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

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested either this week or last to develop any accurate market trend. Steer calves under 500lbs sold 3.00-5.00 higher with moderate to good demand; Steers 450-599 lbs sold 5.00 to sharply higher; steers over 600 lbs sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher, while heifers over 500 lbs sold 3.00 to sharply higher. Calf quality this week was average to attractive, with a few consignments of attractive cattle. Calves were offered in mostly small to medium packages today that sold with moderate demand, with a few load lots on offer that sold with good demand for both steers and heifers. Demand remains limited due to limited trucks. Several buyers filled loads and exited the market. Calf prices declined as the sale progressed. Wide price spreads continue to be seen as buyers continue to focus on buying front end calves and calves with two rounds of vaccinations. Market activity this week was moderate to active with moderate to heavy receipts of feeder cattle. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packer and feeder buyers both showed good demand for cows this week which helped improve prices. The majority of cows this week were purchased for feed. Primarily very lame or severely blemished cows were purchased for immediate harvest. Lower undertones were noticed on breaking cows, while steady to firm undertones were noticed on boning and lean cows. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold firm on a light comparison, with bred cows selling weak on a light test this week. Demand was mostly light. Quality for this class of cows was plain to average this week.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $176.05/cwt on 2,467 head.

Average price

$176.05

2,467 head · 504 lb average

Value per head Derived

$888

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$116

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 1

$36.34/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+3.83

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	492	182.06	895	1,937
Medium and Large 1-2	544	155.99	849	418
Large 1	625	149.17	932	46
Medium 1	535	145.72	779	66

One grade step is worth $36.34/cwt here — about $116 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 sale2,467 hd

176.05

—

MT average5 barns · 4,841 hd

172.23

+3.83

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	1,922	76.16	1,464	7thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,697	56.87	965	8thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Very Low	1,432	45.62	653	34
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,191	40.73	485	130

Every lot, as filed

112 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	—	370	191.00/cwt	191.00–191.00	707	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	417	172.02/cwt	155.00–178.75	717	311
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	681	151.30/cwt	141.00–153.50	1,030	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	478	166.00/cwt	166.00–166.00	793	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	412	199.61/cwt	181.00–200.50	822	44
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	374	210.46/cwt	186.00–214.50	787	286
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	468	170.16/cwt	161.00–173.50	796	59
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	621	146.45/cwt	135.00–155.00	909	98
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	619	159.10/cwt	156.50–164.00	985	232
Steers	Large 1	—	541	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	833	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	567	163.88/cwt	162.00–165.50	929	22
Steers	Large 1Unweaned	—	591	149.01/cwt	144.00–150.00	881	23
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	686	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	899	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	424	166.51/cwt	159.00–175.00	706	25
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	668	152.93/cwt	142.50–154.00	1,022	43
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	508	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	737	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	561	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	788	7
Steers	Medium 1	—	635	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	870	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	426	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	714	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	620	164.23/cwt	154.00–167.00	1,018	90
Steers	Medium 1	—	700	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	952	7
Heifers	Large 1Unweaned	—	606	123.85/cwt	123.00–133.00	751	12
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	700	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	952	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	488	179.06/cwt	175.00–193.50	874	48
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	713	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	1,098	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	636	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	859	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	572	155.86/cwt	143.00–161.00	892	120
Steers	Medium 1Full	—	405	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	616	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	287	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	445	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	723	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	940	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	571	147.18/cwt	137.00–153.00	840	35
Steers	Large 1Unweaned	—	665	144.89/cwt	140.00–149.00	964	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	535	174.00/cwt	174.00–174.00	931	94
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	534	152.41/cwt	143.00–156.00	814	66
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	343	151.15/cwt	135.00–155.00	518	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	265	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	530	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	655	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,015	38
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	340	184.56/cwt	175.00–187.00	628	21
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	380	167.92/cwt	165.00–170.00	638	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	312	212.88/cwt	190.00–221.00	664	58
Steers	Large 1Unweaned	—	712	150.56/cwt	141.00–153.00	1,072	10
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	394	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	646	14
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	586	142.20/cwt	132.00–147.00	833	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	434	186.77/cwt	181.00–196.00	811	97
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	461	189.42/cwt	176.00–192.00	873	567
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	575	161.33/cwt	150.00–170.00	928	54
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	740	142.07/cwt	135.00–149.00	1,051	18
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	617	139.91/cwt	134.00–148.00	863	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	235	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	423	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	530	167.69/cwt	162.00–179.00	889	217
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	709	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	915	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	905	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	1,014	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	442	158.56/cwt	152.50–166.00	701	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	672	134.11/cwt	132.00–135.00	901	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	568	135.46/cwt	133.00–137.00	769	13
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	533	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	725	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,441	39.59/cwt	35.50–41.00	570	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,268	38.86/cwt	34.00–41.50	493	52
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,085	52.64/cwt	50.00–61.00	571	38
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,667	51.64/cwt	51.00–52.00	861	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,715	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	1,029	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,420	39.00/cwt	39.00–39.00	554	15
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,137	30.21/cwt	28.00–32.50	343	33
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,532	47.84/cwt	45.00–54.00	733	8
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,394	63.75/cwt	63.50–64.00	889	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,365	46.93/cwt	40.50–55.00	641	7
Bulls	—	—	2,010	66.35/cwt	60.50–72.00	1,334	2
Bulls	—	—	1,988	83.48/cwt	83.00–84.50	1,660	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,735	75.00/cwt	75.00–75.00	1,301	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	858	97.64/cwt	72.00–99.00	838	26
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,361	865.31/cwt	725.00–1,100.00	11,777	21
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,433	750.00/cwt	750.00–750.00	10,748	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,514	875.00/cwt	875.00–875.00	13,248	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,406	900.00/cwt	900.00–900.00	12,654	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	557	131.45/cwt	131.00–132.00	732	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	—	503	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	699	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	459	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	638	6
Heifers	Large 1	—	584	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	818	28
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	485	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	694	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	575	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	719	5
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	627	134.36/cwt	132.00–135.50	842	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	730	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	1,080	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	663	142.46/cwt	133.00–143.50	945	61
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	485	149.60/cwt	147.00–151.50	726	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	—	568	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	784	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	—	472	145.87/cwt	145.00–151.00	689	7
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	473	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	657	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	338	150.88/cwt	140.00–155.00	510	40
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	487	139.59/cwt	138.00–143.00	680	63
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	700	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	917	4
Heifers	Large 1Unweaned	—	545	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	709	3
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	387	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	546	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	680	140.98/cwt	138.00–142.50	959	42
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	529	136.51/cwt	125.00–140.50	722	68
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	414	143.72/cwt	137.00–153.00	595	66
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	555	133.00/cwt	133.00–133.00	738	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	258	179.34/cwt	170.00–180.00	463	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	332	180.10/cwt	167.00–184.50	598	97
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	569	137.15/cwt	132.00–140.75	780	140
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	759	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,176	147
Heifers	Large 1	—	530	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	713	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	473	151.22/cwt	147.00–160.00	715	197
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	359	180.35/cwt	164.00–190.00	647	131
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	615	137.76/cwt	135.00–138.00	847	26
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	530	142.75/cwt	139.00–148.00	757	30
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	372	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	539	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	628	137.18/cwt	135.50–152.00	861	59
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	286	154.06/cwt	150.00–155.00	441	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	395	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	632	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	530	149.30/cwt	144.00–156.50	791	198
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	424	147.99/cwt	135.00–152.00	627	103
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	438	157.50/cwt	157.50–157.50	690	6

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 →