Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2024-06-06
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-06-06

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed on steer offerings and higher undertones were noticed on all heifer offerings. Demand for feeders was mostly good. Quality was mostly plain to average today. CME Feeder cattle contracts closed lower today with all contracts selling with triple digit losses. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers showed moderate to good demand for both slaughter and feeding cows this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 lower on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold sharply lower in a narrow comparison. The majority of the cow offering was purchased to feed this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 10.00 lower as last week saw very good demand from additional buyers in the market. Fewer buyers were in the market this week allowing feeding cow prices to fall to the same levels as two weeks ago. Thin fleshed feeding cows sold 3.00-4.00 lower lower than last week. Packers purchased a portion of the lean cow offering to put on feed for the 4th of July holiday. Quality was mostly average to very attractive this week. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average as many cows which were out on grass were empty come sale time. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 10.00 lower. Again, fewer buyers were in the market this week allowing bull prices to fall. Bull quality was mostly attractive today. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady. Quality was mostly average to attractive this week. Demand was mostly good to very good with the best demand seen for cows which lost calves. Demand for young feeding quality cows was good this week and stronger the last few weeks.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $295.38/cwt on 48 head. That ranks 1 of 21 comparable sales and sits −138.49 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$295.38

48 head · 546 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,612

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$354

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Large 1

$65.67/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.25

vs MT average

+22.35 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	546	310.67	1,696	24
Medium and Large 1-2	544	301.14	1,638	15thin
Large 1	548	245.00	1,343	9thin

One grade step is worth $65.67/cwt here — about $354 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 500–600 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

21 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $469.35, low $332.50, median $433.86 across 21 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale48 hd

295.38

—

MT average3 barns · 57 hd

295.62

−0.25

National average170 barns · 13,742 hd

273.03

+22.35

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−138.49

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	1,782	150.99	2,690	38
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,592	136.86	2,178	49
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,376	135.06	1,859	164
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,170	129.09	1,510	142

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)	1,259	$2,227	8
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,195	$2,100	3thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,235	$1,950	2thin
Bulls	N/A	(<2 yrs)	1,099	$2,535	8
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,599	$3,194	9
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,491	$2,642	17
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,348	$2,370	18

Every lot, as filed

76 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	450–500	490	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,813	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,288	138.83/cwt	137.00–140.00	1,788	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,195	2,100.00/head	2,100.00–2,100.00	2,100	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,121	160.97/cwt	140.00–188.00	1,804	53
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,677	3,450.00/head	3,450.00–3,450.00	3,450	7
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,348	2,369.60/head	2,350.00–2,375.00	2,370	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	623	294.00/cwt	294.00–294.00	1,832	83
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	484	328.61/cwt	325.00–332.50	1,590	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	300–350	328	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	1,082	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	759	264.00/cwt	264.00–264.00	2,004	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1150–1200	1,185	187.50/cwt	187.50–187.50	2,222	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	860	213.00/cwt	213.00–213.00	1,832	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	530	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,696	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	563	349.00/cwt	349.00–349.00	1,965	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	554	306.00/cwt	306.00–306.00	1,695	16
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,491	2,641.80/head	2,550.00–2,900.00	2,642	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	931	214.85/cwt	212.00–215.00	2,000	60
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,328	2,300.00/head	2,300.00–2,300.00	2,300	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	785	251.00/cwt	251.00–251.00	1,970	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	963	199.85/cwt	161.00–237.00	1,925	52
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	730	242.70/cwt	240.00–248.00	1,772	8
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	413	326.63/cwt	320.00–330.00	1,349	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	895	213.00/cwt	213.00–213.00	1,906	41
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	685	286.00/cwt	286.00–286.00	1,959	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,235	1,950.00/head	1,950.00–1,950.00	1,950	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,259	2,226.67/head	2,100.00–2,400.00	2,227	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	743	242.00/cwt	242.00–242.00	1,798	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	570	294.89/cwt	282.50–297.00	1,681	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	948	163.63/cwt	150.00–177.50	1,551	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,135	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,600	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	787	227.23/cwt	226.00–228.00	1,788	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	663	241.24/cwt	240.00–246.00	1,599	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,215	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,652	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,505	155.41/cwt	154.00–157.50	2,339	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,619	139.43/cwt	139.00–142.00	2,257	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,368	135.82/cwt	129.00–138.50	1,858	29
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,528	139.83/cwt	132.00–149.00	2,137	10
Bulls	—	—	1,733	143.25/cwt	135.00–148.00	2,483	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,566	137.37/cwt	135.50–141.50	2,151	29
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,455	139.75/cwt	139.50–140.00	2,033	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,180	129.11/cwt	122.00–136.00	1,523	52
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,105	119.81/cwt	115.00–123.00	1,324	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,591	129.97/cwt	122.00–133.50	2,068	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,463	121.61/cwt	116.00–125.00	1,779	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,730	144.15/cwt	142.00–146.00	2,494	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,131	115.51/cwt	103.00–121.00	1,306	10
Bulls	—	—	1,863	154.51/cwt	149.00–163.00	2,879	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	942	89.73/cwt	82.50–97.50	845	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,189	94.88/cwt	90.00–100.00	1,128	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,168	128.83/cwt	123.00–134.50	1,505	11
Heifers	Large 1	500–550	548	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,343	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,347	137.31/cwt	133.50–139.50	1,850	92
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,185	137.79/cwt	136.50–140.00	1,633	56
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,446	129.20/cwt	118.00–133.00	1,868	31
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,403	141.06/cwt	140.00–144.00	1,979	4
Bulls	—	—	2,095	164.14/cwt	162.00–165.00	3,439	7
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,214	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	2,294	4
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,290	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	2,064	1
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,160	197.00/cwt	197.00–197.00	2,285	1
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,090	173.59/cwt	171.00–176.00	1,892	2
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,127	196.00/cwt	196.00–196.00	2,209	6
Bulls	Large 1Registered	—	1,099	2,535.21/head	2,500.00–2,650.00	2,535	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	521	306.61/cwt	305.00–307.50	1,597	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	470	314.80/cwt	310.00–317.50	1,480	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	578	316.22/cwt	310.00–322.50	1,828	2
Heifers	Medium 1	450–500	480	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,440	4
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	650	244.00/cwt	244.00–244.00	1,586	4
Bulls	Large 1	550–600	553	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,410	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	714	242.50/cwt	242.50–242.50	1,731	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	975	209.00/cwt	209.00–209.00	2,038	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	750–800	781	232.00/cwt	232.00–232.00	1,812	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	825	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	1,856	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	300–350	346	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,315	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	495	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,361	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	660	304.00/cwt	304.00–304.00	2,006	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	620	318.00/cwt	318.00–318.00	1,972	1

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 →