Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2025-01-23
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-01-23

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder steer calves under 700 lbs sold generally steady in a narrow comparison; steers over 700 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Heifer calves were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand remains good to very good. Offerings were light to moderate. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Almost all calves were weaned over 50 days and were in mostly light flesh. Package sizes were mostly small to moderate with a few partial load lots on offer. Market activity was active this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 4.00-8.00 higher on all classes. Packers opted to send all cows to slaughter this week as they showed very good demand for cows and bulls for immediate harvest. Feeding cows sold on good to very good demand this week as well. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00-10.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week. Many young cows were purchased to feed again this week.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $309.51/cwt on 319 head. That ranks 1 of 21 comparable sales and sits −124.35 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$309.51

319 head · 568 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,758

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$141

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium and Large 1-2

$9.44/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−8.40

vs MT average

+5.09 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	581	313.43	1,820	182
Large 1	535	308.73	1,652	9thin
Medium and Large 1-2	552	304.00	1,678	128

One grade step is worth $9.44/cwt here — about $141 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 300–400 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 sale319 hd

309.51

—

MT average4 barns · 1,201 hd

317.92

−8.40

National average149 barns · 17,148 hd

304.42

+5.09

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−124.35

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	2,026	147.32	2,984	12
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,647	140.61	2,316	23
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,383	131.06	1,813	41
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,193	113.70	1,356	58

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/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	950	$1,975	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,389	$1,900	5
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,420	$1,800	1thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,293	$1,725	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,258	$1,600	5

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
Steers	Large 1	800–850	835	266.00/cwt	266.00–266.00	2,221	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	393	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	1,297	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	713	301.73/cwt	293.00–304.50	2,151	44
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	940	247.00/cwt	247.00–247.00	2,322	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	785	281.47/cwt	274.00–287.50	2,210	79
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	905	237.00/cwt	237.00–237.00	2,145	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	684	304.45/cwt	300.00–313.00	2,082	68
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,003	217.00/cwt	217.00–217.00	2,177	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	486	383.27/cwt	373.00–393.00	1,863	44
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	518	329.67/cwt	327.50–331.00	1,708	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	893	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	2,277	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	719	267.87/cwt	259.00–273.00	1,926	54
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	587	311.76/cwt	309.00–322.00	1,830	165
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	424	384.08/cwt	350.00–397.00	1,628	30
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	375	393.16/cwt	390.00–400.00	1,474	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	477	358.14/cwt	339.00–377.00	1,708	169
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	524	369.48/cwt	345.00–379.00	1,936	72
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	571	297.84/cwt	294.50–311.00	1,701	87
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,083	182.46/cwt	150.00–214.00	1,976	50
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	678	276.78/cwt	268.00–284.00	1,877	94
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	999	228.00/cwt	228.00–228.00	2,278	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	623	295.74/cwt	281.00–300.00	1,842	26
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,293	1,725.00/head	1,725.00–1,725.00	1,725	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	368	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	1,509	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,420	1,800.00/head	1,800.00–1,800.00	1,800	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,389	1,900.00/head	1,900.00–1,900.00	1,900	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,192	153.51/cwt	132.00–210.00	1,830	30
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	737	279.48/cwt	276.00–286.00	2,060	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,258	1,600.00/head	1,600.00–1,600.00	1,600	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	408	353.40/cwt	342.50–355.00	1,442	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	512	317.06/cwt	299.00–320.00	1,623	41
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	463	320.83/cwt	312.00–340.00	1,485	33
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	934	188.70/cwt	172.00–201.00	1,762	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	914	249.00/cwt	249.00–249.00	2,276	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	752	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	2,068	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	439	382.92/cwt	372.00–390.00	1,681	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	654	298.42/cwt	295.00–299.00	1,952	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	640	294.00/cwt	294.00–294.00	1,882	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	488	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,781	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	775	251.00/cwt	251.00–251.00	1,945	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,689	141.01/cwt	140.00–141.50	2,382	17
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,590	141.50/cwt	141.50–141.50	2,250	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,498	138.32/cwt	138.00–139.00	2,072	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,463	138.01/cwt	136.00–142.00	2,019	8
Bulls	—	—	1,979	139.14/cwt	137.00–142.00	2,754	4
Bulls	—	—	2,049	151.41/cwt	147.00–153.00	3,102	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,224	132.11/cwt	123.00–134.50	1,617	9
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,575	144.50/cwt	144.50–144.50	2,276	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,468	119.98/cwt	118.00–123.00	1,761	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,430	112.72/cwt	108.00–117.00	1,612	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,348	131.57/cwt	124.00–134.00	1,774	28
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,505	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	2,047	1
Heifers	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,110	201.00/cwt	201.00–201.00	2,231	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,190	100.21/cwt	96.00–109.00	1,192	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,270	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,461	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,102	81.49/cwt	75.00–87.00	898	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	990	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	713	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,199	116.53/cwt	108.00–124.00	1,397	36
Steers	Large 1	1250–1300	1,296	193.50/cwt	193.50–193.50	2,508	4
Steers	Large 1	950–1000	987	236.00/cwt	236.00–236.00	2,329	3
Heifers	Large 1	650–700	664	262.53/cwt	259.00–265.00	1,743	4
Heifers	Large 1	1250–1300	1,257	191.00/cwt	191.00–191.00	2,401	6
Heifers	Large 1	750–800	787	238.48/cwt	235.00–242.00	1,877	6
Steers	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,109	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	2,495	9
Steers	Large 1	750–800	782	271.29/cwt	261.00–275.50	2,121	24
Steers	Large 1	700–750	722	268.10/cwt	260.00–281.00	1,936	14
Heifers	Large 1	500–550	535	308.73/cwt	307.00–323.00	1,652	9
Steers	Large 1	650–700	663	287.00/cwt	287.00–287.00	1,903	12
Bulls	Large 1	1000–1050	1,020	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	2,295	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	383	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,455	10
Heifers	Medium 1	400–450	439	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	1,493	4
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	950	1,975.00/head	1,975.00–1,975.00	1,975	2
Steers	Large 1	600–650	646	277.50/cwt	277.50–277.50	1,793	7
Steers	Large 1	500–550	512	341.65/cwt	337.50–342.50	1,749	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	627	319.26/cwt	314.00–330.00	2,002	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	800–850	815	263.00/cwt	263.00–263.00	2,143	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	591	322.44/cwt	319.00–328.00	1,906	24
Steers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	634	292.50/cwt	292.50–292.50	1,854	8
Steers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	657	267.50/cwt	267.50–267.50	1,757	6
Steers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	466	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,445	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	777	259.14/cwt	259.00–259.50	2,014	46
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	575	342.15/cwt	335.00–352.00	1,967	73
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	627	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,881	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	825	246.00/cwt	246.00–246.00	2,030	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	400–450	425	395.00/cwt	395.00–395.00	1,679	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	850–900	851	278.50/cwt	278.50–278.50	2,370	49
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	426	412.28/cwt	405.00–437.50	1,756	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	369	440.00/cwt	440.00–440.00	1,624	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	812	275.07/cwt	268.00–280.50	2,234	54

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 →