Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2020-12-10
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-12-10

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers sold generally steady. Good demand was seen for all yearling on offer. Yearling quality was average this week. Unweaned steer calves under 500 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 lower on a significantly lower quality offering; steers 500 lbs and heavier sold steady to 3.00 higher. Unweaned heifers under 400 lbs were too lightly tested either this week or last to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed; 400-499 lbs heifer calves sold 5.00-10.00 higher; 500-649 lbs heifers sold steady to 2.00 higher; heifers over 650 lbs sold with lower undertones in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive, however quality this week was not as attractive as last. Many sets of weaned calves were seen this week. Demand for calves was mostly moderate for moderate to heavy offerings. Market activity was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for heavy offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-2.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher. Feeding buyers and packer buyers competed over offerings throughout the sale. Packers opted to send most fleshy cows to slaughter this week. Most cows and bulls offered below average weigh up conditions as all cows and bulls were pushing heavy amounts of fill. 2 year old to young age cows sold on mostly light demand. These cows were of mostly plain to average quality; and sold mostly 4.00-8.00 lower. Quality was significantly lower compared to last sale.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $164.95/cwt on 1,753 head.

Average price

$164.95

1,753 head · 540 lb average

Value per head Derived

$890

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$192

per head · Medium 1 over Medium and Large 1

$6.62/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.75

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	420	171.13	719	36
Medium and Large 1-2	462	166.87	771	228
Medium and Large 1	554	164.50	912	1,489

One grade step is worth $6.62/cwt here — about −$192 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 sale1,753 hd

164.95

—

MT average4 barns · 5,335 hd

165.70

−0.75

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	1,689	75.04	1,268	29
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Average	1,950	71.50	1,394	1thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,581	57.60	911	18
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,378	53.17	733	121
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,146	44.86	514	315

Every lot, as filed

121 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
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	426	159.21/cwt	157.50–160.00	678	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	956	126.50/cwt	126.50–126.50	1,209	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	469	160.60/cwt	151.00–165.50	753	99
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	349	190.82/cwt	185.00–197.50	666	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	475	180.02/cwt	171.00–193.00	855	206
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	577	159.06/cwt	150.00–164.50	918	375
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	438	183.76/cwt	183.00–186.00	805	64
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	906	133.50/cwt	133.50–133.50	1,210	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	558	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	770	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	392	186.46/cwt	186.00–199.00	731	60
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	526	172.27/cwt	161.00–177.00	906	205
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	478	176.57/cwt	167.00–189.00	844	51
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	621	148.04/cwt	147.00–149.50	919	58
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	672	127.47/cwt	124.00–128.50	857	37
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	891	129.82/cwt	128.50–133.50	1,157	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	570	142.16/cwt	135.00–144.25	810	113
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	678	146.41/cwt	141.00–146.75	993	99
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	632	149.04/cwt	147.00–155.50	942	95
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Natural	—	525	154.43/cwt	152.50–157.00	811	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	422	164.88/cwt	158.00–170.00	696	191
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	774	133.50/cwt	133.50–133.50	1,033	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	482	158.92/cwt	148.00–166.00	766	164
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	383	171.01/cwt	167.00–175.00	655	77
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	635	134.68/cwt	130.00–139.50	855	92
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	781	132.14/cwt	128.50–132.50	1,032	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	331	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	553	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	895	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	1,110	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	591	145.25/cwt	145.00–145.50	858	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	523	149.87/cwt	142.00–154.50	784	156
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	735	128.67/cwt	127.00–129.00	946	18
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	752	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	1,008	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	370	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	685	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Natural	—	591	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	851	49
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	302	197.50/cwt	197.50–197.50	596	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	485	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	740	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	603	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	808	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	768	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	937	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Natural	—	415	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	701	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	548	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	789	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	339	182.10/cwt	180.00–183.00	617	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	519	146.17/cwt	142.00–149.00	759	87
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	679	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	856	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	520	172.49/cwt	160.00–178.50	897	39
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	423	182.29/cwt	180.50–187.00	771	38
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	709	137.96/cwt	137.50–138.50	978	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	665	145.59/cwt	145.00–146.00	968	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	374	168.80/cwt	165.00–170.00	631	12
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	698	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	873	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	728	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	997	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	545	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	812	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	579	142.08/cwt	132.00–144.50	823	68
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	900	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	1,134	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	574	157.53/cwt	152.00–160.00	904	64
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	501	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	711	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,140	46.69/cwt	41.50–51.00	532	99
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,950	71.50/cwt	71.50–71.50	1,394	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,821	79.73/cwt	77.00–82.50	1,452	10
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,357	69.00/cwt	69.00–69.00	936	9
Bulls	—	—	1,800	74.57/cwt	68.00–77.00	1,342	8
Bulls	—	—	2,085	80.59/cwt	78.50–83.00	1,680	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,395	61.00/cwt	61.00–61.00	851	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	952	31.50/cwt	31.50–31.50	300	16
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,272	50.68/cwt	50.00–51.00	645	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,353	55.31/cwt	49.00–60.00	748	76
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,055	37.92/cwt	31.00–39.50	400	59
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,559	55.42/cwt	47.00–58.00	864	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,565	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	986	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,389	44.93/cwt	42.00–48.00	624	8
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,577	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	1,025	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,305	53.50/cwt	53.50–53.50	698	1
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,062	115.50/cwt	115.50–115.50	1,227	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	2,045	69.50/cwt	69.50–69.50	1,421	1
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,230	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	738	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,406	47.70/cwt	46.00–49.00	671	30
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,186	45.98/cwt	40.00–49.25	545	82
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,244	50.79/cwt	49.00–57.00	632	56
Heifers	Medium 1	—	518	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	642	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,529	61.29/cwt	60.00–62.00	937	3
Steers	Medium 1	—	481	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	789	17
Steers	Medium 1	—	329	185.50/cwt	185.50–185.50	610	11
Steers	Medium 1	—	389	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	657	6
Bulls	Large 1-2	—	1,140	91.00/cwt	91.00–91.00	1,037	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,057	63.55/cwt	52.00–73.00	672	33
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,046	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,203	32
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,240	1,050.00/cwt	1,050.00–1,050.00	13,020	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	965	76.11/cwt	60.00–87.00	734	120
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,185	1,050.00/cwt	1,050.00–1,050.00	12,443	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	830	57.00/cwt	57.00–57.00	473	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	419	154.42/cwt	153.50–157.50	647	28
Steers	Medium 1	—	503	159.00/cwt	159.00–159.00	800	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	393	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	715	48
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	953	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,096	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	724	138.81/cwt	136.00–144.00	1,005	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	633	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	848	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	261	177.50/cwt	177.50–177.50	463	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	342	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	622	30
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	845	130.51/cwt	127.00–131.00	1,103	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	436	163.39/cwt	162.50–175.00	712	28
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	978	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	1,183	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	452	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	764	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	490	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	706	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	799	108.00/cwt	108.00–108.00	863	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	852	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	1,044	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	615	139.46/cwt	138.00–140.00	858	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	485	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	640	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	478	165.83/cwt	164.00–169.00	793	30
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	582	143.86/cwt	141.00–145.00	837	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	402	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	607	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	681	138.15/cwt	137.00–140.00	941	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	525	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	730	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	433	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	606	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	374	182.73/cwt	180.00–184.00	683	64
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	712	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	904	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	428	173.67/cwt	170.00–179.00	743	43
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	695	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	963	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,211	1,069.99/cwt	1,050.00–1,150.00	12,958	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	526	157.71/cwt	151.00–165.00	830	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	393	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	550	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	768	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	929	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	331	162.00/cwt	162.00–162.00	536	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	390	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	593	10

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 →