Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2026-04-16
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-04-16

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (4-9-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend however higher undertones were noted on feeder steers and bulls, while steady to lower undertones were noted on feeder heifers. Demand was mostly good for light offerings. Feeders were offered in mostly small packages or as singles. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Weigh up cows and bulls sold on good to very good demand for heavier offerings. Slaughter cows sold uneven; leans and breakers sold 4.00 to 8.00 lower, while boners sold 6.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 lower. Feeding cows and bulls overall sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher. Young age offerings suitable to feed or rebreed comprised a large portion of the sale this week. Buyers were willing to take up to middle age cows to turn out and rebreed. Young cow offerings were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $424.32/cwt on 45 head, down $36.49 from the prior sale. That ranks 6 of 21 comparable sales and sits −9.54 against this barn's trailing median of $433.86.

Average price

$424.32

▼ 36.49 vs prior sale

45 head · 557 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,365

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$847

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

$119.81/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−36.39

vs MT average

−3.07 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	563	447.09	2,516	32
Large 1	555	430.00	2,387	1thin
Medium and Large 1-2	564	382.66	2,157	7thin
Large 1-2	517	341.45	1,765	3thin
Medium and Large 2	510	327.28	1,669	2thin

One grade step is worth $119.81/cwt here — about $847 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

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 sale45 hd

424.32

—

MT average3 barns · 344 hd

460.71

−36.39

National average182 barns · 12,591 hd

427.39

−3.07

This barn, trailing median21 sales

433.86

−9.54

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	1,540	230.36	3,548	72
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,326	180.68	2,397	113
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,541	178.24	2,747	109
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,170	166.99	1,953	59

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)	1,379	$4,469	12
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,297	$4,230	5
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,352	$3,853	3thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,382	$3,853	4thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,125	$3,550	1thin
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,282	$3,305	8
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,218	$3,215	4thin
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,133	$3,152	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,208	$2,875	6
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,215	$2,700	1thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,235	$2,504	4thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,163	$2,458	2thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,005	$3,750	1thin
Bred Heifers	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,040	$3,300	1thin
Bred Heifers	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	930	$2,851	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,280	$4,243	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,401	$3,634	6
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,342	$3,403	4thin
Heifer Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	936	$4,200	7

Every lot, as filed

118 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	850–900	869	345.43/cwt	339.00–357.50	3,002	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	555	500.46/cwt	490.00–510.00	2,778	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	733	331.13/cwt	315.00–335.00	2,427	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	721	388.36/cwt	358.00–400.00	2,800	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	528	437.75/cwt	420.00–455.00	2,311	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	925	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,821	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	931	349.18/cwt	325.00–352.50	3,251	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	529	452.75/cwt	447.50–470.00	2,395	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	840	327.50/cwt	327.50–327.50	2,751	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	523	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	2,144	2
Heifers	Large 1	650–700	682	367.92/cwt	356.00–380.00	2,509	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	390	485.45/cwt	450.00–520.00	1,893	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	988	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	3,260	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	580	371.73/cwt	355.00–407.50	2,156	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	625	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,688	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	475	362.55/cwt	360.00–365.00	1,722	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	589	442.69/cwt	420.00–460.00	2,607	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	439	341.61/cwt	305.00–360.00	1,500	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	487	401.26/cwt	400.00–410.00	1,954	8
Heifers	Large 1-2	500–550	517	341.45/cwt	335.00–355.00	1,765	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	510	327.28/cwt	305.00–350.00	1,669	2
Heifers	Large 1	550–600	555	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	2,387	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	873	292.41/cwt	260.00–325.00	2,553	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	973	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	3,065	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	597	435.00/cwt	435.00–435.00	2,597	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	373	518.39/cwt	515.00–520.00	1,934	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	415	474.07/cwt	470.00–482.50	1,967	3
Heifers	Large 1	800–850	805	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,616	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	623	345.43/cwt	342.50–347.50	2,152	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	830	336.48/cwt	335.00–342.50	2,793	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	393	494.90/cwt	480.00–510.00	1,945	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	671	389.49/cwt	387.50–390.00	2,613	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	482	492.50/cwt	492.50–492.50	2,374	12
Steers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	410	420.00/cwt	420.00–420.00	1,722	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	630	333.77/cwt	332.50–335.00	2,103	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	393	559.92/cwt	550.00–580.00	2,200	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	533	512.32/cwt	500.00–525.00	2,731	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	550	470.00/cwt	470.00–470.00	2,585	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	674	430.33/cwt	412.50–431.50	2,900	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	438	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	2,300	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	472	458.86/cwt	425.00–480.00	2,166	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	880	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	2,838	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	363	662.38/cwt	645.00–680.00	2,404	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	775	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,480	1
Steers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	480	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	1,920	1
Steers	Large 1	600–650	646	352.50/cwt	352.50–352.50	2,277	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	340	660.00/cwt	660.00–660.00	2,244	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	654	353.12/cwt	342.50–390.00	2,309	20
Steers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,028	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	3,238	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	290	710.00/cwt	710.00–710.00	2,059	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	600	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	2,910	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	605	423.33/cwt	420.00–425.00	2,561	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	480	542.04/cwt	535.00–545.00	2,602	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	560	436.93/cwt	435.00–440.00	2,447	8
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	629	409.74/cwt	400.00–430.00	2,577	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1150–1200	1,190	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	3,094	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	930	327.05/cwt	312.50–330.00	3,042	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,023	300.42/cwt	272.50–307.50	3,073	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	830	354.88/cwt	345.00–365.00	2,946	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,051	141.77/cwt	137.50–146.00	1,490	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,311	183.76/cwt	175.00–187.50	2,409	86
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,178	178.66/cwt	174.00–182.50	2,105	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,655	171.75/cwt	166.00–175.50	2,842	23
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,496	188.39/cwt	185.50–191.00	2,818	32
Bulls	—	—	1,538	215.85/cwt	212.00–220.00	3,320	17
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,549	143.91/cwt	137.50–150.00	2,229	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,343	166.93/cwt	163.00–175.00	2,242	15
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,486	155.91/cwt	151.00–159.00	2,317	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,513	181.03/cwt	177.00–184.00	2,739	40
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,222	167.40/cwt	165.00–171.00	2,046	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,131	123.46/cwt	117.50–127.50	1,396	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,536	163.29/cwt	161.00–164.00	2,508	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,398	190.96/cwt	188.00–196.00	2,670	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,147	153.90/cwt	149.00–157.50	1,765	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,383	165.36/cwt	165.00–166.00	2,287	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,212	183.37/cwt	181.00–187.50	2,222	20
Bulls	—	—	1,379	245.55/cwt	233.00–250.00	3,386	7
Bulls	—	—	2,200	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	4,730	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,664	219.02/cwt	215.00–221.00	3,644	22
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,138	260.74/cwt	257.50–266.00	2,967	15
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,980	208.34/cwt	207.50–209.00	4,125	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,909	229.52/cwt	227.00–234.00	4,382	8
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,367	3,620.13/head	3,550.00–3,650.00	3,620	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,265	2,750.00/head	2,750.00–2,750.00	2,750	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,215	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,218	3,215.23/head	3,000.00–3,400.00	3,215	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,297	4,230.41/head	4,150.00–4,400.00	4,230	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,235	2,503.80/head	2,400.00–2,600.00	2,504	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	760	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	2,717	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	860	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,967	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,085	286.26/cwt	284.00–300.00	3,106	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	730	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,811	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	200–250	225	560.00/cwt	560.00–560.00	1,260	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	885	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	2,810	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,280	4,243.16/head	4,000.00–4,500.00	4,243	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,401	3,633.62/head	3,600.00–3,700.00	3,634	6
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	936	4,200.00/head	4,200.00–4,200.00	4,200	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,379	4,469.37/head	4,300.00–4,485.00	4,469	12
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,203	2,499.34/head	2,375.00–2,550.00	2,499	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,382	3,853.02/head	3,800.00–3,900.00	3,853	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 2	—	1,207	219.81/cwt	215.00–228.00	2,653	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,207	204.78/cwt	195.00–212.50	2,472	26
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	981	304.51/cwt	304.00–305.00	2,987	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	978	316.32/cwt	310.00–320.00	3,094	11
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	930	2,851.08/head	2,750.00–2,950.00	2,851	2
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,040	3,300.00/head	3,300.00–3,300.00	3,300	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 2	—	1,301	188.63/cwt	185.00–191.00	2,454	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,032	292.05/cwt	282.50–303.00	3,014	24
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,125	255.96/cwt	234.00–278.00	2,880	91
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,162	234.65/cwt	220.00–247.00	2,727	13
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,352	3,853.21/head	3,700.00–3,950.00	3,853	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,133	3,151.55/head	3,050.00–3,250.00	3,152	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,212	3,250.39/head	3,000.00–3,400.00	3,250	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,125	3,550.00/head	3,550.00–3,550.00	3,550	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,158	2,716.20/head	2,600.00–2,800.00	2,716	2
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,005	3,750.00/head	3,750.00–3,750.00	3,750	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,323	3,501.61/head	3,400.00–3,550.00	3,502	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,163	2,458.06/head	2,300.00–2,600.00	2,458	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 →