Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2025-06-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-06-12

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder steer and heifer calves were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Demand was mostly good to very good for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. The bulk of the feeder offering was comprised of fall calves. Most calves were weaned from 45-60 days. Demand improved significantly as additional buyers entered the market and started loads. This led to wide price spreads at times. Demand for black hided calves was very good. Demand for cutting bulls remains very good as several buyers were searching for bulls to cut and make steers. Market activity was active with good participation noticed both ringside and over the internet. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand. Too few cows were purchased for slaughter to develop any market trend. Demand for feeding cows was good to very good which kept cow prices mostly above slaughter ticket prices. Feeding cows sold 1.00-3.00 higher. Cow quality this week was mostly average to attractive and similar to last week. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week, but overall cows offered buyers an average to above average weigh up. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate to heavy offerings. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. 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 were seen again this week. True wet bag offerings sell at similar prices for 2 or 3 year offerings. Young age cows sold generally steady. Demand for young feeding cows was very good this sale as several buyers were looking for large offerings with some flesh to finish quickly. Several large consignments of bred cows and pairs was seen this week. Demand for all replacement stock was good to very good. Quality was average to attractive.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $397.54/cwt on 112 head. That ranks 4 of 21 comparable sales and sits −36.33 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$397.54

112 head · 567 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,254

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$608

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

$84.92/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+9.36

vs MT average

+56.62 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	570	405.75	2,311	99
Medium and Large 1-2	563	360.00	2,027	3thin
Large 1	558	337.50	1,883	4thin
Medium and Large 2	531	320.83	1,703	6thin

One grade step is worth $84.92/cwt here — about $608 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 sale112 hd

397.54

—

MT average3 barns · 173 hd

388.17

+9.36

National average161 barns · 10,769 hd

340.92

+56.62

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−36.33

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	1,879	184.34	3,463	53
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,414	160.62	2,271	193
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,665	154.29	2,569	36
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,198	151.44	1,814	72

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)	1,193	$3,225	32
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,183	$3,100	6
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,550	$2,954	16
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,025	$2,900	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,638	$2,900	2thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,275	$2,900	3thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,318	$2,875	4thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,125	$2,819	18
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,635	$2,750	1thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,041	$3,000	7
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,275	$2,700	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,195	$4,400	140
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,433	$4,350	8
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,432	$4,188	16
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,622	$3,849	45
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,585	$3,509	80
Heifer Pairs	Open	(<2 yrs)	1,051	$4,167	85
Stock Cows	Open	(<2 yrs)	528	$1,063	11

Every lot, as filed

123 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	650–700	680	333.22/cwt	331.00–340.00	2,266	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	825	264.00/cwt	264.00–264.00	2,178	3
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,071	4,450.00/head	4,450.00–4,450.00	4,450	27
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,433	4,350.00/head	4,350.00–4,350.00	4,350	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	853	284.00/cwt	284.00–284.00	2,423	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	680	330.41/cwt	317.00–354.00	2,247	19
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,625	3,700.00/head	3,700.00–3,700.00	3,700	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,149	4,155.22/head	4,000.00–4,300.00	4,155	12
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,126	3,800.00/head	3,800.00–3,800.00	3,800	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	482	407.50/cwt	407.50–407.50	1,964	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	528	401.44/cwt	400.00–410.00	2,120	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	563	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	2,027	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	935	263.00/cwt	263.00–263.00	2,459	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	971	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	2,767	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	527	397.98/cwt	390.00–400.00	2,097	19
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	572	400.38/cwt	380.00–411.00	2,290	49
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	710	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	2,254	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	618	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,978	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	731	337.00/cwt	337.00–337.00	2,463	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	474	382.50/cwt	382.50–382.50	1,813	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	985	262.00/cwt	262.00–262.00	2,581	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	579	401.46/cwt	381.00–414.50	2,324	79
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	985	254.00/cwt	254.00–254.00	2,502	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	610	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,013	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	655	366.87/cwt	340.00–371.00	2,403	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	799	326.00/cwt	326.00–326.00	2,605	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	753	325.95/cwt	305.00–329.00	2,454	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	835	282.50/cwt	282.50–282.50	2,359	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	650	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	2,064	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	373	411.93/cwt	400.00–422.50	1,536	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,387	4,300.00/head	4,300.00–4,300.00	4,300	13
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,599	3,621.66/head	3,350.00–3,750.00	3,622	62
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	550–600	592	419.00/cwt	419.00–419.00	2,480	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	618	358.44/cwt	350.00–395.00	2,215	104
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,536	3,098.36/head	3,000.00–3,200.00	3,098	16
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,278	3,750.00/head	3,750.00–3,750.00	3,750	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,622	3,848.90/head	3,650.00–4,050.00	3,849	45
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,197	4,483.06/head	4,350.00–4,550.00	4,483	119
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,101	4,300.00/head	4,300.00–4,300.00	4,300	10
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,538	3,300.00/head	3,300.00–3,300.00	3,300	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,398	160.90/cwt	153.00–165.00	2,249	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,558	2,990.68/head	2,600.00–3,200.00	2,991	15
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,025	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,415	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	2,377	2
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,119	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	4
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,041	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,635	2,750.00/head	2,750.00–2,750.00	2,750	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,193	3,225.00/head	3,225.00–3,225.00	3,225	32
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,183	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,049	225.97/cwt	190.00–270.00	2,370	60
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,045	203.96/cwt	180.00–242.50	2,131	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,318	2,875.00/head	2,875.00–2,875.00	2,875	4
Stock Cows	Small 2-3	—	528	1,063.29/head	1,000.00–1,150.00	1,063	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,638	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,430	2,400.00/head	2,400.00–2,400.00	2,400	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,462	130.82/cwt	130.00–132.50	1,913	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,430	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	2,331	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,617	156.09/cwt	153.00–157.00	2,524	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,206	145.94/cwt	139.00–150.50	1,760	12
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,608	166.31/cwt	161.00–168.00	2,674	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,233	157.26/cwt	152.00–160.00	1,939	32
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,395	164.62/cwt	159.00–168.00	2,296	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,113	124.46/cwt	117.50–137.00	1,385	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,050	107.50/cwt	107.50–107.50	1,129	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,703	150.48/cwt	150.00–153.00	2,563	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,213	162.21/cwt	159.00–166.00	1,968	19
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,398	159.06/cwt	152.00–163.00	2,224	86
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	940	108.17/cwt	105.00–115.00	1,017	4
Bulls	—	—	2,090	201.00/cwt	201.00–201.00	4,201	1
Bulls	—	—	1,914	183.25/cwt	175.00–188.00	3,507	24
Bulls	—	—	1,460	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	2,438	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,729	144.91/cwt	140.00–150.00	2,505	10
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,725	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	3,140	2
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	885	232.50/cwt	232.50–232.50	2,058	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,210	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	1,634	1
Bulls	—	—	1,985	197.27/cwt	191.00–213.00	3,916	15
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,432	165.42/cwt	163.00–170.00	2,369	91
Bulls	—	—	2,428	186.00/cwt	186.00–186.00	4,516	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,381	142.62/cwt	130.00–150.00	1,970	12
Steers	Large 1	550–600	587	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	2,231	11
Bulls	Large 1	1050–1100	1,068	254.64/cwt	252.50–255.00	2,720	7
Bulls	Large 1	700–750	732	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,233	6
Bulls	Large 1	1350–1400	1,355	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	2,710	1
Bulls	Large 1Fancy	1200–1250	1,240	216.00/cwt	216.00–216.00	2,678	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Large 1	—	1,390	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	2
Heifers	Large 1	550–600	558	337.50/cwt	337.50–337.50	1,883	4
Steers	Large 1-2	450–500	475	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,805	2
Heifers	Large 1-2	450–500	485	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,528	2
Bulls	Large 1-2	1350–1400	1,350	184.00/cwt	184.00–184.00	2,484	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1250–1300	1,260	182.50/cwt	182.50–182.50	2,300	1
Steers	Large 1	700–750	718	311.00/cwt	311.00–311.00	2,233	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	765	252.50/cwt	252.50–252.50	1,932	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	708	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	2,181	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	542	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	1,938	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	475	371.06/cwt	355.00–402.50	1,763	9
Steers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	408	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	1,836	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	481	359.23/cwt	350.00–365.00	1,728	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	788	289.00/cwt	289.00–289.00	2,277	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	800–850	825	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,310	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	535	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	2,033	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	615	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,876	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	521	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	1,680	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	417	422.50/cwt	422.50–422.50	1,762	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	580	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	1,813	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	635	354.00/cwt	354.00–354.00	2,248	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	350–400	391	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	1,271	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,275	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,068	180.07/cwt	160.00–200.00	1,923	20
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	660	274.98/cwt	272.50–280.00	1,815	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	519	327.60/cwt	325.00–335.00	1,700	4
Steers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	748	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,094	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	391	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,427	14
Heifer Pairs	Medium 1	—	1,022	4,069.08/head	3,850.00–4,250.00	4,069	44
Heifers	Medium 1	450–500	498	375.00/cwt	375.00–375.00	1,868	5
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,275	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,170	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	2,018	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,148	189.76/cwt	161.00–250.00	2,178	111
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,125	2,818.55/head	2,700.00–2,825.00	2,819	18
Steers	Large 1	500–550	505	387.50/cwt	387.50–387.50	1,957	4
Heifers	Large 1	750–800	780	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	2,192	3
Heifers	Large 1	700–750	710	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,201	4
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,245	201.00/cwt	201.00–201.00	2,502	1
Steers	Large 1	800–850	811	292.00/cwt	292.00–292.00	2,368	8

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 →