Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2022-11-21

Billings Livestock Commission

Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Mon, Nov 21
● Final43 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1775
Slaughter Cattle receipts
621 head
5 vs last sale 616 744 vs year ago 1,365 · 54.5%
Replacement Cattle receipts
1,437 head
1,290 vs last sale 147 52 vs year ago 1,489 · 3.5%
Also sold hereRegular saleThu Aug 13, 2026
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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were not tested this week as todays sale featured bred cows and weigh ups. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Packers showed mostly light demand for slaughter cows this week. Packers have been buying supplies for weeks putting them on feed to save up for the holiday week. Despite a shortened holiday week packers were able to buy all classes of cows 2.00-3.00 lower. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower. Cow quality today was mostly plain to average. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, lower undertones were noticed. A heavy offering of over 1600 bred cows were seen today as Billings Livestock hosted its annual Thanksgiving week stock cow special. Bred cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand. Quality this week was mostly average. Market activity for bred cows was mostly moderate with an average size crowd on hand.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt
Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.
ClassGradeDressingAvg wt$/cwt$/headHead
BullsLow1,67280.361,34419
CowsBreaker 75-80%High1,61974.691,20939
CowsBoner 80-85%High1,41468.10963168
CowsLean 85-90%Average1,19056.02667311

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 $/cwt figures above.
ClassStageAgeAvg wt$/headHead
Bred Cows2nd Stage (4-6 mo)Young (2-4 yrs)1,096$1,444108
Bred Cows2nd Stage (4-6 mo)Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1,317$1,419186
Bred Cows1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)Young (2-4 yrs)1,153$1,40613
Bred Cows2nd Stage (4-6 mo)Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1,317$1,112220
Bred Cows1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1,313$1,0854thin
Bred Cows1st Stage (1-3 mo)Young (2-4 yrs)1,072$1,01810
Bred Cows2nd Stage (4-6 mo)Aged (>8 yrs)1,267$942314
Bred Cows1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)Aged (>8 yrs)1,318$87016
Bred Heifers2nd Stage (4-6 mo)(<2 yrs)930$1,54855
Bred Heifers1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)(<2 yrs)885$1,2354thin

Every lot, as filed

43 lots · USDA AMS · Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Mon)
Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added.
ClassGrade / descriptionWeightAvg wtPriceRangePer headHead
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1Broken Mouth1,294978.70/head900.00–1,100.00979245
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth1,172826.31/head800.00–850.0082624
Bred HeifersMedium and Large 18851,235.00/head1,235.00–1,235.001,2354
Stock CowsMedium and Large 11,00695.87/cwt78.00–112.0096450
Stock CowsMedium and Large 1-290071.00/cwt71.00–71.006393
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,3191,116.92/head1,000.00–1,235.001,117215
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1-21,228900.00/head900.00–900.009005
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1Thin Fleshed1,170801.58/head785.00–850.0080245
Stock CowsMedium and Large 1-299861.93/cwt55.00–64.0061826
Stock CowsMedium and Large 11,07376.91/cwt60.00–90.0082552
CowsBreaker 75-80%Return to Feed1,68382.00/cwt82.00–82.001,3802
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,0721,017.61/head1,000.00–1,035.001,01810
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1-21,1461,150.00/head1,150.00–1,150.001,1504
Bred CowsMedium 19431,264.19/head1,225.00–1,275.001,2648
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1Broken Mouth1,37856.00/cwt56.00–56.007723
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,1531,406.03/head1,250.00–1,435.001,40613
Bred HeifersMedium and Large 19301,547.69/head1,510.00–1,600.001,54855
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1Broken Mouth1,318869.56/head825.00–960.0087016
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,1101,473.06/head1,300.00–1,575.001,47393
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,3211,424.60/head1,200.00–1,510.001,425182
Bred CowsMedium and Large 11,3131,085.00/head1,085.00–1,085.001,0854
Bred CowsMedium and Large 1-21,0851,258.15/head1,225.00–1,285.001,2587
CowsBoner 80-85%1,55677.00/cwt77.00–77.001,1987
CowsLean 85-90%Return to Feed1,22560.51/cwt58.00–65.00741108
CowsBreaker 75-80%Return to Feed1,55973.40/cwt73.00–74.001,14415
CowsLean 85-90%Light Weight94144.58/cwt42.00–47.004195
CowsBreaker 75-80%1,56376.99/cwt75.00–78.001,2039
CowsLean 85-90%Return to Feed1,24670.90/cwt69.00–73.008834
CowsBoner 80-85%1,58868.66/cwt63.00–74.001,0905
CowsLean 85-90%1,20753.38/cwt49.00–57.0064468
CowsLean 85-90%1,12358.79/cwt58.00–60.006607
CowsLean 85-90%1,20644.04/cwt42.00–47.0053113
CowsBreaker 75-80%1,92079.50/cwt79.50–79.501,5261
CowsBreaker 75-80%1,70072.95/cwt70.00–74.501,24012
CowsBoner 80-85%1,43156.80/cwt53.00–62.0081318
CowsBoner 80-85%1,47548.00/cwt48.00–48.007081
CowsBoner 80-85%Return to Feed1,44780.18/cwt79.00–81.501,16022
CowsBoner 80-85%Return to Feed1,39172.35/cwt67.00–78.001,00662
CowsBoner 80-85%Return to Feed1,38561.10/cwt54.00–66.0084653
CowsLean 85-90%Return to Feed1,15654.40/cwt47.00–58.50629106
Bulls1,71578.00/cwt68.00–86.001,33812
Bulls1,67689.89/cwt89.00–91.001,5075
BullsReturn to Feed1,40870.70/cwt62.00–78.009952

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.