Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2024-02-08
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-02-08

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

The last feeder special was two weeks ago (1/26/24) all feeder comparisons are to that sale. Feeder steers under 650 lbs sold mostly 12.00-18.00 higher, steers over 650 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, heifers over 600 lbs sold 9.00-12.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to very attractive. Most offerings sold in moderate size packages, with a few load lots seen as well. Demand for all feeders was good to very good for moderate to heavy offerings. A heavy offering of backgrounded cattle were seen this week and despite most of these offerings pushing moderate flesh, demand was good. The best demand continues to be for cattle suitable to develop into yearlings. Ranchers and order-buyers buying for packers were both very aggressive as they bid on high quality offerings to run on grass leases. CME positions continue to see upward momentum. The March contract closed at 246.85, while the April closed at 251.925, 1.975 and 1.40 higher respectfully, than last Thursdays close. Market activity was mostly active this week, as a large crowd of farmer feeders, ranchers and order-buyers were seen. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Too few cows were seen this week to make an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on slaughter cows, feeding cows and slaughter bulls. Packer buyers continue to be aggressively as they bid for both feeding cows and slaughter cow. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher. Demand for this class was very good as feeding demand continues to improve with higher live cattle contract prices. Many buyers continue to buy coming 2 and coming 3 year old heifers that haven't calved to feed as they hope to feed this class to choice.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $297.21/cwt on 1,782 head.

Average price

$297.21

1,782 head · 635 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,888

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$51

per head · Medium 1 over Medium and Large 2

$50.08/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−5.64

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	423	342.37	1,447	49
Large 1	539	300.29	1,620	35
Medium and Large 1	654	296.21	1,937	1,412
Medium and Large 1-2	601	294.29	1,768	255
Medium and Large 2	512	292.28	1,498	31

One grade step is worth $50.08/cwt here — about −$51 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 sale1,782 hd

297.21

—

MT average3 barns · 2,918 hd

302.85

−5.64

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	1,577	108.65	1,714	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,678	108.72	1,824	12
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,367	101.97	1,394	41
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,125	96.06	1,081	56

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	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,060	$1,975	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,293	$1,421	8

Every lot, as filed

109 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 1-2	—	524	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,677	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	810	236.48/cwt	232.00–237.50	1,915	38
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	883	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	1,987	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	616	307.25/cwt	298.00–318.00	1,893	158
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	648	272.00/cwt	272.00–272.00	1,763	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	676	267.02/cwt	267.00–267.50	1,805	21
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	622	285.79/cwt	253.00–297.00	1,778	33
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	430	318.14/cwt	305.00–327.50	1,368	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	771	236.00/cwt	236.00–236.00	1,820	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	575	324.95/cwt	312.00–337.00	1,868	117
Heifers	Medium 1	—	435	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,218	2
Heifers	Medium 1	—	501	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	1,358	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	649	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	1,824	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Fleshy	—	796	236.00/cwt	236.00–236.00	1,879	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	859	241.28/cwt	241.00–242.50	2,073	74
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	308	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,093	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	616	274.68/cwt	266.00–280.00	1,692	76
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	520	307.39/cwt	291.50–318.00	1,598	164
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	683	249.32/cwt	245.00–255.00	1,703	44
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	413	320.84/cwt	317.00–325.00	1,325	20
Heifers	Large 1	—	452	292.50/cwt	292.50–292.50	1,322	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	440	354.65/cwt	342.00–357.50	1,560	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	724	237.46/cwt	233.00–242.00	1,719	91
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	437	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	1,289	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	567	284.51/cwt	278.00–291.00	1,613	101
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	795	219.56/cwt	218.50–221.00	1,746	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	374	331.00/cwt	331.00–331.00	1,238	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	716	247.46/cwt	244.00–253.00	1,772	11
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	674	223.00/cwt	223.00–223.00	1,503	6
Steers	Large 1	—	629	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,635	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	582	293.53/cwt	288.00–311.00	1,708	47
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	377	370.90/cwt	370.00–371.00	1,398	48
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	491	330.24/cwt	327.50–340.00	1,621	50
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	358	363.00/cwt	363.00–363.00	1,300	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	969	219.11/cwt	216.00–224.00	2,123	46
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	523	345.01/cwt	337.00–352.00	1,804	121
Steers	Large 1	—	482	309.00/cwt	309.00–309.00	1,489	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	672	281.13/cwt	267.00–300.00	1,889	196
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	815	241.28/cwt	241.25–241.50	1,966	143
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	937	227.83/cwt	227.00–228.00	2,135	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	418	370.04/cwt	367.00–374.00	1,547	17
Steers	Large 1	—	533	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	1,692	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	619	322.80/cwt	320.00–324.50	1,998	56
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	477	358.78/cwt	347.50–369.00	1,711	191
Steers	Medium 1	—	324	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	1,166	22
Steers	Medium 1	—	503	328.00/cwt	328.00–328.00	1,650	27
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	783	247.47/cwt	244.25–255.00	1,938	148
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	717	261.28/cwt	255.00–269.00	1,873	65
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	530	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	1,632	8
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	659	277.00/cwt	277.00–277.00	1,825	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	380	332.50/cwt	332.50–332.50	1,264	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	670	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,474	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	620	286.00/cwt	286.00–286.00	1,773	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	456	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	1,550	9
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,660	107.04/cwt	106.00–108.00	1,777	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,370	112.95/cwt	112.50–114.00	1,547	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,140	103.00/cwt	103.00–103.00	1,174	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,517	109.50/cwt	109.50–109.50	1,661	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,168	107.24/cwt	106.50–111.00	1,253	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,131	100.32/cwt	93.00–103.00	1,135	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,086	87.90/cwt	86.00–89.00	955	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,142	87.10/cwt	83.00–92.00	995	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	999	93.00/cwt	93.00–93.00	929	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,399	99.93/cwt	94.00–104.50	1,398	12
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,706	111.52/cwt	109.00–112.50	1,903	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,670	98.00/cwt	98.00–98.00	1,637	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,352	89.54/cwt	87.00–92.00	1,211	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,180	97.73/cwt	93.50–100.00	1,153	14
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,065	106.50/cwt	106.50–106.50	2,199	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,348	104.83/cwt	101.00–106.00	1,413	16
Bulls	—	—	1,920	116.88/cwt	115.50–118.50	2,244	2
Bulls	—	—	1,845	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	2,214	1
Bulls	—	—	1,653	102.24/cwt	96.00–109.00	1,690	6
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,226	111.31/cwt	110.00–115.00	1,365	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,017	136.92/cwt	109.50–152.00	1,392	18
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	907	161.79/cwt	148.00–206.00	1,467	28
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	897	188.20/cwt	147.00–214.00	1,688	60
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	727	201.29/cwt	187.00–207.00	1,463	4
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	857	197.00/cwt	197.00–197.00	1,688	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	888	105.81/cwt	102.00–110.00	940	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,325	1,625.00/head	1,625.00–1,625.00	1,625	3
Steers	Large 1	—	585	293.00/cwt	293.00–293.00	1,714	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	519	281.97/cwt	276.00–285.00	1,463	26
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	680	232.01/cwt	229.00–234.00	1,578	28
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	417	274.13/cwt	270.00–280.00	1,143	17
Heifers	Large 1-2	—	425	267.00/cwt	267.00–267.00	1,135	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	556	274.22/cwt	273.50–278.00	1,525	75
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	562	303.93/cwt	299.00–305.50	1,708	59
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	481	276.00/cwt	276.00–276.00	1,328	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	631	263.82/cwt	262.00–266.00	1,665	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	325	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,040	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	492	296.47/cwt	290.00–305.00	1,459	30
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	353	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,059	2
Heifers	Medium 1	—	485	286.00/cwt	286.00–286.00	1,387	20
Heifers	Medium 1	—	577	262.00/cwt	262.00–262.00	1,512	21
Heifers	Large 1	—	431	306.00/cwt	306.00–306.00	1,319	8
Heifers	Large 1	—	559	272.00/cwt	272.00–272.00	1,520	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	604	211.00/cwt	211.00–211.00	1,274	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	690	241.00/cwt	241.00–241.00	1,663	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	484	309.85/cwt	303.00–322.00	1,500	138
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	737	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,695	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,070	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	1,819	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	941	194.48/cwt	190.00–206.00	1,830	7
Heifers	Large 1	—	530	261.00/cwt	261.00–261.00	1,383	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	551	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,267	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	769	218.50/cwt	218.50–218.50	1,680	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,060	1,975.00/head	1,975.00–1,975.00	1,975	1
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	648	182.50/cwt	182.50–182.50	1,183	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,274	1,297.85/head	1,250.00–1,325.00	1,298	5

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 →