Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2024-04-24
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-04-24

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle offerings were were too lightly tested today to develop a full market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Demand for feeders was mostly good for light to moderate offerings. Quality today was plain to average, with a limited offering of attractive feeders seen. Most calves were offered in small packages this week. Market activity today was mostly active, with small to average size crowd on hand, internet bidding was active throughout the sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly mixed demand with slaughter cows selling on light to moderate demand and feeding quality cows selling on moderate to good demand. Packers showed lighter demand for all slaughter cows on offer. Slaughter cows sold mostly generally steady to weak on breaking cow, boning cows sold 5.00-7.00 lower, lean cows were not well compared. Cows suitable to feed sold generally steady. Several private feeders and packer buyers all big aggressively on high quality cows suitable to feed. Despite lighter demand from packer buyers, private feeders continue to show very good demand for cows. Cow quality was average to attractive today. Weigh up conditions were mixed. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last sale to develop a full market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Young age cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand from feeding and rebreed cow buyers was good to very good. Young cow offerings were heavy as they comprised a large part of the cow offering.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $283.12/cwt on 160 head. That ranks 1 of 20 comparable sales and sits −122.02 against this barn's trailing median of $405.14.

Average price

$283.12

160 head · 549 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,554

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$256

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

$40.75/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−1.02

vs MT average

+12.93 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	550	292.45	1,609	80
Medium and Large 1-2	546	278.63	1,522	65
Medium 1	588	256.00	1,505	4thin
Medium and Large 2	538	251.70	1,353	11thin

One grade step is worth $40.75/cwt here — about $256 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

20 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $464.07, low $347.53, median $405.14 across 20 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 sale160 hd

283.12

—

MT average3 barns · 263 hd

284.14

−1.02

National average178 barns · 11,596 hd

270.19

+12.93

This barn, trailing median20 sales

405.14

−122.02

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	1,736	135.84	2,359	29
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,635	133.21	2,178	28
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Low	2,068	132.00	2,730	3thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,429	122.27	1,747	106
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,181	115.73	1,367	91

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)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,372	$2,871	7
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,345	$2,450	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,467	$2,425	7

Every lot, as filed

103 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
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,372	2,871.44/head	2,825.00–2,950.00	2,871	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,041	159.19/cwt	126.00–186.00	1,657	91
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	833	244.50/cwt	244.50–244.50	2,037	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	550–600	550	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,705	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	534	335.05/cwt	330.00–340.00	1,789	32
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	511	309.50/cwt	309.50–309.50	1,582	27
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	741	273.00/cwt	273.00–273.00	2,023	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,070	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	2,215	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	440	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,408	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	50–100	72	662.85/head	650.00–675.00	663	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	437	364.17/cwt	360.00–372.50	1,591	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	787	239.23/cwt	235.00–241.00	1,883	35
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	615	277.85/cwt	273.00–278.50	1,709	33
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	734	248.71/cwt	245.00–251.00	1,826	23
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	471	319.20/cwt	312.00–322.00	1,503	56
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	494	356.00/cwt	356.00–356.00	1,759	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	572	283.99/cwt	282.00–290.00	1,624	50
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	350–400	355	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,314	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	955	216.00/cwt	216.00–216.00	2,063	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	825	227.22/cwt	223.00–235.00	1,875	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,055	211.43/cwt	210.00–212.50	2,231	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	394	391.00/cwt	391.00–391.00	1,541	18
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	720	252.00/cwt	252.00–252.00	1,814	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,453	144.74/cwt	144.50–146.00	2,103	6
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,467	2,425.00/head	2,425.00–2,425.00	2,425	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	632	306.60/cwt	305.50–312.00	1,938	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	568	271.77/cwt	257.50–276.00	1,544	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	640	261.84/cwt	257.00–264.00	1,676	23
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	907	157.03/cwt	130.00–172.50	1,424	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	942	176.63/cwt	163.50–194.00	1,664	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	550–600	595	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,458	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	829	217.00/cwt	217.00–217.00	1,799	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	479	303.71/cwt	302.00–306.00	1,455	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	566	321.02/cwt	316.00–328.00	1,817	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	421	332.68/cwt	320.00–350.00	1,401	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	512	316.82/cwt	311.00–325.00	1,622	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	623	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,526	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	953	185.88/cwt	160.00–207.00	1,771	97
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	688	232.00/cwt	232.00–232.00	1,596	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	682	270.75/cwt	270.00–271.00	1,847	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	554	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,551	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	421	292.91/cwt	280.00–300.00	1,233	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	763	259.50/cwt	259.50–259.50	1,980	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	608	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,672	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	521	290.39/cwt	280.00–295.00	1,513	34
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,407	126.96/cwt	120.00–135.00	1,786	55
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,435	140.86/cwt	139.00–142.00	2,021	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,058	112.67/cwt	112.50–113.00	1,192	3
Bulls	—	—	1,811	137.75/cwt	133.00–145.00	2,495	15
Bulls	—	—	1,587	127.85/cwt	125.00–130.00	2,029	4
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,375	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	1,540	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,385	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	1,856	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,377	131.15/cwt	130.00–132.50	1,806	3
Bulls	—	—	2,065	151.41/cwt	150.00–153.00	3,127	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,525	135.77/cwt	134.00–140.00	2,070	11
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,408	118.31/cwt	107.00–121.00	1,666	14
Bulls	—	—	2,370	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	3,176	1
Cows	Premium White 65-75%Heavy Weight	—	2,068	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	2,730	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,197	127.60/cwt	125.00–131.00	1,527	12
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,224	120.38/cwt	117.00–123.00	1,473	46
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,124	87.26/cwt	80.00–91.00	981	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,227	114.97/cwt	114.00–116.00	1,411	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,371	121.60/cwt	117.00–130.00	1,667	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,186	107.68/cwt	101.00–112.00	1,277	16
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,790	119.00/cwt	119.00–119.00	2,130	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,509	112.19/cwt	101.00–116.00	1,693	25
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	873	82.52/cwt	82.00–83.00	720	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	968	101.51/cwt	100.00–103.00	983	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	993	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	1,112	2
Steers	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,068	202.50/cwt	202.50–202.50	2,163	3
Steers	Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,015	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	2,101	8
Heifers	Large 1-2	950–1000	963	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	1,661	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,684	137.07/cwt	136.00–139.00	2,308	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,774	121.51/cwt	117.00–124.00	2,156	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,631	140.59/cwt	140.00–143.00	2,293	5
Heifers	Medium 2	400–450	418	282.50/cwt	282.50–282.50	1,181	5
Heifers	Medium 2	600–650	631	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	1,357	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	670	260.31/cwt	252.00–266.00	1,744	31
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	585	330.33/cwt	330.00–331.00	1,932	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	690	276.00/cwt	276.00–276.00	1,904	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	760	241.00/cwt	241.00–241.00	1,832	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	450–500	460	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,426	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,345	2,450.00/head	2,450.00–2,450.00	2,450	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	603	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,688	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	650–700	668	252.00/cwt	252.00–252.00	1,683	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	770	259.74/cwt	259.00–262.00	2,000	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	500–550	543	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,520	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	378	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,210	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	531	250.97/cwt	240.00–265.00	1,333	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	800–850	800	205.00/cwt	205.00–205.00	1,640	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	490	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,372	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	568	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,448	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	394	311.72/cwt	311.00–316.00	1,228	20
Heifers	Medium 1-2	450–500	460	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,196	6
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	768	195.36/cwt	194.00–197.50	1,500	8
Heifers	Medium 1	350–400	385	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,194	20
Heifers	Medium 1	550–600	588	256.00/cwt	256.00–256.00	1,505	4
Heifers	Medium 1	600–650	637	243.11/cwt	240.00–252.50	1,549	8
Steers	Medium 1	600–650	638	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	1,793	6
Heifers	Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,013	165.12/cwt	161.00–170.00	1,673	11
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,127	157.71/cwt	129.00–171.00	1,777	7
Bulls	Large 1	1050–1100	1,068	211.00/cwt	211.00–211.00	2,253	2
Heifers	Medium 2	450–500	476	247.50/cwt	247.50–247.50	1,178	7

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 →