Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2026-06-04
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-06-04

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (5-28-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on steers and steady undertones were noticed on heifers on a lower quality offering. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive, but overall was not as attractive as last week. CME Feeder cattle futures hit the 10.75 limit today after USDA confirmed the first U.S. case of New World screwworm. Recent rainfall across dry northern Plains areas also helped boost demand as buyers purchased some cattle to turn out on summer pastures. Demand was mostly good to very good for light offerings. Most offerings were offered in small groups this week. A small to moderate size crowd was on hand for todays sale. Market activity was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand and offerings. Demand for feeding cows was mostly moderate to good. Canadian buyers were back in the market this week. American packers tried to buy cows lower but with Canadian and private feeders both in the market, feeding cows sold fully steady on all classes. Cow quality this week was mostly average. Demand for slaughter cows was mostly light. Too few slaughter cows were seen to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Demand for blemished or slightly lame feeding cows was good and most offerings sold over slaughter cow orders this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower on lighter demand from all packer buyers. Demand for feeding bull was good to very good. Some feeding bulls sold higher than slaughter bulls on a dressed basis as feeding bull buyers continue to purchase thin and lower yielding bulls to put on feed to improve yield. Bull quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Feeding bulls sold mostly steady to weak due to lighter demand from packers. Young age offerings suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average. Demand for young rebreed cows improved this week as rains helped improve pasture and range conditions across the plains.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $431.36/cwt on 11 head, up $19.74 from the prior sale. That ranks 10 of 21 comparable sales and sits −2.50 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$431.36

▲ 19.74 vs prior sale

11 head · 572 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,467

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$348

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 1

$32.50/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+18.24

vs MT average

+26.60 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	582	440.00	2,561	8thin
Medium and Large 1-2	550	410.00	2,255	1thin
Medium 1	543	407.50	2,213	2thin

One grade step is worth $32.50/cwt here — about $348 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 500–600 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

21 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $469.35, low $332.50, median $433.86 across 21 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale11 hd

431.36

—

MT average3 barns · 24 hd

413.13

+18.24

National average170 barns · 11,904 hd

404.76

+26.60

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−2.50

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	—	High	1,845	216.26	3,991	55
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,402	183.29	2,569	132
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,625	178.67	2,903	48
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,135	164.30	1,864	89

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	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,364	$3,598	6
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,312	$3,583	3thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,415	$3,500	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,340	$3,475	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,610	$3,450	2thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,433	$3,335	5
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,455	$3,200	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,428	$3,050	4thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,215	$2,700	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,514	$2,700	4thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,345	$2,600	1thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,405	$3,600	1thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,280	$3,549	3thin
Bulls	N/A	(<2 yrs)	1,313	$4,200	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,695	$4,325	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,370	$4,300	1thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,505	$4,000	1thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,668	$3,950	4thin

Every lot, as filed

97 lots · USDA AMS · Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Thu)

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added.

Class	Grade / description	Weight	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,710	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	641	390.19/cwt	388.00–407.00	2,501	17
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,370	4,300.00/head	4,300.00–4,300.00	4,300	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,428	3,050.00/head	3,050.00–3,050.00	3,050	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	760	367.50/cwt	367.50–367.50	2,793	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	609	407.50/cwt	407.50–407.50	2,482	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	778	362.63/cwt	347.00–367.00	2,821	31
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	466	472.60/cwt	470.00–480.00	2,202	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	509	546.00/cwt	546.00–546.00	2,779	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	662	445.00/cwt	445.00–445.00	2,946	26
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	812	348.00/cwt	348.00–348.00	2,826	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	582	440.00/cwt	432.50–441.00	2,561	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	717	379.00/cwt	379.00–379.00	2,717	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	798	328.00/cwt	328.00–328.00	2,617	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	805	386.00/cwt	386.00–386.00	3,107	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	701	423.50/cwt	415.00–427.00	2,969	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	569	493.06/cwt	482.50–501.00	2,806	14
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	835	322.47/cwt	312.50–327.50	2,693	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	603	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,322	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	835	357.00/cwt	357.00–357.00	2,981	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	675	373.17/cwt	371.00–380.00	2,519	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	680	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	2,754	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	736	354.85/cwt	325.00–361.00	2,612	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	550	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	2,255	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,505	4,000.00/head	4,000.00–4,000.00	4,000	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,654	3,900.00/head	3,900.00–3,900.00	3,900	3
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,335	3,422.75/head	3,350.00–3,500.00	3,423	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,215	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	920	321.00/cwt	321.00–321.00	2,953	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,610	3,450.00/head	3,450.00–3,450.00	3,450	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,252	193.70/cwt	189.00–202.00	2,425	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,240	3,673.89/head	3,650.00–3,700.00	3,674	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	919	274.27/cwt	203.00–305.00	2,521	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,455	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,695	4,325.00/head	4,325.00–4,325.00	4,325	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,225	3,650.00/head	3,650.00–3,650.00	3,650	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,132	245.54/cwt	192.00–310.00	2,780	32
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,340	3,475.00/head	3,475.00–3,475.00	3,475	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,321	3,646.26/head	3,600.00–3,700.00	3,646	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,345	2,600.00/head	2,600.00–2,600.00	2,600	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,514	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,455	3,400.00/head	3,400.00–3,400.00	3,400	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,138	128.37/cwt	126.00–130.00	1,461	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,741	170.05/cwt	166.00–174.50	2,961	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,501	188.57/cwt	185.00–196.00	2,830	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,613	179.85/cwt	176.00–184.00	2,901	20
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,153	171.89/cwt	156.00–176.50	1,982	23
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,647	175.02/cwt	174.00–176.00	2,883	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,230	188.50/cwt	188.00–189.00	2,319	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,090	120.24/cwt	117.50–122.00	1,311	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,199	183.48/cwt	179.00–186.50	2,200	33
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,415	168.40/cwt	158.00–174.00	2,383	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	815	98.79/cwt	85.00–105.00	805	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	908	131.72/cwt	124.00–137.50	1,196	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,615	166.00/cwt	166.00–166.00	2,681	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,161	150.60/cwt	147.00–161.00	1,748	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,785	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	2,999	1
Bulls	—	—	2,330	214.00/cwt	214.00–214.00	4,986	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	960	162.19/cwt	157.00–164.00	1,557	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,383	178.78/cwt	172.50–184.00	2,473	2
Bulls	—	—	2,162	225.35/cwt	221.00–239.00	4,872	12
Bulls	—	—	1,972	216.55/cwt	215.00–219.00	4,270	15
Bulls	—	—	1,705	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	3,154	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,703	206.88/cwt	201.00–210.00	3,523	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,377	188.13/cwt	186.50–193.00	2,591	55
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,417	183.61/cwt	179.00–186.50	2,602	58
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,155	263.00/cwt	263.00–263.00	3,038	1
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,142	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	3,141	5
Bred Heifers	Large 1	—	1,405	3,600.00/head	3,600.00–3,600.00	3,600	1
Bred Cows	Large 1	—	1,675	3,350.00/head	3,350.00–3,350.00	3,350	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,618	216.33/cwt	212.50–221.00	3,500	21
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,425	189.58/cwt	180.00–200.00	2,702	2
Heifers	Medium 1	500–550	543	407.50/cwt	407.50–407.50	2,213	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	875	216.21/cwt	205.00–230.00	1,892	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	818	273.13/cwt	265.00–282.50	2,234	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	818	317.11/cwt	310.00–325.00	2,594	2
Bulls	Large 1	1350–1400	1,383	232.00/cwt	232.00–232.00	3,209	3
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,257	232.17/cwt	232.00–232.50	2,918	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	1,313	4,200.00/head	4,200.00–4,200.00	4,200	3
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,170	3,800.00/head	3,800.00–3,800.00	3,800	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,415	3,500.00/head	3,500.00–3,500.00	3,500	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,056	286.23/cwt	201.00–337.50	3,023	58
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,433	3,334.77/head	3,200.00–3,500.00	3,335	5
Steers	Medium 1-2	350–400	375	470.00/cwt	470.00–470.00	1,763	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	850–900	875	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,756	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	648	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	2,786	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,010	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	3,111	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	867	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	2,904	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	773	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,628	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,108	210.92/cwt	190.00–270.00	2,337	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	915	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,837	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	730	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,811	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	300	555.00/cwt	555.00–555.00	1,665	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	828	325.22/cwt	316.00–334.00	2,693	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	888	318.00/cwt	318.00–318.00	2,824	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	655	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	2,325	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	590	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,360	1

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 →