Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-03-19
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-03-19

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: The last feeder special was February 28th and compared to that feeder special all steers sold 5.00-10.00 higher. Heifers under 550 lbs sold 6.00-12.00 higher, while heifers over 550 lbs sold steady to firm. Feeder cattle sold on mostly good to very good demand for moderate offerings. Quality was mixed today from plain to attractive. Many cutback cattle continue to be seen off winter and spring video sales. Many sets of cattle were out of backgrounding lots. Some backgrounded cattle were in moderate plus to fleshy in condition and carrying some mud or tag. Package sizes were mixed today but most packages were small to moderate in size. A single load lot and several partial load lots seen. Several sets of cattle that were developed for grass were seen. Many of these cattle were in light to very light flesh. Buyers showed strong premiums for high quality thin fleshed cattle this sale. A large crowd was on hand for todays sale with both order buyers and ranchers noticed. Ranchers were active in buying cattle suitable to run on grass this summer. Market activity was mostly active today with buyers both ringside as well as over the internet actively bidding on offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for light to moderate offerings. Regional packers and major packers continue to show very good demand for cows to feed. Slaughter cows sold with steady undertones in a narrow comparison. Most cows were purchased to feed this week, while last week a mixture of slaughter and feeding cows was seen. Overall cow prices were similar to last week with more feeding cows seen this week compared to last week. Feeding cows sold generally steady on all offerings. Cow quality was mixed this week from plain to very attractive. Weigh up conditions were mixed as well, with both empty and full cows noticed. 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 very attractive and overall more attractive and higher yielding compared to last week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Demand from rebreed buyers was mostly good this sale.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $375.67/cwt on 102 head. That ranks 1 of 11 comparable sales and sits −115.78 against this barn's trailing median of $491.45.

Average price

$375.67

102 head · 559 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,099

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$168

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

$8.87/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−2.62

vs MT average

+18.51 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	561	376.37	2,112	94
Medium and Large 1-2	529	367.50	1,944	8thin

One grade step is worth $8.87/cwt here — about $168 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

11 sales

Steers 500–600 lb: high $510.69, low $452.33, median $491.45 across 11 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 sale102 hd

375.67

—

MT average3 barns · 246 hd

378.30

−2.62

National average170 barns · 10,920 hd

357.16

+18.51

This barn, trailing median11 sales

491.45

−115.78

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	1,820	168.09	3,059	70
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,461	150.58	2,200	160
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	Average	1,666	149.50	2,491	68
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,696	143.83	2,439	12
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,195	137.08	1,638	59
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,300	121.00	1,573	1thin
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,458	119.00	1,735	3thin

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)	1,625	$2,300	4thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,100	$2,700	1thin

Every lot, as filed

107 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	400–450	429	384.00/cwt	384.00–384.00	1,647	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	383	385.84/cwt	370.00–390.00	1,478	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	850–900	872	249.00/cwt	249.00–249.00	2,171	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	600–650	630	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,331	33
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	500–550	524	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,860	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	632	303.31/cwt	295.00–313.00	1,917	57
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	650–700	656	354.00/cwt	354.00–354.00	2,322	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	670	292.58/cwt	290.00–296.50	1,960	73
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	594	328.00/cwt	328.00–328.00	1,948	29
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	720	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	2,052	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	776	292.44/cwt	288.00–301.00	2,269	63
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	476	416.74/cwt	407.00–426.00	1,984	79
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	950–1000	985	252.00/cwt	252.00–252.00	2,482	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	369	398.83/cwt	390.00–405.00	1,472	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	716	313.74/cwt	301.00–319.00	2,246	30
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	856	279.37/cwt	269.00–280.00	2,391	68
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	810	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,268	11
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,645	166.00/cwt	166.00–166.00	2,731	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	965	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	2,316	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	539	389.91/cwt	385.00–393.00	2,102	39
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	785	252.50/cwt	252.50–252.50	1,982	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	488	385.50/cwt	380.00–392.50	1,881	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	530	345.05/cwt	338.00–349.00	1,829	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,054	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	2,582	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	670	323.94/cwt	318.00–329.00	2,170	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	800–850	816	274.60/cwt	274.50–275.00	2,241	45
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	577	366.77/cwt	363.00–379.00	2,116	55
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	475	362.86/cwt	350.00–366.00	1,724	114
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,139	195.48/cwt	150.00–225.00	2,227	58
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	638	339.46/cwt	335.00–354.00	2,166	28
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	787	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	2,046	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	591	330.09/cwt	320.00–338.00	1,951	140
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,077	213.34/cwt	187.50–247.00	2,298	37
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,100	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,223	144.94/cwt	143.00–147.50	1,773	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	928	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	2,515	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	630	333.75/cwt	321.00–335.00	2,103	32
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,072	154.17/cwt	143.00–182.50	1,653	11
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,130	202.00/cwt	202.00–202.00	2,283	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	474	407.37/cwt	390.00–416.00	1,931	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	384	449.31/cwt	432.50–470.00	1,725	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	429	363.69/cwt	360.00–366.00	1,560	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	743	284.85/cwt	280.00–290.00	2,116	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	534	324.67/cwt	310.00–335.00	1,734	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	810	276.00/cwt	276.00–276.00	2,236	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	300–350	345	490.00/cwt	490.00–490.00	1,691	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	922	258.00/cwt	258.00–258.00	2,379	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,445	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	1,907	1
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,300	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	1,573	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,110	115.56/cwt	107.50–127.00	1,283	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,623	164.70/cwt	163.00–170.00	2,673	10
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,690	172.00/cwt	172.00–172.00	2,907	1
Bulls	—Natural	—	1,805	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	3,195	11
Cows	Premium White 65-75%	—	1,666	149.50/cwt	149.50–149.50	2,491	68
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	853	117.50/cwt	117.50–117.50	1,002	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,409	145.78/cwt	141.00–149.00	2,054	32
Bulls	—	—	2,189	178.57/cwt	163.00–182.00	3,909	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,510	151.50/cwt	151.50–151.50	2,288	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,697	155.56/cwt	146.00–159.00	2,640	13
Bulls	—	—	2,349	188.67/cwt	184.00–200.00	4,432	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,555	159.00/cwt	159.00–159.00	2,472	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,765	144.40/cwt	144.00–145.00	2,549	5
Bulls	—	—	1,709	150.48/cwt	146.00–155.00	2,572	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,482	131.40/cwt	130.00–132.00	1,947	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,472	153.28/cwt	150.00–159.00	2,256	116
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,201	149.38/cwt	149.00–150.00	1,794	15
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,256	143.83/cwt	137.00–147.00	1,807	22
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,613	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	2,274	3
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,458	119.00/cwt	119.00–119.00	1,735	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,232	131.34/cwt	131.00–132.00	1,618	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,458	130.36/cwt	126.00–133.00	1,901	4
Bulls	—	—	1,846	173.36/cwt	165.00–181.00	3,200	17
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,010	95.00/cwt	95.00–95.00	960	1
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,710	172.00/cwt	172.00–172.00	4,661	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,162	124.02/cwt	110.00–132.00	1,441	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,843	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	2,672	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,528	138.92/cwt	134.00–143.00	2,123	2
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2	850–900	853	241.00/cwt	241.00–241.00	2,056	13
Steers	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,077	249.00/cwt	249.00–249.00	2,682	6
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	800–850	836	253.64/cwt	251.00–264.00	2,120	33
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	529	367.50/cwt	365.00–370.00	1,944	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	583	308.27/cwt	305.00–312.00	1,797	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	982	263.37/cwt	258.00–266.00	2,586	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	728	272.50/cwt	272.50–272.50	1,984	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	803	257.00/cwt	257.00–257.00	2,064	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	900–950	938	246.00/cwt	246.00–246.00	2,307	2
Heifers	Medium 1	550–600	573	307.50/cwt	307.50–307.50	1,762	2
Steers	Medium 1	800–850	815	261.00/cwt	261.00–261.00	2,127	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	466	340.95/cwt	340.00–345.00	1,589	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	788	282.98/cwt	279.00–285.00	2,230	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	666	266.00/cwt	266.00–266.00	1,772	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	644	267.50/cwt	267.50–267.50	1,723	19
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	750–800	778	252.00/cwt	252.00–252.00	1,961	2
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,230	202.50/cwt	202.50–202.50	2,491	1
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,190	212.50/cwt	212.50–212.50	2,529	1
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,260	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	2,457	1
Steers	Medium 2	400–450	420	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	945	4
Heifers	Medium 1	650–700	670	274.00/cwt	274.00–274.00	1,836	4
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	900–950	918	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	2,203	6
Heifers	Large 1	450–500	493	337.50/cwt	337.50–337.50	1,664	6
Steers	Large 1	750–800	775	283.00/cwt	283.00–283.00	2,193	5
Heifers	Large 1	350–400	389	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,439	6
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2	750–800	769	242.00/cwt	242.00–242.00	1,861	8
Bred Cows	Large 1	—	1,625	2,300.00/head	2,300.00–2,300.00	2,300	4
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,263	136.89/cwt	130.00–139.50	1,729	3
Heifers	Large 1-2	550–600	587	282.00/cwt	280.00–284.00	1,655	6
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,050	236.00/cwt	236.00–236.00	2,478	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 →