Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2026-03-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-03-12

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (3-05-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain. Demand was mostly light to moderate for light offerings. Both quality and the volume of feeders on offer limited demand this week. Quality this week was mostly plain and offered in small groups or as singles. Market activity was slow to moderate this week. A small crowd was on hand for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for light offerings. Feeding cow demand continues to drive the market. Feeding cows sold mostly steady. Good demand was seen for cows to ship north to Canada as buyers state cow prices remain higher north of the border than domestically. Weigh up conditions were mostly average this week and better than last week. A limited number of slaughter cows were purchased this week as feeding demand pushed cow prices over where slaughter buyers wanted to buy cows. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on all offerings. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady to 3.00 lower. Feeding bulls sold fully steady. Young age offerings suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain to average and significantly lower than last weeks offering.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $448.35/cwt on 18 head, down $37.75 from the prior sale. That ranks 3 of 21 comparable sales and sits −39.43 against this barn's trailing median of $487.78.

Average price

$448.35

▼ 37.75 vs prior sale

18 head · 554 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,483

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$311

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

$48.77/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−5.38

vs MT average

−23.85 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	555	453.77	2,518	16thin
Medium and Large 2	545	405.00	2,207	2thin

One grade step is worth $48.77/cwt here — about $311 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 400–500 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 sale18 hd

448.35

—

MT average3 barns · 40 hd

453.73

−5.38

National average178 barns · 10,669 hd

472.20

−23.85

This barn, trailing median21 sales

487.78

−39.43

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	1,788	198.11	3,542	25
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,423	168.00	2,390	40
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,669	165.33	2,760	14
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Average	2,060	164.00	3,378	2thin
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,105	158.16	1,748	43
Dairy Bulls	—	Low	1,090	165.00	1,799	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/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,125	$3,700	2thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,600	$3,650	3thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,032	$3,243	14
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,325	$2,900	3thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,435	$2,759	7

Every lot, as filed

76 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
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	580	402.77/cwt	380.00–425.00	2,336	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	475	470.00/cwt	470.00–470.00	2,233	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	700–750	744	337.50/cwt	337.50–337.50	2,511	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	717	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,474	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,180	2,800.00/head	2,800.00–2,800.00	2,800	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,435	2,759.07/head	2,500.00–3,100.00	2,759	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,125	3,700.00/head	3,700.00–3,700.00	3,700	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,398	2,950.00/head	2,950.00–2,950.00	2,950	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,403	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,380	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	2,608	1
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	866	279.46/cwt	275.00–300.00	2,420	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,600	3,650.00/head	3,650.00–3,650.00	3,650	3
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	970	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	12
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,005	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	2,663	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,123	251.77/cwt	197.00–311.00	2,827	35
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,303	173.00/cwt	173.00–173.00	2,254	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,033	258.15/cwt	215.00–295.00	2,667	12
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,310	204.00/cwt	204.00–204.00	2,672	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,153	244.87/cwt	232.50–255.00	2,823	10
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	875	207.73/cwt	205.00–210.00	1,818	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	919	300.97/cwt	300.00–303.00	2,766	15
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,081	225.93/cwt	186.00–237.50	2,442	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,296	210.62/cwt	188.00–216.00	2,730	18
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,599	191.56/cwt	191.00–193.00	3,063	4
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,646	198.05/cwt	197.50–201.00	3,260	10
Bulls	—	—	1,999	201.67/cwt	196.00–207.00	4,031	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,760	161.35/cwt	161.00–161.50	2,840	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,118	148.90/cwt	135.00–160.00	1,665	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,092	180.37/cwt	180.00–185.00	1,970	14
Dairy Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,090	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	1,799	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	920	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	1,242	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,420	155.98/cwt	151.00–161.00	2,215	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,570	154.13/cwt	152.50–155.00	2,420	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,784	165.04/cwt	162.25–166.00	2,944	4
Cows	Premium White 65-75%Heavy Weight	—	2,060	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	3,378	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	908	97.48/cwt	90.00–105.00	885	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,170	163.34/cwt	162.50–165.00	1,911	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,108	109.46/cwt	109.00–110.00	1,213	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,364	188.51/cwt	185.00–196.00	2,571	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,561	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	2,763	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,213	170.34/cwt	167.50–175.00	2,066	8
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,454	154.28/cwt	142.50–166.00	2,243	9
Bulls	—	—	2,240	219.00/cwt	219.00–219.00	4,906	1
Bulls	—	—	1,808	186.78/cwt	185.00–189.00	3,377	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,410	177.77/cwt	171.00–182.00	2,507	20
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,060	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,219	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,401	135.75/cwt	135.00–136.00	1,902	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,730	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	2,889	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	468	536.67/cwt	532.50–537.50	2,512	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	418	515.00/cwt	515.00–515.00	2,153	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	650–700	690	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,415	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,012	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,834	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	593	425.00/cwt	425.00–425.00	2,520	2
Bulls	Medium 1-2	500–550	505	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,020	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	800–850	847	302.50/cwt	302.50–302.50	2,562	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	350	580.00/cwt	580.00–580.00	2,030	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	545	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	2,207	2
Steers	Medium 1	450–500	455	490.00/cwt	490.00–490.00	2,230	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	685	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	2,466	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	423	539.82/cwt	535.00–550.00	2,283	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	588	426.58/cwt	425.00–427.50	2,508	8
Steers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	426	472.90/cwt	460.00–515.00	2,015	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	413	568.03/cwt	567.50–570.00	2,346	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	636	428.65/cwt	427.00–432.00	2,726	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	643	394.00/cwt	394.00–394.00	2,533	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	468	466.19/cwt	450.00–475.00	2,182	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	522	480.96/cwt	480.00–482.50	2,511	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	655	420.00/cwt	420.00–420.00	2,751	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	426	375.35/cwt	345.00–450.00	1,599	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	338	460.00/cwt	460.00–460.00	1,555	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	513	442.20/cwt	425.00–449.00	2,268	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	418	483.10/cwt	465.00–490.00	2,019	19
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	713	381.00/cwt	381.00–381.00	2,717	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	350	595.00/cwt	595.00–595.00	2,083	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	701	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	2,524	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	628	377.51/cwt	375.00–380.00	2,371	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 →