Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-01-15
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-01-15

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: All feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to firm undertones were noticed. Demand was good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most cattle were offered in small group or as singles. Market activity was mostly active today, with buyers both ringside and over the internet rapidly bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand today for light offerings. Cow quality this sale was mostly average to attractive. Demand for slaughter cows was good as packers only purchased cows for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher on all classes. Demand for high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white was mostly good to very good. These offerings sold mostly 1.00-4.00 higher. Thin, short term feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Many low yielding, slightly lame, or slightly blemished cows were purchased for this purpose again this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00-7.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Demand for slaughter bulls was mostly good this sale. More slaughter bull buyers were on hand for todays sale. Bull quality was average today. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average today with many offerings pushing moderate amounts of fill. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady in a narrow comparison. Demand from rebreed buyers remains good to very good. Quality this week was average to attractive. A moderate to heavy offering of bred cows were seen this sale. Over 800 head of bred cows and heifers were on offer today. Quality was mostly plain to average with a limited offering of attractive cattle seen. Demand was mostly moderate to good for bred offerings.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $309.99/cwt on 19 head. That ranks 1 of 19 comparable sales and sits −111.55 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$309.99

19 head · 549 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,703

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$130

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

$2.75/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−19.31

vs MT average

+5.96 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	563	311.00	1,751	12thin
Medium and Large 1-2	526	308.25	1,621	7thin

One grade step is worth $2.75/cwt here — about $130 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

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 sale19 hd

309.99

—

MT average3 barns · 780 hd

329.29

−19.31

National average192 barns · 30,803 hd

304.03

+5.96

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−111.55

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	1,646	143.99	2,371	18
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,503	128.62	1,933	62
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,431	127.69	1,828	107
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,128	111.81	1,261	83

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	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,401	$2,925	6
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,110	$2,700	9
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,091	$2,570	50
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,260	$2,550	48
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,253	$2,277	11
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,393	$2,236	107
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,369	$2,024	156
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,362	$1,945	11
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,290	$1,859	18
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	934	$1,491	20
Bred Heifers	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,174	$2,864	11
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	925	$2,781	111
Bred Heifers	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	(<2 yrs)	865	$1,812	13
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	(<2 yrs)	867	$1,700	3thin

Every lot, as filed

94 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	600–650	600	290.00/cwt	290.00–290.00	1,740	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,466	2,163.89/head	2,000.00–2,375.00	2,164	92
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,180	2,850.00/head	2,850.00–2,850.00	2,850	32
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	420	360.00/cwt	360.00–360.00	1,512	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,023	221.00/cwt	221.00–221.00	2,261	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	627	314.00/cwt	314.00–314.00	1,969	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,389	2,030.57/head	1,900.00–2,050.00	2,031	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,401	2,925.00/head	2,925.00–2,925.00	2,925	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,194	2,728.20/head	2,700.00–2,750.00	2,728	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,261	2,425.00/head	2,425.00–2,425.00	2,425	8
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,208	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,313	1,800.00/head	1,800.00–1,800.00	1,800	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,216	1,900.00/head	1,900.00–1,900.00	1,900	34
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,390	2,036.58/head	2,000.00–2,050.00	2,037	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,045	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	2,195	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	748	209.00/cwt	209.00–209.00	1,563	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	800–850	817	222.00/cwt	222.00–222.00	1,814	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,090	2,200.00/head	2,200.00–2,200.00	2,200	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,224	140.85/cwt	132.00–174.00	1,724	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	482	351.25/cwt	350.00–352.50	1,693	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	526	308.25/cwt	300.00–312.50	1,621	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	645	269.12/cwt	267.00–280.00	1,736	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,230	1,882.93/head	1,700.00–2,200.00	1,883	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,001	183.35/cwt	143.00–212.50	1,835	40
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,403	2,288.53/head	2,075.00–2,485.00	2,289	94
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	455	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,388	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	740	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	1,776	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	667	253.50/cwt	253.00–254.00	1,691	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	387	420.00/cwt	420.00–420.00	1,625	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,110	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	695	289.00/cwt	289.00–289.00	2,009	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	873	231.00/cwt	231.00–231.00	2,017	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,059	1,450.00/head	1,450.00–1,450.00	1,450	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,211	1,722.18/head	1,500.00–1,775.00	1,722	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,356	1,904.78/head	1,800.00–1,950.00	1,905	19
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,023	2,250.00/head	2,250.00–2,250.00	2,250	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	400	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,380	2
Bred Cows	Small and Medium 2	—	661	775.00/head	775.00–775.00	775	5
Bred Cows	Small and Medium 2	—	770	800.00/head	800.00–800.00	800	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	932	215.03/cwt	210.00–220.00	2,004	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	358	360.03/cwt	355.00–365.00	1,289	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,433	114.48/cwt	108.00–117.00	1,640	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,113	97.98/cwt	90.00–104.00	1,091	12
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,184	116.69/cwt	109.00–122.00	1,382	5
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,326	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	1,923	5
Bulls	—	—	1,646	132.45/cwt	131.00–134.00	2,180	4
Bulls	—	—	1,893	148.72/cwt	145.00–155.00	2,815	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,197	121.98/cwt	120.00–129.00	1,460	23
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,466	136.57/cwt	134.00–139.75	2,002	32
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,549	131.57/cwt	127.00–134.00	2,038	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	831	93.34/cwt	91.00–100.00	776	5
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,156	131.01/cwt	130.00–133.50	1,514	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,127	107.36/cwt	99.00–117.00	1,210	24
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	963	81.36/cwt	77.50–85.00	783	2
Bulls	—	—	1,890	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	3,043	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,280	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	1,728	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,446	126.24/cwt	124.00–132.00	1,825	47
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,460	133.77/cwt	133.00–135.25	1,953	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,369	120.40/cwt	113.00–121.50	1,648	11
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,403	103.37/cwt	91.00–111.00	1,450	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	930	113.00/cwt	113.00–113.00	1,051	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,423	127.04/cwt	121.00–133.00	1,808	50
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,765	139.29/cwt	137.50–142.00	2,458	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,215	86.00/cwt	86.00–86.00	1,045	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	2,015	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	2,922	1
Heifers	Medium 1-2	600–650	623	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,526	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	795	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,034	1
Bred Cows	Medium 2	—	924	1,188.97/head	1,100.00–1,350.00	1,189	11
Heifers	Large 1	650–700	688	259.00/cwt	259.00–259.00	1,782	2
Steers	Large 1	600–650	625	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,906	1
Bred Cows	Large 1	—	1,496	2,490.60/head	2,375.00–2,675.00	2,491	8
Steers	Medium 1	300–350	325	465.00/cwt	465.00–465.00	1,511	3
Heifers	Medium 1	650–700	682	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,739	3
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	958	2,150.00/head	2,150.00–2,150.00	2,150	5
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	814	202.00/cwt	202.00–202.00	1,644	6
Bred Heifers	Medium 1-2	—	867	1,700.00/head	1,700.00–1,700.00	1,700	3
Bred Cows	Medium 1	—	967	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,287	1,700.00/head	1,700.00–1,700.00	1,700	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,152	2,363.92/head	2,300.00–2,450.00	2,364	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,003	167.11/cwt	147.50–190.00	1,676	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	461	272.50/cwt	272.50–272.50	1,256	4
Bred Heifers	Medium 1	—	873	2,535.00/head	2,535.00–2,535.00	2,535	38
Bred Heifers	Medium 1	—	865	1,811.76/head	1,400.00–1,850.00	1,812	13
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,005	219.00/cwt	219.00–219.00	2,201	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1100–1150	1,142	209.50/cwt	209.50–209.50	2,392	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	466	346.00/cwt	346.00–346.00	1,612	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	520	363.87/cwt	362.50–365.00	1,892	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,219	2,505.66/head	2,400.00–2,675.00	2,506	30
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,328	1,878.70/head	1,850.00–2,050.00	1,879	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	538	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,722	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	805	241.00/cwt	241.00–241.00	1,940	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	820	263.31/cwt	262.00–264.00	2,159	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	588	302.00/cwt	302.00–302.00	1,776	6
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	952	2,908.32/head	2,825.00–2,975.00	2,908	73

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 →