Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2021-12-16
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2021-12-16

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers sold with steady undertones in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week. Demand for yearlings remains good to very good. Feeder steers less than 450 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Steer calves 450-599 lbs sold mostly steady to weak, steers over 600 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves under 450 lbs sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower, heifers over 450 lbs sold steady to weak. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Calves varied greatly in quality again this week and buyers were more selective due to large quality variation. Trucking has also become tight again as many truckers are ready for the holiday break. Many trucks also got held up in the storm that swept across the country as high winds kept many trucks from getting on the road. Demand for calves was mixed, with good demand seen on high quality calves. Calves were mostly sold in moderate size packages this sale. Demand for small packages or singles was noticeably light. Demand did improve as the sale progressed with noticeably stronger demand after lunch and late in the sale as buyers pushed to fill loads. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand and offerings. Packers were not as aggressive in buying cows for immediate harvest and opted to send most cows to feed this sale. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Feeding cow demand remains good as a good size buyer pool was seen for this class of cows. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Cow quality this sale was mostly plain to average. Cows sold late in the day and most were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Feeding bull buyers kept bull prices near steady despite lighter demand for all slaughter cattle. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold fully steady. Demand for this class of cows was mostly light to moderate. Quality was mostly plain to average again this week.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $179.41/cwt on 1,064 head.

Average price

$179.41

1,064 head · 564 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,012

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$461

per head · Medium 1 over Large 1-2

$61.71/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−3.85

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	471	181.71	856	59
Medium and Large 1	575	180.90	1,040	831
Medium and Large 1-2	490	179.82	881	144
Medium 1-2	407	150.00	611	9thin
Medium and Large 2	641	134.00	859	6thin
Large 1-2	1,097	120.00	1,316	15thin

One grade step is worth $61.71/cwt here — about −$461 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 sale1,064 hd

179.41

—

MT average4 barns · 3,435 hd

183.26

−3.85

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	1,976	80.90	1,598	9thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,662	62.33	1,036	3thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,402	51.40	721	104
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,200	45.26	543	94

Every lot, as filed

107 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	—	570	155.17/cwt	148.00–159.00	884	176
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	620	153.44/cwt	142.50–156.50	951	137
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	471	160.58/cwt	155.00–168.00	756	88
Heifers	Medium 1	—	538	146.71/cwt	146.00–147.00	789	34
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	546	162.00/cwt	162.00–162.00	885	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	366	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	589	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	987	143.50/cwt	143.50–143.50	1,416	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	497	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	711	8
Heifers	Medium 1	—	464	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	747	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	425	168.67/cwt	164.00–176.50	717	115
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	544	196.68/cwt	184.00–204.00	1,070	176
Steers	Medium 1	—	517	173.00/cwt	173.00–173.00	894	23
Heifers	Medium 1	—	782	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	1,157	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	634	149.50/cwt	149.50–149.50	948	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	734	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	1,057	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	467	166.90/cwt	165.00–167.50	779	36
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	479	179.44/cwt	172.50–180.50	860	39
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	395	187.50/cwt	187.50–187.50	741	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	588	146.50/cwt	146.50–146.50	861	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	589	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	913	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	691	149.50/cwt	149.50–149.50	1,033	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	641	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	859	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	885	153.44/cwt	152.00–164.00	1,358	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	355	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	746	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	467	199.85/cwt	194.00–203.50	933	110
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	831	164.53/cwt	163.00–166.00	1,367	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	729	162.85/cwt	161.00–164.00	1,187	65
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	506	179.00/cwt	179.00–179.00	906	21
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	795	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	1,280	1
Steers	Large 1-2	—	1,097	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,316	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	326	194.10/cwt	191.50–195.00	633	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	308	215.25/cwt	212.50–220.00	663	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	420	206.14/cwt	195.00–209.00	866	29
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	407	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	611	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	486	185.15/cwt	181.50–189.50	900	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	530	191.17/cwt	189.00–194.00	1,013	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	661	166.18/cwt	153.00–172.00	1,098	162
Steers	Medium 1	—	479	187.05/cwt	180.00–189.00	896	18
Steers	Medium 1	—	422	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	781	7
Steers	Medium 1	—	392	189.10/cwt	185.00–190.00	741	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	619	163.95/cwt	156.00–166.00	1,015	92
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	631	162.10/cwt	158.00–164.00	1,023	36
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	567	173.01/cwt	166.00–181.00	981	42
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	495	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	1,025	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	442	193.70/cwt	193.00–206.00	856	34
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	537	178.50/cwt	178.50–178.50	959	34
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	380	199.07/cwt	195.00–207.50	756	23
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	690	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	897	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	527	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	949	38
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	456	184.00/cwt	184.00–184.00	839	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	618	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	757	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	481	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	818	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	581	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	796	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,220	41.28/cwt	40.00–45.00	504	22
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,184	47.00/cwt	47.00–47.00	556	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,417	56.51/cwt	53.00–62.00	801	30
Bulls	—	—	2,243	83.83/cwt	82.00–85.50	1,880	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,215	44.88/cwt	40.00–48.00	545	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,290	61.00/cwt	61.00–61.00	787	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,120	37.50/cwt	37.50–37.50	420	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,319	34.13/cwt	31.00–37.00	450	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,650	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	990	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,300	54.00/cwt	54.00–54.00	702	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	858	36.07/cwt	31.00–41.00	309	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,371	50.71/cwt	46.00–52.00	695	55
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,478	44.84/cwt	40.00–50.00	663	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,188	49.57/cwt	46.00–55.00	589	41
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,685	67.00/cwt	67.00–67.00	1,129	1
Bulls	—	—	1,810	76.27/cwt	75.50–77.00	1,380	2
Bulls	—	—	1,980	91.50/cwt	91.50–91.50	1,812	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,705	83.72/cwt	83.50–84.00	1,427	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	2,143	74.50/cwt	74.50–74.50	1,597	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	895	67.58/cwt	56.00–71.00	605	9
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,094	62.38/cwt	55.00–78.00	682	39
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	990	84.88/cwt	63.00–95.00	840	58
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	965	1,100.00/cwt	1,100.00–1,100.00	10,615	2
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	968	1,029.29/cwt	1,025.00–1,035.00	9,964	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,530	61.00/cwt	61.00–61.00	933	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,153	835.00/cwt	835.00–835.00	9,628	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,165	1,164.31/cwt	1,150.00–1,175.00	13,564	18
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,177	1,250.00/cwt	1,250.00–1,250.00	14,713	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	789	147.72/cwt	130.00–152.00	1,166	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	395	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	672	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	701	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	971	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	409	171.00/cwt	171.00–171.00	699	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	600	132.50/cwt	132.50–132.50	795	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	420	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	777	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	513	140.59/cwt	140.00–141.00	721	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	776	142.65/cwt	140.00–145.00	1,107	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	420	153.00/cwt	153.00–153.00	643	5
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	263	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	368	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	349	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	569	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	342	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	581	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	531	158.82/cwt	150.00–164.00	843	38
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	489	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	743	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	434	142.50/cwt	142.50–142.50	618	4
Heifers	Large 1-2	—	1,051	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,314	9
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	409	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	552	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	366	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	597	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	870	150.50/cwt	150.50–150.50	1,309	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	933	152.34/cwt	150.50–153.25	1,421	66
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	641	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	901	9
Heifers	Medium 1	—	337	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	549	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,001	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,361	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	726	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	1,060	9
Heifers	Medium 1	—	448	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	721	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	663	149.88/cwt	142.00–152.00	994	14

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 →