Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2026-10-01
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-10-01

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (9-24-26): Feeder steers and heifer calves were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mixed from plain to average on calves and yearlings. Demand was mostly good to very good with several buyers actively bidding on offerings. Lots of variation in quality was noticed on both calves and yearlings. CME positions moved higher again today with most nearby contracts moving over 2.00 higher. Market activity was active with rapid bidding seen, despite a small buyer pool. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand and light to moderate offerings. Demand for feeding cows remains mostly light. Canadian buyers continue to show good demand for feeding cows however, with little resistance seen from American buyers, cows continue to soften. Feeding cows sold steady to 5.00 lower on breaking flesh cows. Boning and lean fleshed feeding cows sold mostly 5.00-8.00 lower. Feeding cow quality remains mostly plain to average. Many blemished cows continue to be seen and many of these offerings were purchased to feed by private feeders this week, instead of going to slaughter like last week. Demand for slaughter cows was also light as packers all showed light demand for all classes of cows. Breaking cows were almost all purchased to feed this week, no trend is available. Boning and lean cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 lower on a lower quality lower yielding offering compared to last week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. Demand for feeding bull was mostly moderate to good and forced packer buyers to compete over offerings. Feeding bulls sold generally steady. Young age cow offerings sold on good to very good demand this week with more buyers in the market. Young age offerings sold mostly 10.00 higher on a higher quality offering. A few ranch tested bred cows sold today, they were not re-tested at the yards and are in the report below as bred cows sold per cwt.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $387.62/cwt on 47 head, up $3.42 from the prior sale. That ranks 6 of 22 comparable sales and sits −39.34 against this barn's trailing median of $426.96.

Average price

$387.62

▲ 3.42 vs prior sale

47 head · 549 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,129

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$142

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

$20.20/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.65

vs MT average

+36.22 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	550	390.20	2,147	41
Medium and Large 1-2	542	370.00	2,005	6thin

One grade step is worth $20.20/cwt here — about $142 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

22 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $469.35, low $332.50, median $426.96 across 22 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 sale47 hd

387.62

—

MT average3 barns · 94 hd

388.27

−0.65

National average172 barns · 11,766 hd

351.40

+36.22

This barn, trailing median22 sales

426.96

−39.34

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	1,703	168.24	2,865	42
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,572	146.03	2,296	36
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,401	137.62	1,928	183
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,169	123.31	1,442	78

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)	1,298	$3,450	7
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,094	$3,026	6
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,387	$2,500	3thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,441	$2,342	5
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,397	$2,300	6

Every lot, as filed

95 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	950–1000	987	297.50/cwt	297.50–297.50	2,936	13
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,398	2,375.00/cwt	2,375.00–2,375.00	33,203	6
Open Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,176	256.37/cwt	240.00–288.00	3,015	7
Open Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,620	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	2,997	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,249	181.21/cwt	170.00–210.00	2,263	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,050	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	2,835	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	926	308.44/cwt	306.00–310.50	2,856	24
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,243	182.50/cwt	182.50–182.50	2,268	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,441	2,342.46/head	2,300.00–2,400.00	2,342	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,488	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	2,068	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,321	2,275.00/head	2,275.00–2,275.00	2,275	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	982	298.23/cwt	297.00–299.00	2,929	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	408	485.33/cwt	485.00–492.50	1,980	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	867	322.39/cwt	314.00–327.50	2,795	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	469	469.99/cwt	463.00–480.00	2,204	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	581	380.19/cwt	375.00–395.00	2,209	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	805	329.19/cwt	329.00–330.00	2,650	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	621	401.81/cwt	392.50–408.00	2,495	23
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	839	222.50/cwt	222.50–222.50	1,867	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,018	294.51/cwt	292.00–300.00	2,998	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	539	393.87/cwt	382.50–401.00	2,123	30
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,387	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,289	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,753	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	542	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,005	6
Open Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,240	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	1,872	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	600–650	610	387.50/cwt	387.50–387.50	2,364	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	444	442.50/cwt	442.50–442.50	1,965	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	891	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,940	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	998	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	2,595	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,038	302.00/cwt	302.00–302.00	3,135	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	582	396.91/cwt	386.00–402.50	2,310	17
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,198	171.99/cwt	152.00–195.00	2,060	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	980	247.93/cwt	197.50–270.00	2,430	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	467	456.56/cwt	435.00–462.00	2,132	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	491	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	2,013	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	868	306.50/cwt	305.00–308.00	2,660	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,472	2,325.00/head	2,325.00–2,325.00	2,325	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	785	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,591	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	524	437.00/cwt	437.00–437.00	2,290	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	365	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	1,752	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	915	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,974	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,335	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,816	1
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,690	168.50/cwt	168.50–168.50	4,533	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,317	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	2,239	3
Bulls	—	—	1,725	159.56/cwt	158.00–161.00	2,752	6
Bulls	—	—	2,300	183.00/cwt	183.00–183.00	4,209	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,557	173.57/cwt	171.00–178.00	2,702	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,156	111.96/cwt	104.00–119.00	1,294	27
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,160	94.92/cwt	89.00–97.50	1,101	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,120	134.15/cwt	134.00–135.00	1,502	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,395	124.30/cwt	112.00–135.00	1,734	44
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,349	153.07/cwt	150.00–158.00	2,065	24
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	875	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,094	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,403	117.33/cwt	114.00–118.50	1,646	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,163	149.76/cwt	149.00–150.00	1,742	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,417	145.09/cwt	136.00–150.00	2,056	89
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,218	135.22/cwt	132.00–137.00	1,647	22
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,790	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	2,399	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,559	129.24/cwt	125.00–135.00	2,015	4
Bulls	—	—	2,028	175.75/cwt	174.00–177.00	3,564	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,172	127.00/cwt	122.00–130.00	1,488	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,598	164.28/cwt	155.00–170.00	2,625	16
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,166	119.68/cwt	105.00–131.00	1,395	10
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,567	148.59/cwt	147.50–149.50	2,328	31
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,415	125.75/cwt	120.00–130.00	1,779	7
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,218	233.50/cwt	232.50–235.00	2,844	5
Heifers	Large 1	1150–1200	1,185	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	3,200	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1150–1200	1,195	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	2,629	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,140	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	2,793	1
Heifers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,028	288.00/cwt	288.00–288.00	2,961	6
Bulls	Large 1	1050–1100	1,090	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	2,889	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	313	601.79/cwt	600.00–602.50	1,884	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	734	338.47/cwt	337.50–339.00	2,484	11
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	963	2,825.00/head	2,825.00–2,825.00	2,825	2
Steers	Medium 1	750–800	780	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	2,613	4
Heifers	Medium 1	750–800	765	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	2,467	2
Heifers	Medium 1-2Unweaned	250–300	269	475.00/cwt	475.00–475.00	1,278	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,382	144.50/cwt	144.50–144.50	1,997	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	611	382.50/cwt	382.50–382.50	2,337	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	806	317.21/cwt	310.00–322.00	2,557	15
Steers	Medium and Large 2	1000–1050	1,018	290.00/cwt	290.00–290.00	2,952	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	500–550	507	415.00/cwt	415.00–415.00	2,104	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	435	495.00/cwt	495.00–495.00	2,153	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,253	155.16/cwt	153.00–157.50	1,944	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	350–400	394	473.00/cwt	473.00–473.00	1,864	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	410	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	2,153	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	559	434.65/cwt	427.00–442.50	2,430	91
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	350–400	373	540.00/cwt	540.00–540.00	2,014	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,023	270.85/cwt	190.00–307.50	2,771	72
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	488	420.21/cwt	395.00–429.00	2,051	34
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,159	3,126.96/head	3,100.00–3,200.00	3,127	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,175	205.18/cwt	170.00–265.00	2,411	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,365	158.00/cwt	158.00–158.00	2,157	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,298	3,450.00/head	3,450.00–3,450.00	3,450	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,599	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	2,287	6

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 →