Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2025-05-15
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-05-15

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last reported sale(5-8-25): Feeder steer and heifer calves were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain. Many cattle were cutback cattle out of grow lots. A large portion of the feeder cattle offering continues to be comprised of very plain or unreportable, blemished offerings. Many producers continue to clean out pens and bring odd offerings to town. Feeder cattle were offered in mostly small packages or as singles this sale. Demand for cutting bulls was very good as several buyers were looking for bulls to cut and make steers. Market activity was moderate to active with good participation noticed both ringside and over the internet. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Slaughter cows sold on mostly light demand as packers continue to try and buy cattle lower. A heavy offering of cows allowed packer buyers to buy slaughter cows lower, especially late in the sale as feeding buyers filled loads. A larger portion of the cow offering was purchased for slaughter this week. Slaughter cows sold steady on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold 1.00-3.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Feeding demand remains stronger than slaughter demand. Feeding demand was uneven as buyers entered and exited the market before the entire sale was over. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower on all cows purchased to feed. Demand for cows was lighter late in the sale as buyers filled loads. Cow quality this week was average to very attractive and overall more attractive than last weeks sale. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average this week as many cows are starting to empty out due to being turned out on grass. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good to very good demand. Quality this week was mixed. Many young cows which never calved continue to be seen. These offerings are selling at a discount to wet bagged offerings. Very few true wet bagged offerings are being seen. True wet bag offerings sell at similar prices for 2 or 3 year old offerings.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $311.68/cwt on 12 head. That ranks 1 of 21 comparable sales and sits −122.18 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$311.68

12 head · 567 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,766

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$152

per head · Large 1 over Large 1-2

$72.50/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−15.54

vs MT average

−28.20 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Large 1	512	350.00	1,792	3thin
Medium and Large 1-2	580	316.04	1,833	5thin
Large 1-2	591	277.50	1,640	4thin

One grade step is worth $72.50/cwt here — about $152 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 sale12 hd

311.68

—

MT average3 barns · 107 hd

327.23

−15.54

National average164 barns · 12,891 hd

339.88

−28.20

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−122.18

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	1,805	178.33	3,218	66
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,397	151.58	2,117	322
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,659	147.62	2,449	89
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,178	142.32	1,677	155
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,475	136.41	2,012	3thin
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	955	107.00	1,022	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	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,272	$3,087	20
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,220	$2,956	4thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,583	$2,921	12
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,272	$2,725	6
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,184	$2,689	13
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,381	$2,659	8
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,210	$2,000	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,185	$1,725	1thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,037	$2,993	11
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,295	$2,950	1thin
Bred Heifers	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	910	$2,400	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,530	$3,550	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,455	$2,875	1thin

Every lot, as filed

93 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 and Large 1	400–450	439	377.50/cwt	377.50–377.50	1,657	7
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,091	3,050.00/head	3,050.00–3,050.00	3,050	6
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,295	2,950.00/head	2,950.00–2,950.00	2,950	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1100–1150	1,136	221.00/cwt	221.00–221.00	2,511	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	917	250.34/cwt	247.00–252.00	2,296	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	864	268.49/cwt	255.00–271.00	2,320	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	455	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,048	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	560	375.00/cwt	375.00–375.00	2,100	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,032	238.13/cwt	237.00–240.00	2,458	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	150–200	175	800.00/head	800.00–800.00	800	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	432	367.52/cwt	365.00–370.00	1,588	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	615	302.63/cwt	302.50–303.00	1,861	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	580	316.04/cwt	310.00–320.00	1,833	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	651	341.00/cwt	341.00–341.00	2,220	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	810	263.00/cwt	263.00–263.00	2,130	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	723	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,386	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	987	232.07/cwt	226.00–238.00	2,291	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	703	303.85/cwt	302.00–307.50	2,136	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	378	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	1,625	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	623	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,962	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	725	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	2,066	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	653	313.00/cwt	313.00–313.00	2,044	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,185	1,725.00/head	1,725.00–1,725.00	1,725	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	484	372.50/cwt	372.50–372.50	1,803	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	719	292.53/cwt	289.00–293.00	2,103	17
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	735	207.50/cwt	207.50–207.50	1,525	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,308	2,825.00/head	2,825.00–2,825.00	2,825	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	989	237.87/cwt	183.00–282.50	2,353	151
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	700–750	726	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,960	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	669	316.49/cwt	316.00–318.00	2,117	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	975	254.00/cwt	254.00–254.00	2,477	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,125	2,800.00/head	2,800.00–2,800.00	2,800	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,220	2,955.56/head	2,900.00–3,125.00	2,956	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,184	2,688.88/head	2,650.00–2,750.00	2,689	13
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,530	3,550.00/head	3,550.00–3,550.00	3,550	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,455	2,875.00/head	2,875.00–2,875.00	2,875	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	930	222.65/cwt	181.00–253.00	2,071	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,184	188.10/cwt	162.50–245.00	2,227	98
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,210	2,000.00/head	2,000.00–2,000.00	2,000	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,453	2,493.74/head	2,450.00–2,575.00	2,494	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	780	117.50/cwt	117.50–117.50	917	1
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	955	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	1,022	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,783	148.92/cwt	144.00–152.00	2,655	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	985	97.00/cwt	97.00–97.00	955	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,436	126.32/cwt	112.50–130.00	1,814	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,620	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	2,543	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,226	160.52/cwt	159.00–164.00	1,968	16
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,444	137.76/cwt	131.00–148.00	1,989	27
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,730	139.56/cwt	133.00–143.00	2,414	24
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,626	149.61/cwt	144.00–154.50	2,433	30
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,180	151.04/cwt	144.00–158.00	1,782	75
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,717	138.32/cwt	131.00–143.00	2,375	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,376	153.92/cwt	144.00–159.00	2,118	145
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,646	172.72/cwt	169.00–180.00	2,843	16
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,810	197.00/cwt	197.00–197.00	5,536	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,170	118.36/cwt	112.00–127.50	1,385	15
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,475	136.41/cwt	135.00–137.00	2,012	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,231	134.62/cwt	129.00–141.00	1,657	5
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,835	193.00/cwt	193.00–193.00	3,542	1
Bulls	—	—	1,888	180.56/cwt	175.00–187.00	3,409	18
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,369	141.72/cwt	125.00–149.00	1,940	57
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,168	131.60/cwt	114.00–141.00	1,537	41
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,556	157.41/cwt	154.00–161.00	2,449	14
Bulls	—	—	1,930	171.00/cwt	171.00–171.00	3,300	2
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,040	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	2,236	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,471	158.49/cwt	149.00–159.50	2,331	17
Bulls	—	—	2,054	194.23/cwt	189.00–199.50	3,989	16
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,150	104.00/cwt	104.00–104.00	1,196	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,451	159.71/cwt	147.50–169.00	2,317	12
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,054	174.44/cwt	153.00–217.00	1,839	22
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,280	3,101.80/head	2,825.00–3,300.00	3,102	19
Steers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	509	339.36/cwt	327.50–385.00	1,727	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	438	415.00/cwt	415.00–415.00	1,818	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	590	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,006	1
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	787	243.80/cwt	235.00–250.00	1,919	4
Bred Heifers	Medium 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	910	2,400.00/head	2,400.00–2,400.00	2,400	5
Heifers	Medium 1	600–650	609	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,827	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,156	188.24/cwt	164.00–203.00	2,176	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,583	2,920.53/head	2,700.00–3,050.00	2,921	12
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,240	2,850.00/head	2,850.00–2,850.00	2,850	5
Heifers	Large 1	500–550	512	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,792	3
Heifers	Large 1-2	550–600	591	277.50/cwt	277.50–277.50	1,640	4
Steers	Large 1	650–700	658	312.00/cwt	312.00–312.00	2,053	3
Steers	Large 1-2	550–600	590	334.00/cwt	334.00–334.00	1,971	4
Bulls	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,115	197.00/cwt	197.00–197.00	2,197	2
Bred Heifers	Medium 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	972	2,925.00/head	2,925.00–2,925.00	2,925	5
Bred Cows	Large 1	—	1,430	2,100.00/head	2,100.00–2,100.00	2,100	1
Bulls	Large 1Fancy	1350–1400	1,387	199.00/cwt	199.00–199.00	2,760	5
Bulls	Large 1	1050–1100	1,065	239.14/cwt	239.00–240.00	2,547	7
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,245	201.50/cwt	201.50–201.50	2,509	1
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,153	228.99/cwt	225.00–233.00	2,640	2
Bulls	Large 1	1350–1400	1,362	196.50/cwt	196.50–196.50	2,676	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,422	161.06/cwt	159.00–163.00	2,290	69

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 →