Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2019-05-30
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-05-30

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifer were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average and offered in small to moderate size packages. Demand was moderate to good for cattle suitable to run on grass, and light to moderate for all other weights of feeders. Several ranchers were in town this week buying cattle for grass leases. This created very good demand and a very active market. CME positions were all sharply lower today as the front 3 contract months all finished the limit lower. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand this week. Packers showed better demand for cows this week as they purchased most of the older cow offering for immediate harvest. Cows were all very full this sale as temperatures warmed well into the 80's. Slaughter cows were very lightly tested last sale, however limited comparisons showed slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 higher. Last week most cows were destined for feed, however this week packers were very aggressive and very few cows sold to feeders. Feeders were aggressive enough to pull some fleshy cows away from packers. Feeding cows sold steady to firm on a higher quality offering. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. These offerings sold unevenly steady as good demand was seen for re-breed type cows, while feeding type cows sold on light to moderate demand.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $138.72/cwt on 670 head.

Average price

$138.72

670 head · 629 lb average

Value per head Derived

$873

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$84

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

$6.82/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+0.53

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	563	140.82	793	298
Large 1	538	137.63	741	12thin
Medium and Large 1	694	137.13	951	346
Medium 1-2	529	134.00	709	14thin

One grade step is worth $6.82/cwt here — about $84 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 sale670 hd

138.72

—

MT average3 barns · 722 hd

138.19

+0.53

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	1,859	88.16	1,639	23
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,684	66.75	1,124	4thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,398	65.91	921	56
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,170	62.76	734	60

Every lot, as filed

89 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
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	779	144.50/cwt	144.50–144.50	1,126	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	667	152.09/cwt	151.00–153.00	1,014	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	630	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	970	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	489	170.16/cwt	169.00–171.00	832	37
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	446	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	736	4
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	511	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	792	11
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,475	1,750.00/cwt	1,750.00–1,750.00	25,813	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,244	1,833.15/cwt	1,700.00–1,860.00	22,804	53
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,353	2,007.99/cwt	1,950.00–2,035.00	27,168	71
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,635	1,425.00/cwt	1,425.00–1,425.00	23,299	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	542	143.82/cwt	143.50–146.50	780	123
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	529	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	709	14
Bulls	—	—	2,051	94.19/cwt	91.00–97.50	1,932	8
Bulls	—	—	1,784	87.41/cwt	85.00–90.50	1,559	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	423	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	730	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	725	142.65/cwt	140.00–144.00	1,034	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	520	162.10/cwt	159.00–168.00	843	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	584	159.27/cwt	152.00–163.00	930	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	785	139.98/cwt	137.00–142.00	1,099	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,414	1,225.00/cwt	1,225.00–1,225.00	17,322	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	669	139.77/cwt	136.00–145.00	935	127
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,485	64.89/cwt	62.50–69.00	964	10
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,367	67.48/cwt	65.00–69.50	922	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,063	100.33/cwt	81.00–110.00	1,067	42
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,165	76.44/cwt	65.00–92.50	891	67
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,473	68.20/cwt	65.50–71.00	1,005	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	940	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	677	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	501	149.60/cwt	149.50–150.00	749	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	861	121.24/cwt	120.00–125.00	1,044	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	833	128.00/cwt	128.00–128.00	1,066	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	755	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	1,019	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	636	143.94/cwt	142.50–145.00	915	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	713	135.22/cwt	129.00–137.50	964	36
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	566	145.39/cwt	143.00–147.50	823	45
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	828	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	1,147	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	600	148.42/cwt	146.50–152.50	891	25
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	542	179.00/cwt	179.00–179.00	970	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,014	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	1,176	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	966	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	1,169	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	760	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,041	4
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	582	137.50/cwt	137.50–137.50	800	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	523	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	758	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	653	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	875	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Replacement	—	822	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	1,110	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Replacement	—	900	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	1,116	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Replacement	—	710	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	1,065	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,744	1,675.00/cwt	1,675.00–1,675.00	29,212	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,542	1,316.86/cwt	1,300.00–1,325.00	20,306	3
Bulls	—	—	1,702	80.01/cwt	73.00–82.00	1,362	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	574	140.35/cwt	136.00–142.00	806	45
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	473	148.08/cwt	148.00–149.00	700	38
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	420	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	641	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	845	118.00/cwt	118.00–118.00	997	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	723	124.66/cwt	123.00–125.00	901	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	773	122.62/cwt	118.00–125.00	948	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	602	132.75/cwt	132.75–132.75	799	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	683	145.77/cwt	145.00–147.00	996	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	651	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	1,087	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	634	171.16/cwt	170.00–176.00	1,085	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	587	166.54/cwt	165.00–171.00	978	66
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	835	144.00/cwt	138.00–144.75	1,202	62
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	727	149.19/cwt	146.50–149.75	1,085	50
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	630	165.73/cwt	161.00–166.50	1,044	31
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	912	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	1,176	10
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	536	147.50/cwt	147.50–147.50	791	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	954	111.50/cwt	111.50–111.50	1,064	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,190	66.45/cwt	64.00–68.00	791	25
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,152	51.35/cwt	50.00–52.00	592	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,667	66.00/cwt	66.00–66.00	1,100	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,735	69.00/cwt	69.00–69.00	1,197	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,379	67.08/cwt	63.50–68.50	925	33
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,445	62.66/cwt	62.00–63.50	905	18
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,354	69.86/cwt	69.00–72.00	946	5
Bred Heifers	Medium 1	—	873	825.00/cwt	825.00–825.00	7,202	3
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,050	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	1,176	1
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,121	110.04/cwt	106.00–111.00	1,234	21
Bulls	Large 1-2	—	1,015	108.00/cwt	108.00–108.00	1,096	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	943	114.00/cwt	114.00–114.00	1,075	3
Heifers	Large 1	—	572	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	755	3
Heifers	Large 1	—	527	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	735	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	626	133.23/cwt	129.00–138.00	834	64
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,188	61.28/cwt	55.50–64.00	728	28
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	934	58.54/cwt	56.00–61.00	547	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,269	1,025.00/cwt	1,025.00–1,025.00	13,007	7
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,044	1,735.00/cwt	1,735.00–1,735.00	18,113	6
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,198	2,000.00/cwt	2,000.00–2,000.00	23,960	23
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,567	1,100.00/cwt	1,100.00–1,100.00	17,237	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,350	1,167.82/cwt	1,100.00–1,225.00	15,766	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	576	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	812	8

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 →