Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2023-03-22
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-03-22

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed on steers and firm undertones were noticed on heifers. Demand for feeders was mostly good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average, with a limited number of attractive consignments. Most cattle were sold in small packages or as singles. Market activity was mostly active again this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold steady to firm on all offerings. Quality this week was average to attractive, however weigh up conditions were very attractive to buyers and most buyers showed very good demand for high dressing cows. Packer buyers opted to send a few set of cows to feed again this week. Feeding cows sold steady to firm on an attractive offering. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. Bull quality, overall, was better today than last sale. 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 mostly 10.00 higher with sharply higher instances noticed on very attractive offerings. A complete dispersion of cows sold today. Offerings were met with mostly good demand. Bred heifer and cow offerings were very attractive.

Weight class

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $217.00/cwt on 274 head.

Average price

$217.00

274 head · 659 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,430

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$195

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

$81.16/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−8.90

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	558	236.16	1,318	123
Medium and Large 1	745	202.48	1,509	141
Large 1	652	198.00	1,291	6thin
Medium 1	743	182.00	1,352	2thin
Medium 1-2	725	155.00	1,124	2thin

One grade step is worth $81.16/cwt here — about $195 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 sale274 hd

217.00

—

MT average3 barns · 455 hd

225.90

−8.90

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	—	High	1,907	110.99	2,117	41
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,624	92.69	1,505	59
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,433	90.97	1,304	202
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,202	85.74	1,031	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)	1,442	$2,200	8
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,430	$2,046	40
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,442	$1,700	19
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,250	$2,208	37

Every lot, as filed

85 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 2	—	582	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	989	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	852	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	1,269	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	567	218.12/cwt	215.00–221.00	1,237	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	675	198.24/cwt	192.00–199.00	1,338	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	753	169.50/cwt	169.50–169.50	1,276	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	863	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	1,441	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	727	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	1,229	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	447	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	983	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	824	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	1,228	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	510	229.00/cwt	229.00–229.00	1,168	1
Heifers	Medium 1	—	501	212.00/cwt	212.00–212.00	1,062	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	584	193.41/cwt	191.50–194.00	1,130	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	620	210.86/cwt	198.50–214.00	1,307	45
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	520	210.90/cwt	196.00–216.00	1,097	20
Heifers	Medium 2	—	674	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	843	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	566	247.18/cwt	245.00–250.00	1,399	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	804	182.78/cwt	181.00–183.50	1,470	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	603	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	1,447	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	837	172.99/cwt	171.00–175.00	1,448	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	944	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	1,595	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	631	187.25/cwt	183.00–194.00	1,182	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	685	216.81/cwt	215.00–221.00	1,485	49
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	420	253.76/cwt	250.00–257.50	1,066	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	534	253.40/cwt	244.00–258.00	1,353	28
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	692	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	1,384	24
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	585	227.00/cwt	227.00–227.00	1,328	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	745	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	1,453	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	764	193.20/cwt	187.00–199.00	1,476	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	885	173.70/cwt	173.00–174.50	1,537	13
Steers	Medium 1-2	—	725	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,124	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	736	201.10/cwt	200.00–203.00	1,480	16
Steers	Medium 1	—	743	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	1,352	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	459	260.86/cwt	256.00–262.50	1,197	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	835	175.50/cwt	175.50–175.50	1,465	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	—	905	171.50/cwt	171.50–171.50	1,552	1
Steers	Large 1	—	652	198.00/cwt	198.00–198.00	1,291	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	515	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	1,082	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	633	221.00/cwt	221.00–221.00	1,399	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	905	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	1,448	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	710	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	1,225	2
Bulls	Large 1-2	—	1,035	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	1,449	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	—	710	199.00/cwt	199.00–199.00	1,413	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	957	75.99/cwt	73.00–79.00	727	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,295	87.00/cwt	87.00–87.00	1,127	1
Bulls	—	—	2,026	132.02/cwt	122.00–139.00	2,675	11
Bulls	—	—	1,907	110.01/cwt	107.00–112.00	2,098	5
Bulls	—	—	1,675	96.19/cwt	85.00–106.00	1,611	17
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,554	98.24/cwt	97.50–98.50	1,527	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,706	94.43/cwt	92.00–96.50	1,611	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,589	88.70/cwt	87.00–93.00	1,409	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,596	92.50/cwt	92.50–92.50	1,476	30
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,488	93.09/cwt	87.00–95.00	1,385	14
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,443	107.50/cwt	107.50–107.50	1,551	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,447	100.82/cwt	98.00–105.50	1,459	23
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,427	90.93/cwt	85.00–97.00	1,298	115
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,212	87.98/cwt	85.00–93.00	1,066	62
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,425	84.56/cwt	81.00–86.50	1,205	46
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,055	97.50/cwt	97.50–97.50	2,004	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,202	81.57/cwt	75.00–85.00	980	30
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,275	95.95/cwt	95.00–97.50	1,223	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,167	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	840	5
Bulls	—	—	2,378	118.67/cwt	114.00–123.00	2,822	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,440	85.00/cwt	85.00–85.00	1,224	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,320	92.00/cwt	92.00–92.00	1,214	1
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,603	122.53/cwt	118.00–125.00	3,189	3
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,715	111.00/cwt	111.00–111.00	3,014	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,310	105.00/cwt	105.00–105.00	1,376	1
Stock Cows	Large 1-2	—	991	103.50/cwt	103.50–103.50	1,026	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,021	140.78/cwt	112.00–160.00	1,437	87
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,005	109.00/cwt	109.00–109.00	1,095	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,520	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	1,763	1
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,250	2,207.95/head	1,825.00–2,250.00	2,208	37
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,134	107.53/cwt	91.00–138.00	1,219	30
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,430	2,046.25/head	2,025.00–2,110.00	2,046	40
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,442	1,700.00/head	1,700.00–1,700.00	1,700	19
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	899	123.33/cwt	100.00–138.00	1,109	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,442	2,200.00/head	2,200.00–2,200.00	2,200	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Fleshy	—	604	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	1,087	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	724	171.00/cwt	171.00–171.00	1,238	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	795	163.00/cwt	163.00–163.00	1,296	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	678	184.81/cwt	183.00–185.00	1,253	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	718	183.19/cwt	182.00–184.00	1,315	15
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	—	460	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,012	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	755	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	1,117	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	—	737	159.00/cwt	159.00–159.00	1,172	3

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 →