Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2025-09-04
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-09-04

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale: Feeder steers were all too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Yearling heifers over 950 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher. Heifers under 950 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed on a much lighter offering. Too few light weight yearling heifers sold today for buyers to build loads which hindered demand. Demand was mostly very good for steers while heifer demand was mostly good. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. A few calves are starting to come to market and demand for limited offerings was very good. Too few calves were seen to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand for cutting bulls remains very good. Cutting bull quality today was mostly plain to average. Many blemished yearlings continue to come to market and even blemished offerings sold with moderate to good demand. Market activity was active with rapid, aggressive bidding noticed both ringside and over the internet. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Slaughter cows sold on mostly moderate demand. Very few cows were purchased for immediate slaughter this week. Only very blemished cows were purchased for slaughter this week as feeding demand continues to keep cow prices over slaughter cow orders. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Feeding cow demand remains very good this sale with most offerings being purchased to feed. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this week with most offerings pushing heavy amounts of fill due to the change of weather. Cow quality was mostly average this sale. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly good demand for moderate offerings. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Several packages of thin fleshed bulls continue to be purchased to feed. Feeding bulls sold generally steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Quality this week was mostly average. Too few offerings were seen to develop any market trend.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $442.09/cwt on 63 head. That ranks 3 of 21 comparable sales and sits −45.69 against this barn's trailing median of $487.78.

Average price

$442.09

63 head · 542 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,397

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$440

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 2

$110.41/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+0.00

vs MT average

+25.56 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	529	470.41	2,488	41
Medium and Large 2	535	415.00	2,220	6thin
Medium 1-2	586	395.00	2,315	9thin
Medium 2	569	360.00	2,048	7thin

One grade step is worth $110.41/cwt here — about $440 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

Steers 500–600 lb: high $525.97, low $398.08, median $487.78 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 sale63 hd

442.09

—

MT average1 barns · 63 hd

442.09

+0.00

National average140 barns · 6,808 hd

416.53

+25.56

This barn, trailing median21 sales

487.78

−45.69

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	1,762	188.15	3,315	98
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,613	164.76	2,658	38
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,462	160.89	2,352	49
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,141	133.74	1,526	27

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 Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,345	$2,450	2thin
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,253	$2,104	4thin

Every lot, as filed

116 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	950–1000	962	331.86/cwt	331.00–332.00	3,192	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	458	517.50/cwt	517.50–517.50	2,370	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	300–350	310	555.00/cwt	555.00–555.00	1,721	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	519	482.66/cwt	470.00–502.50	2,505	34
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	519	398.61/cwt	395.00–410.00	2,069	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	563	356.69/cwt	350.00–360.00	2,008	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	645	332.50/cwt	332.50–332.50	2,145	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	650–700	661	345.18/cwt	333.00–357.00	2,282	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	466	414.04/cwt	400.00–425.00	1,929	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	200–250	240	605.00/cwt	605.00–605.00	1,452	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	440	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	1,892	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	657	417.12/cwt	414.00–437.50	2,740	55
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	250–300	265	510.00/cwt	510.00–510.00	1,352	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	442	514.96/cwt	505.00–525.00	2,276	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	612	403.60/cwt	400.00–412.50	2,470	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,030	307.00/cwt	307.00–307.00	3,162	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	403	512.50/cwt	512.50–512.50	2,065	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	927	295.59/cwt	295.00–302.00	2,740	12
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	831	323.00/cwt	323.00–323.00	2,684	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	650–700	678	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,509	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	475	432.50/cwt	432.50–432.50	2,054	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	753	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,410	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	965	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	3,040	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	708	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,443	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	389	422.69/cwt	400.00–435.00	1,644	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	485	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,843	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	824	355.29/cwt	352.50–359.00	2,928	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	665	406.00/cwt	406.00–406.00	2,700	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	777	357.25/cwt	347.00–359.00	2,776	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	759	390.90/cwt	388.00–398.00	2,967	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	549	415.00/cwt	415.00–415.00	2,278	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	591	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,364	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	824	372.58/cwt	355.00–383.50	3,070	61
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	834	332.30/cwt	329.00–336.00	2,771	13
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	971	302.00/cwt	302.00–302.00	2,932	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	728	407.91/cwt	406.00–415.00	2,970	29
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	577	410.93/cwt	400.00–427.50	2,371	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,050	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	3,234	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	739	369.90/cwt	367.00–380.00	2,734	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	760	347.50/cwt	347.50–347.50	2,641	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	906	325.38/cwt	322.00–327.00	2,948	40
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	1000–1050	1,038	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	2,855	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	912	348.00/cwt	348.00–348.00	3,174	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	866	361.13/cwt	351.00–367.00	3,127	96
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	850–900	877	311.00/cwt	311.00–311.00	2,727	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	1000–1050	1,034	312.27/cwt	310.00–313.00	3,229	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	822	349.63/cwt	341.00–352.50	2,874	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,008	313.82/cwt	299.00–322.00	3,163	58
Steers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,026	322.33/cwt	319.00–326.00	3,307	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	950–1000	990	291.00/cwt	291.00–291.00	2,881	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	743	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	2,675	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	961	320.47/cwt	314.00–323.00	3,080	52
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,233	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	1,751	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,168	156.67/cwt	156.00–157.00	1,830	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	645	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	710	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	963	127.17/cwt	120.00–137.50	1,225	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,496	165.23/cwt	157.00–170.00	2,472	21
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,420	153.42/cwt	148.00–158.00	2,179	13
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,505	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	2,408	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,401	172.34/cwt	170.00–175.00	2,414	8
Bulls	—	—	1,873	190.93/cwt	189.00–193.00	3,576	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,576	180.92/cwt	172.50–187.00	2,851	25
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,180	130.56/cwt	122.50–143.00	1,541	17
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,670	155.85/cwt	148.00–161.50	2,603	7
Bulls	—	—	1,971	192.36/cwt	187.00–200.00	3,791	31
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,602	168.02/cwt	158.00–169.00	2,692	25
Bulls	—	—	2,077	206.63/cwt	201.00–216.00	4,292	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Non-Traditional	—	1,305	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	2,349	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,593	147.08/cwt	141.00–153.00	2,343	2
Bulls	—	—	1,711	185.67/cwt	173.00–280.00	3,177	17
Steers	Large 1Fleshy	1150–1200	1,199	273.50/cwt	273.50–273.50	3,279	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,506	140.14/cwt	132.50–145.00	2,111	4
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,590	187.73/cwt	169.00–192.00	2,985	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,240	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	1,810	1
Bulls	—Non-Traditional	—	1,258	169.82/cwt	163.00–177.00	2,136	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,693	165.08/cwt	163.00–169.00	2,795	3
Steers	Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	436	495.00/cwt	495.00–495.00	2,158	4
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,090	297.22/cwt	291.00–297.50	3,240	22
Heifers	Large 1Fleshy	1200–1250	1,245	244.00/cwt	244.00–244.00	3,038	3
Steers	Large 1Fleshy	1450–1500	1,453	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	3,197	6
Steers	Large 1Full	1150–1200	1,152	291.00/cwt	291.00–291.00	3,352	10
Heifers	Large 1Fleshy	1100–1150	1,116	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	3,024	10
Bulls	Large 1-2	1150–1200	1,153	274.00/cwt	274.00–274.00	3,159	2
Heifers	Large 1-2Fleshy	1150–1200	1,175	274.50/cwt	274.50–274.50	3,225	6
Steers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,056	319.49/cwt	312.00–320.00	3,374	16
Heifers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,117	290.33/cwt	290.00–291.00	3,243	3
Heifers	Large 1	950–1000	966	298.00/cwt	298.00–298.00	2,879	18
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	950–1000	992	319.00/cwt	319.00–319.00	3,164	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	999	316.20/cwt	314.00–325.00	3,159	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	891	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	2,673	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	859	343.50/cwt	333.00–349.00	2,951	14
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,345	2,450.00/head	2,450.00–2,450.00	2,450	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	900–950	901	302.00/cwt	302.00–302.00	2,721	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	918	332.06/cwt	329.00–338.00	3,048	10
Steers	Medium and Large 2	800–850	843	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	2,719	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	535	415.00/cwt	415.00–415.00	2,220	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	733	386.00/cwt	386.00–386.00	2,829	9
Heifers	Medium 2Unweaned	350–400	350	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	1,348	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,253	2,103.57/head	2,000.00–2,200.00	2,104	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,255	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	2,284	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,240	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	2,083	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,117	228.57/cwt	204.00–250.00	2,553	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,328	180.80/cwt	179.00–182.00	2,401	5
Heifers	Medium 1-2	600–650	605	360.80/cwt	347.50–361.00	2,183	68
Heifers	Medium 1-2	650–700	689	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,377	5
Steers	Medium 1-2	600–650	620	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,387	1
Steers	Medium 2	550–600	569	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	2,048	7
Steers	Medium 1-2	550–600	586	395.00/cwt	395.00–395.00	2,315	9
Steers	Medium 1-2	650–700	654	366.37/cwt	345.00–370.00	2,396	14
Steers	Large 1-2	1350–1400	1,378	230.77/cwt	229.00–232.50	3,180	2
Steers	Medium 1	650–700	656	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,394	4
Steers	Medium 1	750–800	764	351.00/cwt	351.00–351.00	2,682	7
Heifers	Medium 1	900–950	905	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,760	4
Steers	Medium 1	600–650	633	416.00/cwt	416.00–416.00	2,633	2
Heifers	Medium 1	750–800	778	328.00/cwt	328.00–328.00	2,552	17
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 2-3	700–750	720	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,692	3

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 →