Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2020-12-17
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-12-17

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Unweaned steer calves under 600 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher; steers 600 lbs and heaiver sold unevenly steady. Unweaned heifers sold steady to weak on all weights. Quality this week was not as attractive as last week. Quality overall was plain to average. Many odds and ends cattle sold this week as ranchers cleaned out pens and pastures for the last sale of the year. Many buyers were on hand this sale. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Packers opted to send a large portion of the offering to slaughter this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00 higher. Feeding buyers and packer buyers competed over high quality offerings to feed to premium white. These offerings sold steady to firm. Cow and bull quality this week was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this sale, overall weigh conditions were better this week compared to last. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Several sets of Natural bulls sold this sale and these offerings were met with mostly good demand and offered a 6.00-8.00 premium. 2 year old to young age cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand. These cows were of mostly plain to average quality and sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $167.78/cwt on 838 head.

Average price

$167.78

838 head · 529 lb average

Value per head Derived

$887

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$243

per head · Medium 1 over Medium 2

$80.25/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+0.67

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	407	180.25	733	24
Medium and Large 1	535	168.87	903	741
Medium and Large 1-2	505	160.29	809	62
Large 1	510	152.00	775	2thin
Medium 2	490	100.00	490	9thin

One grade step is worth $80.25/cwt here — about $243 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 sale838 hd

167.78

—

MT average4 barns · 3,280 hd

167.11

+0.67

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	1,722	83.88	1,444	66
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,686	58.91	993	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,388	52.88	734	102
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,161	45.13	524	349

Every lot, as filed

95 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
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	529	158.00/cwt	158.00–158.00	836	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	569	147.84/cwt	145.00–149.00	841	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	300	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	600	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	523	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	706	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	507	140.11/cwt	137.00–144.00	710	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	594	128.64/cwt	128.00–129.50	764	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	525	147.22/cwt	140.00–157.00	773	153
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	429	152.57/cwt	132.00–158.00	655	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	376	193.95/cwt	188.00–210.75	729	77
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	442	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	645	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	751	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	946	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	426	162.06/cwt	158.00–175.00	690	52
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	667	151.77/cwt	141.00–156.00	1,012	53
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	375	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	675	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	463	181.67/cwt	175.00–191.00	841	89
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	680	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	843	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	391	177.20/cwt	147.00–180.00	693	22
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	545	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	888	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	466	188.50/cwt	188.50–188.50	878	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	670	133.32/cwt	131.00–134.00	893	37
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	330	174.84/cwt	170.00–183.00	577	24
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	560	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	846	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	801	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	969	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	641	134.45/cwt	129.00–135.25	862	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	569	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	762	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	716	136.11/cwt	131.00–138.50	975	26
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	567	136.75/cwt	136.00–137.50	775	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	467	155.89/cwt	145.00–165.00	728	154
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	626	151.49/cwt	144.00–160.00	948	89
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	382	174.27/cwt	170.00–187.50	666	74
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Replacement	—	555	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	805	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	434	187.44/cwt	182.00–201.00	813	82
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	524	173.30/cwt	166.00–180.00	908	83
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	489	157.16/cwt	155.00–157.50	769	49
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	503	148.50/cwt	148.50–148.50	747	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	619	143.53/cwt	142.00–149.00	888	43
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	412	160.91/cwt	158.50–166.50	663	24
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	543	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	923	54
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	671	123.00/cwt	123.00–123.00	825	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	477	163.65/cwt	159.00–164.00	781	41
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	406	178.00/cwt	178.00–178.00	723	5
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,839	91.35/cwt	90.00–91.50	1,680	19
Bulls	—	—	1,895	74.33/cwt	73.00–76.00	1,409	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,372	55.61/cwt	51.50–60.00	763	58
Bulls	—	—	1,795	82.13/cwt	80.00–83.00	1,474	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,589	82.36/cwt	82.00–82.50	1,309	8
Bulls	—	—	2,200	88.00/cwt	88.00–88.00	1,936	2
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,693	84.96/cwt	84.00–88.00	1,438	16
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,695	57.50/cwt	57.50–57.50	975	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,207	46.68/cwt	41.00–50.00	563	132
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,375	62.17/cwt	62.00–62.50	855	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,421	46.86/cwt	42.00–49.00	666	20
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,810	81.00/cwt	81.00–81.00	1,466	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,710	57.12/cwt	55.00–58.00	977	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,178	45.93/cwt	42.00–49.00	541	92
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,441	50.72/cwt	49.50–56.00	731	14
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,441	72.18/cwt	71.00–75.00	1,040	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,222	50.99/cwt	49.50–55.00	623	47
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,317	84.50/cwt	84.50–84.50	1,113	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,249	51.76/cwt	50.00–53.00	646	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	938	42.47/cwt	40.00–48.00	398	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,560	63.50/cwt	63.50–63.50	991	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,330	45.37/cwt	43.50–46.50	603	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,205	58.00/cwt	58.00–58.00	699	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,300	62.00/cwt	62.00–62.00	806	1
Steers	Medium 1	—	342	187.00/cwt	187.00–187.00	640	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,695	59.82/cwt	57.00–61.00	1,014	4
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,194	89.00/cwt	89.00–89.00	1,063	4
Heifers	Large 1	—	431	152.30/cwt	151.50–153.00	656	19
Steers	Large 1	—	510	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	775	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	973	35.27/cwt	35.00–39.00	343	43
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,237	625.00/cwt	625.00–625.00	7,731	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,042	34.81/cwt	33.00–40.00	363	19
Heifers	Medium 1	—	467	133.00/cwt	133.00–133.00	621	7
Heifers	Medium 1	—	425	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	646	4
Steers	Medium 1	—	428	178.00/cwt	178.00–178.00	762	18
Heifers	Medium 1	—	322	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	555	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	674	120.50/cwt	120.50–120.50	812	17
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,210	87.00/cwt	87.00–87.00	1,053	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	631	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	883	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,093	62.56/cwt	51.00–74.00	684	33
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	798	56.90/cwt	42.50–70.00	454	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	994	73.70/cwt	63.00–84.00	733	62
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	592	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	734	8
Steers	Medium 2	—	490	100.00/cwt	100.00–100.00	490	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	492	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	699	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	391	160.27/cwt	157.00–165.00	627	48
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	658	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	895	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	326	187.50/cwt	187.50–187.50	611	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	632	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	796	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	577	161.38/cwt	158.00–165.00	931	129
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	496	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	645	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	335	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	637	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	448	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	762	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	599	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	869	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 →