,310	—
415–437	430	69	600.00–631.00	$625.17	$2,688	-4.13
450–495	478	58	555.00–590.00	$573.09	$2,739	—
500–547	535	39	522.50–552.50	$528.56	$2,828	—
552–593	579	81	482.50–526.00	$499.49	$2,892	—
605–631	621	100	451.00–487.50	$460.07	$2,857	+0.07
653–690	676	70	419.00–450.00	$428.66	$2,898	—
688	688	9	381.00	$381.00	$2,621	—
708–745	722	74	399.00–425.00	$413.76	$2,987	—
750–758	753	105	385.00–408.00	$401.80	$3,026	—
811–848	823	35	355.00–375.00	$361.22	$2,973	—
850–897	858	82	353.00–361.00	$359.53	$3,085	—
905–930	927	11	333.00–345.00	$334.48	$3,101	—
957	957	3	341.00	$341.00	$3,263	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
385	385	1	605.00	$605.00	$2,329	—
424–445	435	20	540.00–585.00	$564.91	$2,457	—
455–493	482	31	500.00–517.50	$505.48	$2,436	—
515–548	543	19	470.00–482.50	$480.92	$2,611	—
558–598	580	13	427.00–465.00	$438.87	$2,545	—
600–630	616	61	400.00–445.00	$422.62	$2,603	-9.04
650–693	685	26	375.00–395.00	$382.03	$2,617	—
715–746	737	26	355.00–387.50	$377.45	$2,782	—
750–788	767	9	350.00–377.50	$363.52	$2,788	—
805–840	811	6	330.00–355.00	$348.71	$2,828	—
860–880	870	3	326.00–337.50	$330.33	$2,874	—
900–945	922	3	315.00–320.00	$316.63	$2,919	-10.87
960–970	964	5	307.00–318.00	$311.38	$3,002	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
400–445	418	5	485.00–520.00	$507.51	$2,121	—
565–595	580	2	395.00–405.00	$399.87	$2,319	—
655–695	675	2	310.00–340.00	$324.56	$2,191	-57.30
769–790	771	18	325.00–340.00	$326.14	$2,515	—
800	800	1	305.00	$305.00	$2,440	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
867	867	19	335.00	$335.00	$2,904	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
313	313	19	605.00	$605.00	$1,894	—
417–433	421	86	596.00–615.00	$600.55	$2,528	—
457–499	486	64	505.00–560.00	$515.66	$2,506	+16.44
510–529	525	54	480.00–505.00	$502.43	$2,638	+44.93
552–585	564	47	420.00–475.00	$449.55	$2,535	—
600–649	628	138	390.00–431.00	$410.56	$2,578	+0.56
651–698	668	158	373.00–414.00	$395.99	$2,645	—
697	697	56	408.00	$408.00	$2,844	—
711–733	716	42	390.00–401.00	$398.32	$2,852	—
700–749	719	232	360.00–415.00	$384.89	$2,767	—
752–767	759	108	361.00–384.00	$375.57	$2,851	—
767–790	779	20	325.00–366.00	$351.95	$2,742	—
802–848	814	22	328.00–350.50	$345.29	$2,811	+5.29
825	825	15	342.00	$342.00	$2,822	+2.00
850–870	854	14	325.00–347.00	$340.41	$2,907	—
908–935	913	64	339.00–353.50	$346.49	$3,163	—
900–930	917	14	320.00–330.00	$326.88	$2,997	—
965	965	1	317.50	$317.50	$3,064	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
572–594	584	23	2,600.00–2,725.00	$2,671.81	—
735–742	736	38	2,885.00–2,900.00	$2,887.39	—
785	785	8	2,900.00	$2,900.00	—
823–847	839	192	3,050.00–3,200.00	$3,179.76	—
851–893	864	178	2,925.00–3,250.00	$3,154.25	—
907–912	909	114	3,335.00	$3,335.00	—
961–963	961	14	3,100.00–3,150.00	$3,107.16	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
280–295	288	2	550.00–570.00	$559.74	$1,612	—
370–380	373	8	505.00–525.00	$519.90	$1,939	—
410–445	430	22	475.00–530.00	$510.42	$2,195	—
460–490	478	10	440.00–495.00	$475.80	$2,274	—
505–540	528	28	445.00–465.00	$450.69	$2,380	+3.31
580–595	589	9	390.00–402.50	$398.12	$2,345	-29.88
610–640	625	19	370.00–383.00	$377.18	$2,357	-18.62
660–685	665	21	361.00–385.00	$364.68	$2,425	+6.00
705–749	737	29	320.00–358.00	$341.72	$2,518	-18.28
800–815	805	3	315.00–320.00	$316.69	$2,549	—
903–930	910	4	290.00	$290.00	$2,639	—
905–945	932	3	307.50–310.00	$309.19	$2,882	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
370–393	384	4	440.00–450.00	$444.88	$1,708	—
410–425	420	3	405.00–450.00	$419.64	$1,762	—
493	493	2	415.00	$415.00	$2,046	+30.00
561	561	5	380.00	$380.00	$2,132	—
613	613	19	357.00	$357.00	$2,188	—
675–690	683	2	325.00–330.00	$327.53	$2,237	-17.47
715	715	1	300.00	$300.00	$2,145	—
765–798	789	7	250.00–310.00	$285.96	$2,256	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
503–508	506	4	495.00–517.50	$506.31	$2,562	+16.31
550	550	1	460.00	$460.00	$2,530	—
625–648	647	43	400.00–425.00	$400.56	$2,592	—
675	675	1	400.00	$400.00	$2,700	+10.00
760	760	1	355.00	$355.00	$2,698	—
800	800	1	330.00	$330.00	$2,640	—
935	935	1	327.50	$327.50	$3,062	—
975	975	1	315.00	$315.00	$3,071	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
465–475	470	2	425.00–470.00	$447.74	$2,104	—
505–515	512	3	410.00–470.00	$450.26	$2,305	—
575	575	1	430.00	$430.00	$2,472	—

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1325–1550	1421	75-80%	6	175.00–183.00	$180.24	$2,561	—
1450–1550	1500	75-80%	8	186.00–188.00	$187.00	$2,805	—
1380–1695	1515	75-80%	6	157.00–163.00	$160.94	$2,438	—
1445–1750	1612	75-80%	7	163.00–172.00	$166.86	$2,690	—
1465–1805	1684	75-80%	4	165.00–171.00	$168.52	$2,838	-2.34

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
930–1065	998	85-90%	2	167.50–177.50	$172.16	$1,718	—
1026	1026	85-90%	7	135.00	$135.00	$1,385	—
770–1180	1035	85-90%	9	150.00–161.00	$155.81	$1,613	—
900–1340	1098	85-90%	3	95.00–115.00	$104.50	$1,147	—
715–1240	1107	85-90%	5	160.00–165.00	$163.73	$1,812	—
1169	1169	85-90%	4	188.50	$188.50	$2,204	+14.42

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1210–1325	1257	80-85%	3	187.00–188.50	$187.83	$2,361	—
1100–1361	1267	80-85%	23	175.00–185.00	$182.80	$2,316	—
1375–1405	1395	80-85%	3	156.00–161.00	$159.36	$2,223	+30.36

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1200–1555	1378	2	180.00–182.00	$181.13	$2,496	-3.04
1570–1790	1681	7	212.00–218.50	$213.63	$3,591	-2.48
1220–2095	1793	3	232.00–250.00	$238.38	$4,274	—
1580–2321	2013	8	214.50–216.00	$215.72	$4,342	—
2030–2455	2243	2	221.00–226.00	$223.74	$5,018	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
820–1055	946	(<2 yrs)	Open	8	227.50–257.50	$250.34	$2,368
800–1310	1112	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	3	192.00–205.00	$198.06	$2,202
1060–1345	1141	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	7	217.50–235.00	$226.53	$2,585

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
720–1010	935	(<2 yrs)	Open	5	267.50–298.00	$283.69	$2,653
1145–1250	1213	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	240.00–260.00	$251.94	$3,056

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1683	1683	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	2	2,400.00	$2,400.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1150–1515	1333	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	2	3,000.00–3,800.00	$3,454.78	—

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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.