Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2023-04-26
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-04-26

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested today to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed on all feeders on offer. Demand for feeders was mostly very good for light offerings. Quality this sale was plain to average. Package sizes were mostly small with lots of singles on offer. Market activity was mostly active this sale as both ranchers and order-buyers competed over limited offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold generally steady to 2.00 lower on breaking cows, boning cows sold generally steady, lean cows sold steady. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Weigh up conditions were mixed. Packer buyers opted to send a few set of cows to feed again this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand. Buyers showed the best demand for high quality cows which had lost calves. Young offerings sold generally steady.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $229.72/cwt on 137 head.

Average price

$229.72

137 head · 646 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,485

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$487

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

$42.68/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−10.19

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	663	235.93	1,565	96
Medium and Large 1-2	614	219.44	1,348	33
Medium 1-2	596	202.13	1,205	4thin
Medium and Large 2	558	193.25	1,078	4thin

One grade step is worth $42.68/cwt here — about $487 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale137 hd

229.72

—

MT average2 barns · 689 hd

239.91

−10.19

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	1,656	120.77	2,000	87
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,509	97.46	1,471	172
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,254	92.69	1,162	186
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,120	84.77	950	113

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	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,250	$2,000	3thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,285	$1,646	2thin
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,113	$1,300	3thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,175	$1,700	2thin
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,011	$1,325	5
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	967	$1,285	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,542	$2,171	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,211	$1,707	8

Every lot, as filed

91 lots · USDA AMS · Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)

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 2	—	1,065	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	1,566	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	—	1,012	158.91/cwt	157.00–166.50	1,608	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	518	172.46/cwt	170.00–175.00	893	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	635	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	1,314	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	565	217.50/cwt	217.50–217.50	1,229	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	477	214.26/cwt	212.50–221.00	1,022	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	632	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	1,359	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	570	223.00/cwt	223.00–223.00	1,271	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	665	194.00/cwt	194.00–194.00	1,290	1
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	529	212.26/cwt	211.00–217.50	1,123	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	365	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	511	1
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	725	208.00/cwt	208.00–208.00	1,508	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	460	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	851	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	415	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	540	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	527	271.53/cwt	250.00–276.00	1,431	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	563	268.86/cwt	266.00–270.00	1,514	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	633	214.43/cwt	213.00–223.00	1,357	7
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	675	197.50/cwt	197.50–197.50	1,333	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	490	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	956	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	660	204.00/cwt	204.00–204.00	1,346	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	713	215.86/cwt	214.50–217.00	1,539	7
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	470	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	1,011	2
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	423	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	804	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	445	250.00/cwt	250.00–250.00	1,113	2
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	770	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	1,394	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	788	208.86/cwt	205.00–221.00	1,646	34
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	457	269.00/cwt	269.00–269.00	1,229	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	810	187.00/cwt	187.00–187.00	1,515	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	475	229.89/cwt	225.00–235.00	1,092	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	670	228.57/cwt	227.00–233.00	1,531	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	—	660	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	1,221	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	763	214.00/cwt	214.00–214.00	1,633	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	930	174.00/cwt	174.00–174.00	1,618	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	704	222.00/cwt	222.00–222.00	1,563	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	633	215.69/cwt	200.00–237.00	1,365	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	628	245.32/cwt	242.00–247.00	1,541	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	520	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,144	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	379	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	891	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	875	184.00/cwt	184.00–184.00	1,610	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	955	176.00/cwt	176.00–176.00	1,681	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	495	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	1,114	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	—	930	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	1,553	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	508	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,245	3
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,070	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,466	2
Bulls	Large 1	—	1,168	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	1,624	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,196	88.24/cwt	83.00–93.00	1,055	35
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,493	96.05/cwt	92.50–98.50	1,434	22
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,255	86.70/cwt	83.00–88.50	1,088	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,000	99.34/cwt	95.00–102.00	993	3
Bulls	—	—	1,786	116.04/cwt	109.00–124.50	2,072	41
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,213	85.53/cwt	81.00–89.00	1,037	29
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	885	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	637	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,271	93.58/cwt	89.00–97.50	1,189	76
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	953	71.91/cwt	71.00–73.00	685	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,130	79.47/cwt	75.00–82.50	898	43
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,064	81.51/cwt	81.00–82.00	867	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,335	87.55/cwt	81.00–92.00	1,169	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,143	106.27/cwt	103.00–109.00	1,215	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,513	94.82/cwt	92.00–98.00	1,435	48
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,523	101.93/cwt	99.00–107.00	1,552	49
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,311	101.22/cwt	99.50–105.00	1,327	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	815	100.65/cwt	100.00–101.00	820	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,476	88.43/cwt	79.00–92.00	1,305	17
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	850	88.00/cwt	88.00–88.00	748	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,264	101.92/cwt	97.00–105.50	1,288	20
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,230	92.55/cwt	89.00–98.00	1,138	35
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	877	79.29/cwt	78.00–81.00	695	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,157	90.60/cwt	85.50–94.00	1,048	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	660	196.00/cwt	196.00–196.00	1,294	2
Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	470	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	729	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	705	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,340	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	505	224.59/cwt	223.00–225.00	1,134	5
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,011	1,325.00/head	1,325.00–1,325.00	1,325	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,089	138.02/cwt	119.00–154.50	1,503	26
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium 1-2	—	1,542	2,170.81/head	2,000.00–2,250.00	2,171	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,211	1,706.50/head	1,250.00–2,300.00	1,707	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,113	1,300.00/head	1,300.00–1,300.00	1,300	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,285	1,646.40/head	1,350.00–1,900.00	1,646	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	908	173.53/cwt	146.50–192.00	1,576	138
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,250	2,000.00/head	2,000.00–2,000.00	2,000	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,132	124.75/cwt	99.00–140.50	1,412	28
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	967	1,284.53/head	1,200.00–1,350.00	1,285	5
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,175	1,700.00/head	1,700.00–1,700.00	1,700	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,035	104.63/cwt	102.00–110.00	1,083	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,062	128.15/cwt	119.50–150.00	1,361	5
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,338	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	1,552	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,191	142.24/cwt	139.00–146.00	1,694	13
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,480	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	1,584	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,533	101.59/cwt	99.00–105.50	1,557	32
Bulls	—	—	1,791	129.03/cwt	124.00–143.00	2,311	18
Bulls	—	—	1,583	103.26/cwt	89.00–110.00	1,635	12

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 →