Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2021-03-11
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2021-03-11

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Steers weighing less than 550 lbs were too lightly tested either this week or last week to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Steers 550 lbs and heavier sold steady to weak. Heifer calves weighing less than 700 lbs sold generally steady, heifers over 700 lbs sold 2.00-4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly moderate to good for moderate to heavy offerings. Cattle continue to be in mostly light flesh and suitable to run on grass. Demand for heavier cattle was notably stronger this week than last. Market activity was mostly active this week with a large crowd on hand. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average. Feeding buyers pushed higher quality cows higher as they purchased them away from packer buyers. Feeding cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold fully steady. Packers opted to send the majority of cows to feed this week. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. A heavy offering of bred cows sold today as two large ranches dispersed their herds. Quality was mostly attractive. Demand was mostly good to very good with a large crowd on hand actively bidding on offerings.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $149.45/cwt on 1,191 head.

Average price

$149.45

1,191 head · 565 lb average

Value per head Derived

$844

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$120

per head · Medium 1 over Medium 2

$41.20/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−2.94

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	402	157.45	633	51
Medium and Large 1	590	151.31	893	739
Large 1	521	149.61	780	110
Medium and Large 1-2	555	145.53	807	259
Medium and Large 2	493	139.50	688	12thin
Medium 2	441	116.25	513	20

One grade step is worth $41.20/cwt here — about $120 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 sale1,191 hd

149.45

—

MT average3 barns · 2,126 hd

152.40

−2.94

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	—	Low	1,743	81.73	1,424	35
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,385	59.87	829	86
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,510	58.27	880	21
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,177	55.72	656	161

Every lot, as filed

98 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 1-2	—	750	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	900	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	483	183.35/cwt	181.00–184.00	886	59
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	707	149.12/cwt	144.00–149.50	1,054	82
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	355	184.00/cwt	184.00–184.00	653	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	810	130.29/cwt	127.00–130.75	1,055	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	688	140.09/cwt	134.00–144.00	964	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	614	147.42/cwt	145.00–149.00	905	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	898	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	1,140	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	633	160.10/cwt	154.00–162.00	1,013	98
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	429	163.04/cwt	160.00–165.00	699	38
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	484	151.11/cwt	145.00–157.00	731	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	515	148.68/cwt	146.50–155.00	766	43
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	577	144.71/cwt	138.00–145.00	835	168
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	391	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	692	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	540	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	837	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	616	144.14/cwt	139.00–147.50	888	90
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	676	132.34/cwt	131.75–135.00	895	52
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	478	163.45/cwt	161.50–165.00	781	72
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	751	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,059	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	607	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	886	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	421	194.13/cwt	190.50–195.50	817	48
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	727	134.25/cwt	127.50–135.00	976	62
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	535	159.50/cwt	156.00–162.50	853	193
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	950	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	1,197	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	383	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	728	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,180	1,190.42/cwt	1,150.00–1,225.00	14,047	17
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,008	82.61/cwt	62.00–96.50	833	36
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	576	172.49/cwt	160.00–178.50	994	232
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	513	180.92/cwt	178.00–183.00	928	59
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	716	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	895	12
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	966	118.00/cwt	118.00–118.00	1,140	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,188	950.00/cwt	950.00–950.00	11,286	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,335	1,440.82/cwt	1,400.00–1,450.00	19,235	22
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	939	123.00/cwt	123.00–123.00	1,155	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	559	157.28/cwt	148.50–159.50	879	176
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	788	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	977	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	1,043	111.00/cwt	111.00–111.00	1,158	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,330	982.14/cwt	875.00–1,050.00	13,062	215
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,172	1,350.00/cwt	1,350.00–1,350.00	15,822	29
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,464	950.00/cwt	950.00–950.00	13,908	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,248	782.47/cwt	775.00–800.00	9,765	22
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,115	1,035.00/cwt	1,035.00–1,035.00	11,540	13
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	989	91.69/cwt	81.00–103.00	907	76
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,309	57.75/cwt	57.00–58.50	756	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	915	51.00/cwt	51.00–51.00	467	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	965	53.00/cwt	53.00–53.00	511	1
Bulls	—	—	1,611	73.32/cwt	67.50–78.50	1,181	11
Bulls	—	—	1,769	92.47/cwt	89.00–93.50	1,636	5
Bulls	—	—	1,822	85.54/cwt	84.00–89.00	1,559	16
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,195	58.33/cwt	57.00–61.00	697	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,427	55.47/cwt	54.75–60.00	792	13
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,226	55.45/cwt	51.00–57.00	680	58
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,375	56.22/cwt	55.50–56.50	773	24
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,195	75.00/cwt	75.00–75.00	896	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,124	46.43/cwt	45.00–48.00	522	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,730	57.00/cwt	57.00–57.00	986	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,391	62.58/cwt	58.00–65.50	870	50
Heifers	Large 1	—	469	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	704	25
Heifers	Large 1	—	413	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	640	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,217	59.48/cwt	57.00–64.00	724	30
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,632	63.64/cwt	62.00–66.00	1,039	7
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,117	70.00/cwt	70.00–70.00	782	6
Bulls	—	—	2,040	74.03/cwt	68.00–79.00	1,510	2
Heifers	Medium 1	—	456	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	702	7
Steers	Medium 1	—	554	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	870	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,411	54.92/cwt	54.00–56.00	775	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,117	54.22/cwt	49.50–56.50	606	61
Steers	Medium 1	—	530	153.10/cwt	152.00–165.00	811	35
Heifers	Large 1	—	548	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	817	78
Heifers	Medium 2	—	465	112.50/cwt	112.50–112.50	523	8
Heifers	Medium 2	—	517	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	595	3
Steers	Large 1	—	433	181.50/cwt	181.50–181.50	786	26
Steers	Large 1	—	1,071	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,232	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	405	152.27/cwt	152.00–152.50	617	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	738	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	893	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	427	173.74/cwt	170.50–176.50	742	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	874	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	1,127	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	449	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	808	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	586	156.44/cwt	145.00–163.00	917	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	563	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	709	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,324	1,520.45/cwt	1,410.00–1,600.00	20,131	119
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,398	1,309.35/cwt	1,150.00–1,360.00	18,305	331
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	743	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	1,025	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	535	170.00/cwt	166.00–174.00	910	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	470	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	677	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	344	186.50/cwt	184.00–190.00	642	12
Steers	Medium 2	—	513	128.00/cwt	128.00–128.00	657	9
Steers	Medium 2	—	475	130.25/cwt	122.00–136.00	619	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	462	178.74/cwt	178.00–182.00	826	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	630	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	851	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,169	1,627.25/cwt	1,450.00–1,675.00	19,023	448
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,264	835.00/cwt	835.00–835.00	10,554	14
Heifers	Medium 1	—	354	158.00/cwt	158.00–158.00	559	23
Steers	Medium 1	—	395	179.75/cwt	171.00–183.00	710	22
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	972	1,325.00/cwt	1,325.00–1,325.00	12,879	5
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,213	1,429.78/cwt	1,425.00–1,435.00	17,343	43
Heifers	Medium 1	—	436	158.00/cwt	158.00–158.00	689	21
Heifers	Medium 2	—	395	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	474	9

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 →