Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2022-09-08
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2022-09-08

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Yearling heifers 700-999 lbs sold steady to 2.00 higher in a narrow comparison, heifers under 700 lbs and over 1000 lbs were too lightly tested either this week or last to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Steer and heifer calves were all too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings was mostly moderate to good, while demand for calves was mixed. Yearling quality was mixed from plain to attractive. Calf quality was mostly average to attractive. Several load lots of yearlings were seen today along with many moderate size packages. Calves were offered in mostly moderate size packages. Demand for calves dropped off significantly as buyers filled loads. Hot weather has been seen over the past few weeks and cooler, wet weather was seen today and is forecasted for the next few days, after buyers filled loads many exited the market and prices slipped. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Western packers and feeding cow buyers drove the market this week as both showed good demand for cows. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher than last week. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 1.00 lower. Feeding bull buyers were mostly inactive this week which allowed packers to buy the majority of the bulls. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Offerings were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $190.80/cwt on 635 head.

Average price

$190.80

635 head · 732 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,397

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$645

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 2

$45.54/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−6.33

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	646	204.13	1,319	393
Medium 1	596	194.53	1,160	17thin
Medium and Large 1-2	914	169.27	1,548	162
Medium and Large 2	766	167.92	1,286	13thin
Large 1	1,059	161.23	1,707	34
Medium 2	425	158.59	675	16thin

One grade step is worth $45.54/cwt here — about $645 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 sale635 hd

190.80

—

MT average2 barns · 819 hd

197.12

−6.33

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	1,747	98.43	1,719	58
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Very Low	1,651	86.80	1,433	21
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,362	86.69	1,181	146
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,103	75.00	827	73

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,143	$1,225	25
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,286	$1,125	6

Every lot, as filed

89 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 1-2Unweaned	—	469	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	685	12
Steers	Large 1	—	1,029	166.11/cwt	163.00–167.00	1,709	22
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	809	176.50/cwt	176.50–176.50	1,428	21
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	816	183.44/cwt	178.50–185.75	1,497	65
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	636	207.50/cwt	207.50–207.50	1,320	26
Steers	Large 1	—	1,113	152.29/cwt	152.00–152.50	1,695	12
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	—	305	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	488	10
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	851	159.00/cwt	159.00–159.00	1,353	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	941	168.22/cwt	163.00–168.75	1,583	71
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	731	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,389	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	893	169.66/cwt	169.00–171.00	1,515	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	345	204.00/cwt	204.00–204.00	704	22
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,036	161.93/cwt	158.50–164.00	1,678	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	662	207.16/cwt	205.00–208.00	1,371	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	965	168.73/cwt	166.00–170.50	1,628	22
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	713	173.50/cwt	173.50–173.50	1,237	8
Steers	Medium 1	—	593	195.50/cwt	195.50–195.50	1,159	14
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,080	156.13/cwt	155.75–160.00	1,686	11
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,174	147.50/cwt	147.50–147.50	1,732	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	550	171.00/cwt	171.00–171.00	941	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	520	179.96/cwt	167.00–192.00	936	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	400	205.00/cwt	205.00–205.00	820	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	880	174.67/cwt	172.50–178.00	1,537	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	487	223.39/cwt	220.00–228.00	1,088	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	277	264.41/cwt	260.00–267.50	732	18
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	473	201.00/cwt	201.00–201.00	951	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	329	247.18/cwt	242.50–250.00	813	33
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	976	163.42/cwt	159.00–163.50	1,595	55
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	719	199.04/cwt	196.50–208.50	1,431	50
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	623	179.00/cwt	179.00–179.00	1,115	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	533	192.59/cwt	192.00–193.00	1,027	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	398	231.00/cwt	231.00–231.00	919	3
Steers	Medium 2Unweaned	—	310	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	574	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	912	172.87/cwt	169.00–174.50	1,577	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	402	235.10/cwt	229.50–236.50	945	51
Steers	Medium 2Unweaned	—	452	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	689	13
Steers	Medium 1	—	612	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,163	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	566	180.47/cwt	180.00–181.00	1,021	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	977	147.06/cwt	145.00–148.00	1,437	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	—	993	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	1,663	36
Bulls	Medium 1	—	826	133.00/cwt	133.00–133.00	1,099	5
Bulls	Medium 1	—	761	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,035	4
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,000	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	1,650	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	—	423	137.50/cwt	137.50–137.50	582	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,815	71.00/cwt	71.00–71.00	1,289	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,322	87.91/cwt	83.00–91.00	1,162	49
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,118	86.15/cwt	82.00–87.00	963	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,141	74.79/cwt	74.00–77.00	853	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,572	87.00/cwt	87.00–87.00	1,368	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,375	79.41/cwt	75.00–82.00	1,092	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,140	90.00/cwt	90.00–90.00	1,026	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,090	67.00/cwt	67.00–67.00	730	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,252	76.93/cwt	72.00–79.50	963	20
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,188	81.81/cwt	79.00–85.00	972	14
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,696	83.73/cwt	82.50–87.50	1,420	7
Bulls	—	—	1,761	101.89/cwt	98.00–105.50	1,794	26
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,370	86.24/cwt	81.00–89.50	1,181	62
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,430	67.00/cwt	67.00–67.00	958	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	937	68.16/cwt	63.00–73.00	639	24
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	868	57.50/cwt	57.00–58.00	499	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,296	91.50/cwt	91.50–91.50	1,186	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,541	89.50/cwt	89.50–89.50	1,379	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,469	91.80/cwt	89.50–93.75	1,349	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,523	78.49/cwt	73.00–81.50	1,195	9
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,711	91.42/cwt	90.25–93.00	1,564	5
Bulls	—	—	2,385	106.00/cwt	106.00–106.00	2,528	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	459	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	918	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	808	171.69/cwt	169.50–172.50	1,387	63
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	934	162.51/cwt	161.50–168.00	1,518	71
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	773	173.27/cwt	172.00–175.00	1,339	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	969	163.71/cwt	160.00–165.50	1,586	40
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	286	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	592	11
Heifers	Medium 1	—	621	183.50/cwt	183.50–183.50	1,140	5
Heifers	Large 1-2Fleshy	—	1,040	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	1,461	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	—	859	160.14/cwt	159.50–162.00	1,376	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	674	183.71/cwt	181.00–184.50	1,238	41
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	963	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	1,435	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	877	168.95/cwt	165.00–170.00	1,482	51
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	910	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	1,429	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,286	1,125.00/head	1,125.00–1,125.00	1,125	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,143	1,225.00/head	1,225.00–1,225.00	1,225	25
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,139	91.76/cwt	85.00–94.00	1,045	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,170	99.33/cwt	90.00–109.50	1,162	35
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,090	96.73/cwt	92.50–101.00	1,054	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,330	101.08/cwt	100.00–107.00	1,344	7
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,500	100.00/cwt	100.00–100.00	2,500	1
Bulls	—	—	1,995	109.50/cwt	109.50–109.50	2,185	1
Bulls	—	—	2,145	90.00/cwt	90.00–90.00	1,931	1
Bulls	—	—	1,740	92.05/cwt	85.00–97.00	1,602	20

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 →