Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2023-12-18

Billings Livestock Commission

Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2023-12-18
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-12-18

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Mon, Dec 18

● Final66 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1775

← Dec 11Dec 18Oct 14 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

490 head

▲ 302 vs last sale 188▼ 118 vs year ago 608 · −19.4%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

401 head

▼ 142 vs last sale 543▼ 171 vs year ago 572 · −29.9%

Replacement Cattle receipts

101 head

▼ 34 vs last sale 135▼ 77 vs year ago 178 · −43.3%

Also sold hereRegular saleThu Oct 29, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality today was plain to average. A large portion of the feeder cattle offering was comprised of pen clean up cattle with many blemished and lame cattle seen. Buyers picked around and showed good demand for high quality calves. Demand was mostly moderate for light to moderate offerings. CME positions traded higher today with triple digit gains seen. The nearby January traded 2.275 higher while the March traded 1.975 higher, to close at 223.175 and 224.15 respectfully. Market activity was mostly moderate today. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for mostly light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher on all classes. High quality feeding cows sold 1.00-2.00 higher. Thin feeding or turn out cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Weigh up conditions were mixed today. Young cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand. Quality was mostly plain to average and most offerings sold to feed. Too few offerings were seen this week to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $241.22/cwt on 184 head.

Average price

$241.22

184 head · 550 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,327

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$153

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium and Large 2

$70.30/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−10.30

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	497	260.30	1,295	95
Medium 1-2	265	240.00	636	7thin
Medium and Large 1-2	607	224.32	1,362	68
Medium 1	789	199.00	1,570	7thin
Medium and Large 2	762	190.00	1,448	7thin

One grade step is worth $70.30/cwt here — about −$153 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale184 hd

241.22

—

MT average4 barns · 1,461 hd

251.52

−10.30

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	Average	1,567	105.23	1,649	46
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,636	96.58	1,580	12
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,419	91.81	1,302	73
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,136	81.81	930	194

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,317	$1,613	6
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,424	$1,470	10
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,295	$1,174	10

Every lot, as filed

66 lots · USDA AMS · Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Mon)

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added. Grouped by class and set lightest first; USDA files them in sale-ring order.

Class	Weight	Grade / description	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Feeder Cattle · Steers10 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	335	326.27/cwt	325.00–330.00	1,093	60
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	398	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	1,264	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	433	324.00/cwt	324.00–324.00	1,403	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	471	304.21/cwt	300.00–307.50	1,433	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	505	291.00/cwt	291.00–291.00	1,470	3
Steers	—	Medium 2	523	134.14/cwt	127.50–150.00	702	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	561	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,515	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	590	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	1,404	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	607	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	1,214	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	668	205.57/cwt	200.00–210.00	1,373	7
Feeder Cattle · Heifers21 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	265	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	636	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	326	287.00/cwt	287.00–287.00	936	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	331	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	993	44
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	375	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	1,069	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	385	272.00/cwt	272.00–272.00	1,047	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	422	284.62/cwt	280.00–287.00	1,201	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	431	258.08/cwt	251.00–265.00	1,112	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	466	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,258	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	480	251.28/cwt	250.00–252.00	1,206	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	520	232.50/cwt	232.50–232.50	1,209	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	558	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,311	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	560	208.77/cwt	200.00–223.00	1,169	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	619	215.18/cwt	211.00–219.00	1,332	24
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	757	198.00/cwt	198.00–198.00	1,499	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	762	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,448	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	762	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,448	7
Heifers	—	Medium 1	789	199.00/cwt	199.00–199.00	1,570	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	803	196.00/cwt	196.00–196.00	1,574	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	908	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,725	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	1,012	185.50/cwt	185.50–185.50	1,877	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,043	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	1,638	2
Feeder Cattle · Bulls6 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	403	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	1,259	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	493	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	1,306	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	593	187.50/cwt	187.50–187.50	1,112	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	643	228.18/cwt	217.50–230.00	1,467	20
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	701	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	1,472	6
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	948	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	1,431	12
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,259	89.64/cwt	83.00–101.00	1,129	13
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,509	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	1,660	13
Bulls	—	—	1,635	94.28/cwt	94.00–94.50	1,541	2
Bulls	—	—	1,809	112.83/cwt	109.00–117.00	2,041	15
Bulls	—	—	1,904	121.48/cwt	119.00–126.00	2,313	3
Slaughter Cattle · Cows16 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,080	77.83/cwt	70.00–82.50	841	91
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,164	83.33/cwt	80.00–87.00	970	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,165	50.00/cwt	50.00–50.00	583	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,173	76.28/cwt	67.00–79.00	895	5
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,179	93.85/cwt	93.00–95.00	1,106	12
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,190	85.21/cwt	81.00–92.00	1,014	79
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,395	91.55/cwt	87.00–96.00	1,277	39
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,419	86.15/cwt	85.00–88.00	1,222	6
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,424	82.08/cwt	73.00–84.00	1,169	5
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,433	82.61/cwt	75.00–85.50	1,184	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,468	101.61/cwt	97.00–103.25	1,492	16
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,555	94.50/cwt	94.50–94.50	1,469	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,562	99.49/cwt	99.00–100.50	1,554	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,640	100.50/cwt	100.50–100.50	1,648	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,720	89.00/cwt	89.00–89.00	1,531	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,818	93.27/cwt	92.00–94.50	1,696	2
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows4 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	952	88.77/cwt	87.00–90.00	845	3
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	953	109.23/cwt	107.00–112.50	1,041	3
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,072	115.31/cwt	109.00–143.00	1,236	13
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,075	98.88/cwt	84.00–106.00	1,063	36
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows4 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	1,072	885.00/head	885.00–885.00	885	5
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,317	1,613.07/head	1,600.00–1,685.00	1,613	6
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,424	1,469.71/head	1,350.00–1,500.00	1,470	10
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	1,517	1,462.03/head	1,300.00–1,500.00	1,462	5

How this sale compares

Montana weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every Montana auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

Montana feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Mon)

Mon Dec 18, 2023

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Billings, MT (LS-BL)

Feeder CattleReceipts 490Last week 188Year ago 608

Slaughter CattleReceipts 401Last week 543Year ago 572

Replacement CattleReceipts 101Last week 135Year ago 178

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	701	210.00	210.00
3	—	403	312.50	312.50
12	—	948	151.00	151.00
20	—	643	217.50–230.00	228.18

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	593	187.50	187.50
2	—	493	265.00	265.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	668	200.00–210.00	205.57
2	—	590	238.00	238.00
60	—	335	325.00–330.00	326.27
3	—	607	200.00	200.00
6	—	398	317.50	317.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	523	127.50–150.00	134.14

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	561	270.00	270.00
15	—	471	300.00–307.50	304.21
3	—	505	291.00	291.00
3	—	433	324.00	324.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	757	198.00	198.00
24	—	619	211.00–219.00	215.18
2	—	558	235.00	235.00
4	—	908	190.00	190.00
44	—	331	300.00	300.00
6	—	466	270.00	270.00
5	—	1,012	185.50	185.50
7	—	422	280.00–287.00	284.62

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	789	199.00	199.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	375	285.00	285.00
7	—	762	190.00	190.00
4	—	480	250.00–252.00	251.28
17	—	431	251.00–265.00	258.08
20	—	803	196.00	196.00
1	—	520	232.50	232.50
10	—	560	200.00–223.00	208.77
2	—	1,043	157.00	157.00
4	—	326	287.00	287.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	265	240.00	240.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	762	190.00	190.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	385	272.00	272.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,640	100.50	100.50
1	—	1,720	89.00	89.00
2	—	1,818	92.00–94.50	93.27

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
79	—	1,190	81.00–92.00	85.21
91	—	1,080	70.00–82.50	77.83
12	—	1,179	93.00–95.00	93.85

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,468	97.00–103.25	101.61
39	—	1,395	87.00–96.00	91.55
7	—	1,433	75.00–85.50	82.61

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,562	99.00–100.50	99.49
3	—	1,555	94.50	94.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,164	80.00–87.00	83.33
1	—	1,165	50.00	50.00
5	—	1,173	67.00–79.00	76.28

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,424	73.00–84.00	82.08
6	—	1,419	85.00–88.00	86.15

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	1,809	109.00–117.00	112.83
2	—	1,635	94.00–94.50	94.28
3	—	1,904	119.00–126.00	121.48

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	1,259	83.00–101.00	89.64
13	—	1,509	110.00	110.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	36	—	1,075	84.00–106.00	98.88
(<2 yrs)	Open	13	—	1,072	109.00–143.00	115.31

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	3	—	953	107.00–112.50	109.23
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	3	—	952	87.00–90.00	88.77

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	10	—	1,424	1,350.00–1,500.00	1,469.71
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	6	—	1,317	1,600.00–1,685.00	1,613.07

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,072	885.00	885.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	5	—	1,517	1,300.00–1,500.00	1,462.03

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.