Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2021-12-15
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2021-12-15

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to two weeks ago: Last week Public auction yards held their annual blue ribbon sale so all comparisons are to two weeks ago. Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested two weeks ago to make an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was plain to average and most calves were offered in small packages or as singles. Buyers showed mostly light demand for singles and small consignments, which unfortunately comprised most of the sale. Many sets of calves were weaned this sale. Demand for calves was light to moderate. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for heavy offerings. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 higher on lean cows, breaking and boning cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Demand for feeding cows was mostly good with a large buyer pool buying cows to feed. Packers were more aggressive in buying cows to feed to premium white this week which helped improve the price of boning and breaking flesh cows. Slaughter bulls sold steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed to feed or rebreed saw improved demand this week with more buyers in the market looking for this class of cows. Young age cows sold steady to firm.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $152.15/cwt on 413 head.

Average price

$152.15

413 head · 544 lb average

Value per head Derived

$827

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$814

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Small 2-3

$143.72/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−34.24

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	557	176.29	982	247
Medium 1	492	175.13	862	24
Medium and Large 1-2	544	165.45	900	77
Medium 1-2	420	150.00	630	2thin
Small 2-3	515	32.57	168	63

One grade step is worth $143.72/cwt here — about $814 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 sale413 hd

152.15

—

MT average4 barns · 3,783 hd

186.39

−34.24

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	1,781	83.33	1,484	39
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,696	68.69	1,165	19
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,319	56.74	748	218
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,194	48.29	577	340

Every lot, as filed

102 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
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	530	156.92/cwt	153.50–159.00	832	80
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	435	168.11/cwt	168.00–169.00	731	9
Heifers	Medium 1	—	438	157.36/cwt	156.00–160.00	689	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	522	148.15/cwt	141.00–154.00	773	33
Heifers	Small 2-3	—	343	29.50/cwt	29.50–29.50	101	32
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	463	157.81/cwt	156.00–163.00	731	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	659	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	923	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	820	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	1,148	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	554	141.55/cwt	134.00–146.00	784	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	578	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	809	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	729	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	1,079	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	615	150.39/cwt	140.00–156.00	925	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	445	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	699	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	488	146.86/cwt	144.00–154.00	717	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	424	160.17/cwt	156.00–164.00	679	18
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,120	1,275.00/cwt	1,275.00–1,275.00	14,280	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,048	1,160.00/cwt	1,160.00–1,160.00	12,157	2
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	938	1,050.00/cwt	1,050.00–1,050.00	9,849	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,063	835.00/cwt	835.00–835.00	8,876	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	952	44.50/cwt	44.50–44.50	424	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	999	90.11/cwt	65.00–104.00	900	106
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	752	86.00/cwt	86.00–86.00	647	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,060	69.15/cwt	68.00–70.00	733	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,074	64.65/cwt	48.00–88.00	694	64
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,002	54.33/cwt	44.00–67.00	544	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,299	46.09/cwt	46.00–46.50	599	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,230	43.20/cwt	40.00–47.00	531	18
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,543	79.33/cwt	77.00–80.00	1,224	6
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,595	84.72/cwt	82.50–87.00	1,351	8
Bulls	—	—	1,897	85.07/cwt	80.00–87.50	1,614	17
Bulls	—	—	2,230	96.00/cwt	96.00–96.00	2,141	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,895	89.00/cwt	89.00–89.00	1,687	2
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,375	76.00/cwt	76.00–76.00	1,045	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,289	57.12/cwt	53.00–64.00	736	149
Cows	Boner 80-85%Light Weight	—	975	42.00/cwt	42.00–42.00	410	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	933	40.75/cwt	40.50–41.00	380	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	955	35.00/cwt	35.00–35.00	334	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,700	59.50/cwt	59.50–59.50	1,012	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,709	67.66/cwt	67.00–69.00	1,156	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,620	78.00/cwt	78.00–78.00	1,264	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,242	49.02/cwt	47.00–53.00	609	16
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,431	67.27/cwt	64.00–68.00	963	22
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,337	51.25/cwt	47.00–53.50	685	33
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,074	39.24/cwt	36.00–40.00	421	29
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,101	67.50/cwt	67.50–67.50	743	23
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,182	44.71/cwt	37.00–46.00	528	117
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,498	36.00/cwt	36.00–36.00	539	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,502	54.81/cwt	53.00–58.00	823	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,439	48.17/cwt	45.00–51.00	693	10
Bulls	—	—	1,951	74.99/cwt	72.00–77.00	1,463	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,717	72.50/cwt	72.50–72.50	1,245	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,629	55.73/cwt	55.00–57.00	908	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,242	50.65/cwt	47.00–56.00	629	139
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,150	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	748	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,175	41.86/cwt	40.00–45.00	492	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	582	160.28/cwt	158.00–162.50	933	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	532	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	872	13
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	465	174.44/cwt	165.00–178.00	811	25
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	886	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,130	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	297	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	683	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	955	107.50/cwt	107.50–107.50	1,027	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	638	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	1,002	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	576	165.13/cwt	161.00–168.00	951	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	623	159.03/cwt	157.50–160.00	991	36
Steers	Medium 1	—	408	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	796	4
Steers	Medium 1	—	634	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	964	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	565	164.06/cwt	161.00–170.00	927	12
Steers	Medium 1	—	367	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	697	7
Steers	Medium 1	—	450	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	833	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	331	211.26/cwt	210.00–215.00	699	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	350	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	753	14
Steers	Medium 1	—	571	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	936	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	419	191.50/cwt	191.50–191.50	802	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	489	193.06/cwt	190.00–197.00	944	33
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	687	159.17/cwt	154.00–160.00	1,093	40
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	726	152.39/cwt	148.00–157.50	1,106	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	516	189.04/cwt	188.00–191.00	975	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	485	178.71/cwt	171.00–188.00	867	19
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	429	181.68/cwt	175.00–190.00	779	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	610	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	921	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	278	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	598	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	657	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	972	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	582	155.36/cwt	148.00–163.00	904	25
Steers	Small 2-3	—	358	28.00/cwt	28.00–28.00	100	15
Steers	Small 2-3	—	564	34.00/cwt	34.00–34.00	192	48
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	420	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	630	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	711	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	1,045	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	—	364	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	582	10
Heifers	Medium 1	—	481	153.00/cwt	153.00–153.00	736	7
Heifers	Large 1	—	1,085	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,476	2
Heifers	Large 1	—	544	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	789	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	656	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,017	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	—	525	182.10/cwt	177.00–188.00	956	45
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	803	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	1,164	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	998	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,357	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	658	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	888	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	908	142.99/cwt	142.00–144.00	1,298	2
Heifers	Medium 1	—	394	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	595	7
Heifers	Medium 1	—	643	133.00/cwt	133.00–133.00	855	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	758	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	1,122	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	366	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	615	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	580	152.22/cwt	148.00–155.50	883	31

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 →