Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-03-26
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-03-26

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed steers on like quality cattle, and higher undertones were noticed on heifers. Quality was mostly plain to average today and overall not as attractive as last weeks feeder special. Many cutback cattle continue to be seen off winter and spring video sales. Quality today limited demand as quality was not as attractive as last weeks special. Package sizes were small today. Demand for cattle that were developed for grass remains good to very good. Buyers continue to show strong premiums for high quality thin fleshed cattle this sale. Todays buyer pool was small than last weeks sale, however market activity remains active as buyers bid rapidly on limited offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for moderate offerings. Regional packers and major packers continue to show very good demand for cows. With regional packers mostly purchasing cows to slaughter and major packers mostly purchasing cows to feed. Slaughter cows sold fully steady on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold steady to 2.00 higher with most of the increase in price noticed on low dressing cows. Feeding cows sold steady to firm on all offerings. Cow quality was mixed this week from plain to very attractive. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average. Cows had noticeably more fill this week compared to last week. The quality of cows going to feed continues to vairy greatly from buyer to buyer as several buyers were willing to take cows which were lame or slightly blemished and put them on feed or run them on wheat pasture until cow supplies tighten later in the spring and early summer. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. Bull quality this week was average to attractive and overall not as attractive compared to last week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Demand from rebreed buyers was mostly good this sale. Very little price difference was seen between high quality coming 2 and coming 3 year olds as buyers search for cows to rebreed.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $341.29/cwt on 95 head. That ranks 1 of 20 comparable sales and sits −75.82 against this barn's trailing median of $417.11.

Average price

$341.29

95 head · 552 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,884

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$355

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Large 1

$46.80/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−4.77

vs MT average

+19.55 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	555	346.80	1,924	75
Medium and Large 1-2	543	322.92	1,754	18thin
Large 1	523	300.00	1,569	2thin

One grade step is worth $46.80/cwt here — about $355 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 $417.11 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 sale95 hd

341.29

—

MT average3 barns · 147 hd

346.06

−4.77

National average178 barns · 15,613 hd

321.74

+19.55

This barn, trailing median20 sales

417.11

−75.82

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	1,829	169.30	3,097	53
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	High	1,617	149.12	2,412	55
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,679	145.41	2,442	58
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,417	144.95	2,054	244
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,174	139.82	1,642	88

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)	1,369	$3,205	28
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,454	$2,750	5
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,698	$2,650	5
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,771	$2,575	6
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,306	$3,100	7

Every lot, as filed

87 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 1Fleshy	—	1,839	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	2,722	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,025	218.00/cwt	218.00–218.00	2,235	1
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,306	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,454	2,750.00/head	2,750.00–2,750.00	2,750	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,099	195.06/cwt	150.00–239.00	2,144	69
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	724	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	2,230	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	422	375.94/cwt	370.00–385.00	1,586	13
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,745	2,600.00/head	2,600.00–2,600.00	2,600	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,510	2,850.00/head	2,850.00–2,850.00	2,850	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	975	218.86/cwt	182.00–239.00	2,134	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	550–600	569	346.00/cwt	346.00–346.00	1,969	55
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	471	357.44/cwt	350.00–362.50	1,684	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	572	349.46/cwt	347.50–353.00	1,999	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,210	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	1,803	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	555	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,915	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	639	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,077	8
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	605	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	1,724	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	469	382.50/cwt	382.50–382.50	1,794	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	430	349.64/cwt	345.00–360.00	1,503	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	735	279.00/cwt	279.00–279.00	2,051	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	500–550	520	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,898	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,394	3,258.75/head	3,200.00–3,450.00	3,259	26
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,096	159.93/cwt	150.00–185.00	1,753	15
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	850	237.00/cwt	237.00–237.00	2,015	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	530	328.76/cwt	326.00–335.00	1,742	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,025	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	2,153	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	416	393.92/cwt	380.00–405.00	1,639	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	465	340.49/cwt	330.00–345.00	1,583	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	441	406.07/cwt	402.50–412.50	1,791	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	664	270.60/cwt	259.00–282.00	1,797	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	350–400	360	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,314	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	628	289.93/cwt	285.00–292.50	1,821	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	395	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,501	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	982	203.61/cwt	192.00–210.00	1,999	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	902	229.00/cwt	229.00–229.00	2,066	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	564	313.74/cwt	305.00–322.50	1,769	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,040	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,600	156.35/cwt	154.00–159.00	2,502	4
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,520	191.00/cwt	191.00–191.00	4,813	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,408	130.14/cwt	121.00–133.00	1,832	10
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,507	142.37/cwt	135.00–149.00	2,146	29
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,721	166.37/cwt	161.00–169.00	2,863	14
Bulls	—	—	1,735	153.87/cwt	140.00–157.00	2,670	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,685	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	2,544	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,627	148.10/cwt	147.00–150.00	2,410	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,082	120.69/cwt	110.00–125.50	1,306	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,181	133.97/cwt	129.00–140.00	1,582	11
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,471	151.11/cwt	150.00–152.00	2,223	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,417	132.62/cwt	124.00–138.00	1,879	24
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,396	152.10/cwt	151.00–154.00	2,123	16
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,402	147.28/cwt	140.00–150.00	2,065	160
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,420	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	2,201	1
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,621	149.01/cwt	148.50–150.75	2,415	54
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,261	150.28/cwt	149.00–156.00	1,895	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,161	131.92/cwt	125.00–134.00	1,532	17
Bulls	—	—	1,959	185.43/cwt	180.00–195.00	3,633	12
Bulls	—	—	1,863	171.23/cwt	162.00–178.00	3,190	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,035	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	2,991	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,638	136.18/cwt	132.50–140.00	2,231	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	900	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,035	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,168	144.73/cwt	139.00–148.00	1,690	39
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,198	191.00/cwt	191.00–191.00	2,288	3
Bulls	Large 1-2	1150–1200	1,160	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	2,088	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,684	143.47/cwt	131.00–145.50	2,416	24
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,678	147.10/cwt	146.00–148.00	2,468	23
Bulls	—	—	1,880	162.00/cwt	162.00–162.00	3,046	1
Bulls	—	—	2,283	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	4,315	2
Heifers	Medium 2	450–500	480	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,248	2
Stock Cows	Medium 2	—	798	223.00/cwt	223.00–223.00	1,780	3
Bulls	Large 1	1300–1350	1,316	182.37/cwt	179.00–187.00	2,400	5
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,255	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	2,372	1
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,045	154.00/cwt	154.00–154.00	1,609	1
Heifers	Large 1	500–550	523	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,569	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	459	357.28/cwt	345.00–375.00	1,640	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	535	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	1,792	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	450–500	476	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	1,547	6
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	770	217.00/cwt	217.00–217.00	1,671	3
Heifers	Medium 1	450–500	470	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	1,598	2
Steers	Medium 1	300–350	304	425.00/cwt	425.00–425.00	1,292	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	516	349.00/cwt	349.00–349.00	1,801	20
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	615	306.16/cwt	300.00–309.00	1,883	26
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,070	211.00/cwt	211.00–211.00	2,258	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	333	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,182	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	366	409.64/cwt	400.00–425.00	1,499	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	993	219.00/cwt	219.00–219.00	2,175	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,380	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	2,484	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,771	2,575.00/head	2,575.00–2,575.00	2,575	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 →