Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2026-09-17
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-09-17

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to the last sale (September 10, 2026): No market trend is available for feeder cattle due to limited comparable receipts, however, a lower undertone was noted for feeder steer classes and a higher undertone was noted for feeder heifers and bulls. Quality this week was mixed. Calves offered plain to average quality and yearlings offered average to attractive quality. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Cow quality was mostly plain to average today. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to 4.00 lower on all offerings. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 4.00 to 6.00 higher. Young age cow offerings were too lightly tested to develop any market trend.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $395.81/cwt on 36 head, up $42.69 from the prior sale. That ranks 5 of 21 comparable sales and sits −33.42 against this barn's trailing median of $429.23.

Average price

$395.81

▲ 42.69 vs prior sale

36 head · 522 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,066

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

—

single grade reported

vs the market

+16.09

vs MT average

+41.50 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	522	395.81	2,066	36

Only one grade was reported at this weight, so there is no spread to compute.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

21 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $469.35, low $332.50, median $429.23 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 sale36 hd

395.81

—

MT average2 barns · 54 hd

379.72

+16.09

National average171 barns · 9,246 hd

354.31

+41.50

This barn, trailing median21 sales

429.23

−33.42

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	1,776	177.49	3,153	84
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,575	144.38	2,274	27
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,334	143.20	1,911	43
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,129	128.19	1,448	37

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)	1,271	$2,676	3thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,318	$2,400	2thin
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,223	$2,239	4thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,217	$1,950	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,455	$2,250	1thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,105	$2,224	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,085	$1,800	1thin

Every lot, as filed

94 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 1-2	400–450	414	418.48/cwt	355.00–437.00	1,733	34
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	873	330.84/cwt	330.00–332.50	2,888	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	477	439.67/cwt	427.50–442.50	2,097	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	798	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,474	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	588	380.67/cwt	380.00–381.00	2,238	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	970	298.18/cwt	295.00–300.00	2,892	31
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	490	390.00/cwt	390.00–390.00	1,911	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	200–250	235	678.67/cwt	675.00–690.00	1,595	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	920	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,944	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	653	347.00/cwt	347.00–347.00	2,266	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	743	382.00/cwt	382.00–382.00	2,838	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	769	367.00/cwt	367.00–367.00	2,822	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	316	572.50/cwt	572.50–572.50	1,809	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	436	417.00/cwt	417.00–417.00	1,818	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	846	331.25/cwt	320.00–332.00	2,802	51
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	955	289.00/cwt	289.00–289.00	2,760	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	265	640.00/cwt	640.00–640.00	1,696	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	506	433.40/cwt	431.00–440.00	2,193	86
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	678	373.92/cwt	365.00–375.00	2,535	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	857	331.37/cwt	320.00–335.00	2,840	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	927	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,827	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	280	580.00/cwt	580.00–580.00	1,624	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	440	455.00/cwt	455.00–455.00	2,002	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	627	358.08/cwt	350.00–370.00	2,245	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	345	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	1,673	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	632	360.05/cwt	357.50–370.00	2,276	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	895	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,864	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	300–350	320	510.00/cwt	510.00–510.00	1,632	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	513	405.18/cwt	385.00–411.00	2,079	29
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	753	342.50/cwt	342.50–342.50	2,579	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	491	414.85/cwt	395.00–430.00	2,037	76
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	851	261.89/cwt	250.00–265.00	2,229	22
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,180	226.83/cwt	220.00–240.00	2,677	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	559	357.00/cwt	357.00–357.00	1,996	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	750	352.50/cwt	352.50–352.50	2,644	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	623	359.00/cwt	359.00–359.00	2,237	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	368	492.50/cwt	492.50–492.50	1,812	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	650–700	670	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,345	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,105	2,224.43/head	2,200.00–2,250.00	2,224	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,271	2,676.48/head	2,500.00–2,800.00	2,676	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,092	199.01/cwt	190.00–207.50	2,173	11
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,199	135.31/cwt	132.00–145.00	1,622	15
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,664	145.67/cwt	141.00–151.00	2,424	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,125	157.50/cwt	157.50–157.50	1,772	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,143	107.40/cwt	102.50–110.00	1,228	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,064	120.06/cwt	115.00–125.00	1,277	13
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,298	151.63/cwt	151.00–154.00	1,968	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,243	162.25/cwt	162.00–162.50	2,017	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,363	137.48/cwt	137.00–138.00	1,874	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,380	125.50/cwt	122.50–128.00	1,732	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,082	134.58/cwt	130.00–142.50	1,456	5
Bulls	—	—	1,701	173.81/cwt	164.00–179.00	2,957	52
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,450	149.51/cwt	149.00–151.00	2,168	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,572	135.22/cwt	131.00–138.00	2,126	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,776	173.05/cwt	171.00–180.00	3,073	8
Bulls	—	—	1,940	186.95/cwt	181.00–193.00	3,627	24
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,453	139.01/cwt	137.00–141.00	2,020	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,340	147.81/cwt	140.00–154.00	1,981	19
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,339	134.59/cwt	134.00–137.00	1,802	12
Bulls	Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,035	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	2,484	1
Heifers	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,105	262.49/cwt	260.00–265.00	2,901	2
Heifers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,143	284.00/cwt	284.00–284.00	3,246	8
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,074	289.98/cwt	288.00–291.00	3,114	9
Heifers	Large 1	1150–1200	1,160	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	3,306	2
Heifers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,017	295.02/cwt	293.00–297.00	3,000	38
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,197	239.52/cwt	233.00–247.50	2,867	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,217	1,950.00/head	1,950.00–1,950.00	1,950	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,318	2,400.00/head	2,400.00–2,400.00	2,400	2
Heifers	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,070	279.00/cwt	279.00–279.00	2,985	1
Heifers	Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,024	263.27/cwt	260.00–270.00	2,696	3
Heifers	Large 1-2	1150–1200	1,160	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	3,144	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	713	345.02/cwt	335.00–350.00	2,460	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	250–300	295	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	1,269	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	825	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,599	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,085	1,800.00/head	1,800.00–1,800.00	1,800	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,455	2,250.00/head	2,250.00–2,250.00	2,250	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,223	2,238.65/head	2,050.00–2,500.00	2,239	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	705	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,327	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	488	397.50/cwt	397.50–397.50	1,940	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	595	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	1,993	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	890	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,804	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	300–350	315	530.00/cwt	530.00–530.00	1,670	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	407	441.01/cwt	437.50–442.50	1,795	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	828	295.83/cwt	285.00–302.50	2,449	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	875	305.69/cwt	297.00–310.00	2,675	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	966	305.21/cwt	295.00–310.00	2,948	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	379	477.06/cwt	470.00–510.00	1,808	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	200–250	247	550.00/cwt	550.00–550.00	1,359	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	943	298.76/cwt	295.00–302.50	2,817	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	423	415.13/cwt	395.00–425.00	1,756	12
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	511	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,942	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	384	438.07/cwt	430.00–442.50	1,682	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	603	301.69/cwt	300.00–305.00	1,819	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	200–250	220	580.00/cwt	580.00–580.00	1,276	1

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 →