Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2024-11-13
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-11-13

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Both calf and yearling quality was average today. Moderate to good demand was seen for yearlings, however demand did diminish as buyers filled loads. Most feeders were offered in small packages or as singles. Market activity was mostly moderate to active today. Weigh up cows comprised most of todays sale. Cow quality this week was mixed from plain to very attractive. Many lame, low yielding cows continue to be seen and many were purchased to feed again this week. Packer buyers were active in buying lower yielding slightly blemished cows as well. These cows were purchased to hold for the upcoming holidays. Feeding cow demand started the sale very good but moderated as buyers filled loads. This led to wide price spreads on both boning and lean cows. High quality feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 lower. Most cows were purchased to feed again this week as very few offerings were purchased for direct slaughter. Demand for slaughter cows was mostly light, but stronger than last week. Slaughter cows sold steady on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Weigh conditions were mostly average today. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to weak. Feeding bulls sold generally steady. Quality today was mostly average for bulls. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady to weak. Demand from rebreed buyers remains good to very good, however quality this week overall was not as attractive as last week. Young cow offerings were heavy.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $268.69/cwt on 92 head. That ranks 1 of 19 comparable sales and sits −152.84 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$268.69

92 head · 542 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,456

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$161

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

$28.91/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−11.32

vs MT average

+3.59 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	540	271.91	1,468	80
Large 1	550	249.25	1,371	5thin
Medium 1	570	247.00	1,408	5thin
Medium and Large 2	538	243.00	1,307	2thin

One grade step is worth $28.91/cwt here — about $161 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 300–400 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

19 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $464.07, low $350.88, median $421.54 across 19 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 sale92 hd

268.69

—

MT average5 barns · 1,143 hd

280.02

−11.32

National average194 barns · 23,548 hd

265.10

+3.59

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−152.84

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	1,805	141.96	2,562	49
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,692	119.11	2,015	44
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,380	114.33	1,578	503
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,167	108.09	1,261	602

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	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,080	$2,389	19
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,217	$2,330	25
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,213	$1,784	31
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	950	$1,750	5
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,133	$1,500	2thin
Bred Heifers	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	(<2 yrs)	884	$1,850	10

Every lot, as filed

100 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 1	950–1000	987	221.00/cwt	221.00–221.00	2,181	38
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	963	216.30/cwt	215.00–220.00	2,083	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	445	339.80/cwt	330.00–342.50	1,512	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,217	2,330.27/head	2,050.00–2,500.00	2,330	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	450–500	461	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,245	11
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	885	228.00/cwt	228.00–228.00	2,018	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,010	212.00/cwt	212.00–212.00	2,141	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	400	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,280	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,060	213.00/cwt	213.00–213.00	2,258	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	868	236.97/cwt	235.00–239.00	2,057	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	554	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,357	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	567	254.03/cwt	254.00–255.00	1,440	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	700–750	727	236.86/cwt	235.00–239.00	1,722	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,024	210.01/cwt	207.00–214.00	2,151	46
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	936	227.50/cwt	227.50–227.50	2,129	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	667	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,567	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	499	331.00/cwt	331.00–331.00	1,652	15
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,213	1,783.65/head	1,700.00–1,800.00	1,784	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	522	285.23/cwt	281.00–290.50	1,489	47
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	515	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,416	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	575	290.72/cwt	286.00–297.00	1,672	46
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	511	324.84/cwt	314.00–340.00	1,660	19
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	624	280.26/cwt	275.00–285.00	1,749	17
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,080	2,389.05/head	2,375.00–2,400.00	2,389	19
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,043	158.09/cwt	121.00–196.00	1,649	114
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	650–700	650	239.00/cwt	239.00–239.00	1,554	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	469	346.68/cwt	335.00–352.00	1,626	26
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	768	193.69/cwt	192.50–194.00	1,488	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,133	1,500.00/head	1,500.00–1,500.00	1,500	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,009	135.54/cwt	117.50–170.00	1,368	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	371	322.85/cwt	295.00–335.00	1,198	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	467	299.63/cwt	297.50–300.00	1,399	13
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	950	1,750.00/head	1,750.00–1,750.00	1,750	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,314	119.00/cwt	119.00–119.00	1,564	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	954	191.77/cwt	140.00–217.50	1,829	267
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	399	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,377	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	700–750	720	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,584	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	250–300	258	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	942	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	315	442.38/cwt	440.00–445.00	1,393	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	962	167.68/cwt	135.00–186.00	1,613	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	600–650	618	267.28/cwt	265.00–268.50	1,652	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	968	213.00/cwt	213.00–213.00	2,062	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	866	221.00/cwt	215.00–226.00	1,914	28
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	486	302.50/cwt	302.50–302.50	1,470	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,580	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	2,054	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,379	116.04/cwt	109.00–120.00	1,600	357
Bulls	—	—	2,195	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	3,336	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,733	146.32/cwt	145.00–147.00	2,536	11
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,690	156.00/cwt	156.00–156.00	4,196	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,690	139.47/cwt	130.00–143.00	2,357	11
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,358	122.40/cwt	120.50–125.50	1,662	35
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,147	105.67/cwt	93.00–112.00	1,212	183
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,288	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,546	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,685	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	1,887	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,106	79.52/cwt	72.00–84.00	879	27
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,266	91.84/cwt	87.50–97.00	1,163	23
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,210	107.22/cwt	100.00–120.00	1,297	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	897	83.16/cwt	80.00–86.00	746	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,814	131.40/cwt	131.00–131.50	2,384	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,634	117.66/cwt	116.50–119.50	1,923	26
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,371	98.10/cwt	96.00–100.00	1,345	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,398	107.46/cwt	104.00–111.00	1,502	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,194	102.00/cwt	85.00–111.00	1,218	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,003	89.80/cwt	84.00–94.00	901	25
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,719	110.40/cwt	109.00–113.00	1,898	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,505	93.50/cwt	93.00–94.00	1,407	2
Bulls	—	—	1,639	131.74/cwt	125.00–136.00	2,159	5
Bulls	—	—	2,005	148.46/cwt	144.50–154.00	2,977	17
Steers	Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	541	266.00/cwt	266.00–266.00	1,439	22
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,389	107.36/cwt	97.50–113.50	1,491	95
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,808	118.93/cwt	118.50–121.00	2,150	8
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,378	85.00/cwt	85.00–85.00	1,171	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	887	74.39/cwt	69.00–77.00	660	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,196	115.41/cwt	108.50–119.50	1,380	324
Heifers	Large 1	1200–1250	1,220	197.50/cwt	197.50–197.50	2,410	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	428	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,498	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	357	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	1,357	7
Heifers	Medium 1	850–900	866	214.00/cwt	214.00–214.00	1,853	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	500–550	538	243.00/cwt	243.00–243.00	1,307	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	389	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,439	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	700–750	720	237.80/cwt	229.00–241.00	1,712	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	425	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,275	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	576	277.47/cwt	267.50–280.00	1,598	32
Bred Heifers	Medium 1	—	884	1,850.00/head	1,850.00–1,850.00	1,850	10
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	550–600	570	247.00/cwt	247.00–247.00	1,408	5
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	400–450	431	282.50/cwt	282.50–282.50	1,218	10
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	500–550	519	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,453	8
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	450–500	475	292.00/cwt	292.00–292.00	1,387	6
Heifers	Medium 1	800–850	843	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	1,812	5
Heifers	Large 1	900–950	910	211.00/cwt	211.00–211.00	1,920	3
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,210	175.00/cwt	175.00–175.00	2,118	1
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,265	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	1,929	1
Steers	Medium 2Unweaned	450–500	465	227.50/cwt	227.50–227.50	1,058	4
Steers	Medium 2Unweaned	400–450	414	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	1,221	6
Heifers	Medium 2Unweaned	300–350	342	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	787	6
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	988	190.60/cwt	140.00–205.00	1,883	9
Heifers	Large 1Unweaned	550–600	550	249.25/cwt	249.25–249.25	1,371	5
Heifers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,100	202.00/cwt	202.00–202.00	2,222	6
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,079	206.49/cwt	202.50–209.00	2,228	6
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,104	198.18/cwt	197.50–205.00	2,188	11

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 →