Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2022-01-13
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2022-01-13

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Yearling quality was average to attractive. Demand was mostly good for all yearlings on offer. Steer calves sold generally steady on all weights. Steer quality is average to attractive. Heifer calves sold mostly 5.00 higher on all weights. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Buyers showed very good demand for cattle suitable to run on grass this summer. Small packages and singles continue to sell with light demand. Market activity this week was mostly active with a large buyer pool actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand and offerings. All cows and bulls were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Heavy offerings allowed for several buyers to actively be in the market without moving prices higher. Both packers and feeding cow buyers were active in buying cows to feed to premium white this week. Feeding cows sold with steady to lower undertones. Slaughter cows sold with steady undertones on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold with lower undertones. Slaughter bulls sold steady to weak. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand this sale. Offerings were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $160.49/cwt on 672 head.

Average price

$160.49

672 head · 660 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,060

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$610

per head · Medium 1-2 over Large 1

$74.08/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−7.51

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1-2	351	192.50	676	6thin
Medium and Large 1	649	162.82	1,057	598
Medium 1	435	150.00	653	3thin
Medium and Large 1-2	694	146.71	1,019	39
Medium and Large 2	630	130.00	819	7thin
Large 1	1,085	118.42	1,285	19thin

One grade step is worth $74.08/cwt here — about −$610 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 sale672 hd

160.49

—

MT average3 barns · 1,615 hd

168.01

−7.51

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	1,814	79.87	1,449	55
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,659	62.35	1,034	49
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,366	54.44	743	210
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,129	49.98	564	705

Every lot, as filed

83 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	—	557	158.50/cwt	158.50–158.50	883	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	391	162.50/cwt	162.50–162.50	635	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	967	142.80/cwt	141.50–148.00	1,381	35
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,014	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,318	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	380	189.50/cwt	185.00–192.00	720	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	781	151.55/cwt	150.00–156.00	1,184	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	840	135.96/cwt	134.00–146.00	1,142	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	917	147.57/cwt	147.00–148.00	1,353	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	614	178.07/cwt	177.50–179.00	1,093	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	887	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	1,304	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	478	214.39/cwt	205.00–218.00	1,025	41
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	522	171.83/cwt	161.00–174.00	897	103
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	625	162.11/cwt	158.00–165.00	1,013	54
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,095	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,424	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	647	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	1,084	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	476	192.00/cwt	192.00–192.00	914	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	366	210.62/cwt	210.00–211.00	771	11
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	754	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	1,071	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	462	184.56/cwt	176.00–186.50	853	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	933	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,316	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	677	172.00/cwt	172.00–172.00	1,164	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	514	201.24/cwt	193.00–208.00	1,034	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	397	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	854	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	427	208.06/cwt	205.00–210.00	888	9
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,130	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	1,243	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	567	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	907	6
Steers	Large 1	—	1,026	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,395	8
Steers	Large 1	—	599	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	1,012	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	793	156.00/cwt	156.00–156.00	1,237	30
Steers	Medium 1	—	820	142.98/cwt	141.00–145.00	1,172	10
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	856	142.50/cwt	142.50–142.50	1,220	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	823	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	1,267	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	580	186.80/cwt	180.00–194.00	1,083	18
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	668	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,035	2
Steers	Medium 1	—	400	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	800	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	675	149.02/cwt	145.00–149.50	1,006	46
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	558	160.74/cwt	160.50–163.00	897	37
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	410	190.50/cwt	190.50–190.50	781	1
Bulls	Medium 1	—	803	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	1,060	9
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,027	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	1,099	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	461	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	922	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,156	46.44/cwt	41.00–51.00	537	211
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,627	75.95/cwt	69.00–80.00	1,236	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,802	64.43/cwt	63.00–66.00	1,161	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,696	58.82/cwt	55.00–62.00	998	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	901	24.87/cwt	23.00–33.00	224	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,129	62.10/cwt	61.00–64.00	701	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,367	49.01/cwt	44.00–53.00	670	30
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,356	51.38/cwt	46.00–53.50	697	15
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,290	67.08/cwt	65.00–71.00	865	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,369	55.63/cwt	54.00–60.50	762	131
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	846	43.95/cwt	42.00–47.00	372	6
Bulls	—	—	1,995	83.78/cwt	81.50–88.50	1,671	23
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,363	54.89/cwt	53.00–57.00	748	31
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,239	52.45/cwt	51.00–56.00	650	46
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,124	52.70/cwt	51.00–58.00	592	349
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,057	47.38/cwt	46.00–49.00	501	83
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,563	64.80/cwt	64.00–68.00	1,013	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,622	60.14/cwt	52.50–62.00	975	27
Bulls	—	—	2,280	90.50/cwt	90.50–90.50	2,063	1
Bulls	—	—	1,693	76.73/cwt	72.50–81.00	1,299	29
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,250	75.00/cwt	75.00–75.00	938	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,403	850.00/cwt	850.00–850.00	11,926	16
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,065	52.00/cwt	52.00–52.00	554	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,041	76.33/cwt	54.00–94.00	795	91
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	788	83.73/cwt	80.00–87.00	660	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	924	95.14/cwt	69.00–111.00	879	302
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,155	57.00/cwt	57.00–57.00	658	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,318	910.00/cwt	910.00–910.00	11,994	12
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	977	1,110.00/cwt	1,110.00–1,110.00	10,845	17
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,306	1,100.00/cwt	1,100.00–1,100.00	14,366	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,280	1,163.09/cwt	1,125.00–1,250.00	14,888	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,099	785.00/cwt	785.00–785.00	8,627	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	491	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	805	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	913	137.50/cwt	137.50–137.50	1,255	3
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	351	192.50/cwt	192.50–192.50	676	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	630	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	819	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	703	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	998	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	815	152.48/cwt	150.50–153.00	1,243	49
Heifers	Medium 1	—	435	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	653	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	441	186.29/cwt	184.00–187.00	822	72
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	876	148.54/cwt	148.00–149.50	1,301	65
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	716	153.77/cwt	150.00–158.00	1,101	60

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 →