Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2024-09-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-09-12

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale: Feeder calves and yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers sold steady to 2.00 lower on 850-899 lbs, all other weights of yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed. CME positions have seen positive movement almost daily this week. Offerings were light today and many buyers were not willing to start loads as this is the last sale of the week. Demand for feeder cattle was mostly moderate for light offerings. Quality today was mostly average. Most cattle were offered in small packages or as singles this week. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate this week. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold steady to 2.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Cow and bull quality was mostly average this week. Most cows continue to show lighter body condition scores as dry weather is starting to pull cows down. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week. Bull quality this sale was mostly average. Many bulls have been turned out and were in light flesh. Demand for feeding bulls was significantly lighter this as only packer buyers purchased bulls to feed this week. Feeding bulls sold 5.00-7.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested this sale to develop any market trend. Quality was mostly average this week.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $234.07/cwt on 15 head. That ranks 1 of 21 comparable sales and sits −199.80 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$234.07

15 head · 548 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,282

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$93

per head · Large 1 over Medium and Large 1

$8.00/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−8.83

vs MT average

−4.54 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Large 1	536	238.00	1,276	7thin
Medium and Large 1-2	536	231.00	1,239	5thin
Medium and Large 1	595	230.00	1,369	3thin

One grade step is worth $8.00/cwt here — about −$93 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 900–1000 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 sale15 hd

234.07

—

MT average2 barns · 34 hd

242.90

−8.83

National average182 barns · 14,937 hd

238.61

−4.54

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−199.80

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	—	Low	1,803	146.46	2,640	70
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Average	1,918	143.75	2,757	4thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,719	138.62	2,383	20
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,438	131.23	1,886	85
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,198	126.39	1,514	21
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,055	104.00	1,097	1thin

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	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,120	$1,900	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,230	$1,900	3thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,118	$1,896	15

Every lot, as filed

69 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
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,230	147.19/cwt	135.00–158.00	1,810	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	395	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,086	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	800	227.00/cwt	227.00–227.00	1,816	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	864	220.15/cwt	220.00–220.50	1,902	59
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	559	242.50/cwt	242.50–242.50	1,356	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,120	1,900.00/head	1,900.00–1,900.00	1,900	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,230	1,900.00/head	1,900.00–1,900.00	1,900	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,013	201.50/cwt	201.50–201.50	2,041	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	933	213.29/cwt	213.00–216.00	1,990	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	527	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,238	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,140	1,972.58/head	1,900.00–2,000.00	1,973	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	595	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,369	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,067	206.50/cwt	206.50–206.50	2,203	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	250–300	290	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,030	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	820	205.00/cwt	205.00–205.00	1,681	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	425	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,105	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	830	236.00/cwt	236.00–236.00	1,959	22
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	500	249.00/cwt	249.00–249.00	1,245	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	455	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	1,297	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	550	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	1,238	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	975	201.00/cwt	201.00–201.00	1,960	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	463	267.00/cwt	267.00–267.00	1,236	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	880	229.50/cwt	229.50–229.50	2,020	13
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,044	1,702.04/head	1,600.00–1,750.00	1,702	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	582	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	1,397	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	650–700	693	215.50/cwt	215.50–215.50	1,493	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,087	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	2,054	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,000	197.00/cwt	197.00–197.00	1,970	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,505	118.38/cwt	111.00–125.00	1,782	14
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,444	132.09/cwt	127.00–139.00	1,907	45
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,611	141.42/cwt	127.50–144.00	2,278	8
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,574	151.53/cwt	147.00–155.00	2,385	5
Bulls	—	—	1,904	150.94/cwt	145.00–157.00	2,874	39
Bulls	—	—	1,721	136.88/cwt	132.00–143.00	2,356	15
Bulls	—	—	2,110	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	2,975	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,666	135.50/cwt	133.00–139.00	2,257	5
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,055	104.00/cwt	104.00–104.00	1,097	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,164	117.77/cwt	103.00–120.00	1,371	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,200	142.01/cwt	140.00–143.00	1,704	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,217	128.18/cwt	125.00–130.00	1,560	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,691	138.01/cwt	136.50–138.50	2,334	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,338	142.21/cwt	140.00–144.00	1,903	17
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,515	109.00/cwt	109.00–109.00	1,651	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,230	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	1,501	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,442	131.95/cwt	126.00–135.00	1,903	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,557	122.16/cwt	119.00–125.50	1,902	3
Dairy Steers	Large 3	550–600	598	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	807	2
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,290	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,613	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,900	120.50/cwt	120.50–120.50	2,290	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,739	142.23/cwt	141.50–144.50	2,473	10
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,918	143.75/cwt	143.75–143.75	2,757	4
Bulls	—	—	1,958	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	3,074	1
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,250	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	2,113	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,160	1,950.00/head	1,950.00–1,950.00	1,950	3
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,098	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	2,141	19
Steers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,115	200.50/cwt	200.50–200.50	2,236	2
Bulls	Large 1-2	1250–1300	1,263	163.96/cwt	158.00–170.00	2,071	2
Heifers	Large 1Unweaned	500–550	536	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	1,276	7
Bulls	Large 1-2	1200–1250	1,205	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	2,049	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	705	233.00/cwt	233.00–233.00	1,643	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	830	228.00/cwt	228.00–228.00	1,892	4
Steers	Large 1	1150–1200	1,155	193.00/cwt	193.00–193.00	2,229	5
Heifers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,013	187.50/cwt	187.50–187.50	1,899	6
Heifers	Large 1	900–950	939	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	1,831	7
Steers	Large 1Unweaned	500–550	515	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,313	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,131	159.06/cwt	153.00–170.50	1,799	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1250–1300	1,260	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	2,129	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	995	206.00/cwt	206.00–206.00	2,050	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	250–300	278	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	917	2

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 →