Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-06-25
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-06-25

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for feeders was good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Demand for cutting bulls remains very good as several buyers continue to purchase bulls to cut and make steers. Market activity was active with buyers all bidding rapidly. Weigh up cows and bulls comprised most of the sale today. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand as this is the last opportunity for buyers to buy cows and bulls before the 4th of July holiday. Very few cows were purchased for immediate slaughter as demand for feeding cows remains very good and kept prices mostly above slaughter cow purchase orders. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher on breaking cows in a narrow comparison. Boning and lean cows were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Feeding cows sold on mostly good to very good demand. Feeding cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Cow quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to above average. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 3.00 higher, with the largest price increase seen for average to below average yielding bulls. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold generally steady to firm in a narrow comparison. The calendar continues to work against the young cow market as many buyers want to have cows out with bulls by this time of year. Demand for fleshy young cows which will finish quickly was mostly good as buyers hope to blend these fleshy offerings onto market ready loads. Quality this week was mostly average.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $330.72/cwt on 19 head. That ranks 1 of 19 comparable sales and sits −90.82 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$330.72

19 head · 566 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,871

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$54

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

$10.77/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−6.95

vs MT average

−5.19 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	565	334.12	1,888	13thin
Medium and Large 1-2	567	323.35	1,833	6thin

One grade step is worth $10.77/cwt here — about $54 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 600–700 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

330.72

—

MT average2 barns · 25 hd

337.66

−6.95

National average145 barns · 7,340 hd

335.91

−5.19

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−90.82

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	1,811	183.75	3,327	75
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,379	160.53	2,214	191
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,736	157.78	2,739	17
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,136	150.52	1,711	74
Dairy Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	2,110	149.00	3,144	2thin
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,598	139.00	2,221	3thin
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,260	105.00	1,323	1thin

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)	1,461	$3,070	14
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,388	$2,950	4thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,443	$2,863	8
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,168	$2,760	5
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,223	$2,378	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,435	$2,350	2thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,292	$2,150	9
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,645	$3,500	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,633	$3,449	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,409	$3,397	15
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,619	$3,366	6
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,572	$3,250	15
Heifer Pairs	Open	(<2 yrs)	1,283	$3,600	3thin

Every lot, as filed

96 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
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	673	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	2,255	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,573	3,350.00/head	3,350.00–3,350.00	3,350	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,663	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,619	3,366.44/head	3,200.00–3,400.00	3,366	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,018	251.00/cwt	251.00–251.00	2,555	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	826	283.00/cwt	283.00–283.00	2,338	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,388	2,950.00/head	2,950.00–2,950.00	2,950	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	622	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,053	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	570	332.00/cwt	332.00–332.00	1,892	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	557	337.50/cwt	337.50–337.50	1,880	5
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,035	243.00/cwt	243.00–243.00	2,515	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,814	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	709	323.28/cwt	316.00–327.00	2,292	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	678	319.51/cwt	319.00–320.00	2,166	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	493	332.50/cwt	332.50–332.50	1,639	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	404	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,394	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	435	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	1,675	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	760	312.52/cwt	305.00–313.50	2,375	51
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	917	272.83/cwt	271.00–280.00	2,502	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	760	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	2,128	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	748	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,281	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	333	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	1,432	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	839	292.39/cwt	291.00–296.00	2,453	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	642	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,215	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	936	238.71/cwt	213.00–270.00	2,234	9
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,283	3,600.00/head	3,600.00–3,600.00	3,600	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,487	3,399.78/head	3,200.00–3,500.00	3,400	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,633	3,449.16/head	3,400.00–3,500.00	3,449	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,480	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,495	178.00/cwt	178.00–178.00	2,661	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,120	2,550.00/head	2,550.00–2,550.00	2,550	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,645	3,500.00/head	3,500.00–3,500.00	3,500	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,549	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,355	2,350.00/head	2,350.00–2,350.00	2,350	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Non-Legible BANGS	—	1,343	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,492	3,166.90/head	3,000.00–3,400.00	3,167	11
Cow-Calf Pairs	Small and Medium 2	—	984	2,850.00/head	2,850.00–2,850.00	2,850	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,075	205.30/cwt	182.00–222.50	2,207	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,003	197.80/cwt	172.50–225.00	1,984	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,330	2,450.00/head	2,450.00–2,450.00	2,450	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,335	2,100.00/head	2,100.00–2,100.00	2,100	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	955	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	1,528	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,697	162.87/cwt	160.00–166.00	2,764	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,298	143.18/cwt	132.00–150.00	1,858	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,050	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,481	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,607	164.01/cwt	162.00–165.00	2,636	3
Dairy Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,110	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	3,144	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,870	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	2,450	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,392	130.22/cwt	124.00–135.00	1,813	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,388	147.91/cwt	146.00–149.00	2,053	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,885	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	2,639	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,773	157.57/cwt	155.00–160.00	2,794	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,555	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	2,504	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,030	156.00/cwt	156.00–156.00	3,167	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,515	158.76/cwt	158.00–163.00	2,405	6
Bulls	—	—	2,510	167.30/cwt	165.00–169.50	4,199	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,133	156.88/cwt	155.00–158.00	1,777	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,138	126.04/cwt	112.50–132.00	1,434	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	932	134.34/cwt	132.00–136.00	1,252	3
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,260	105.00/cwt	105.00–105.00	1,323	1
Bulls	—	—	1,703	163.21/cwt	151.00–171.00	2,779	5
Bulls	—	—	2,065	199.45/cwt	190.00–213.00	4,119	21
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,108	138.28/cwt	128.00–149.00	1,532	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,177	163.13/cwt	161.50–166.00	1,920	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	990	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	1,485	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	790	122.52/cwt	117.50–130.00	968	2
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,243	156.09/cwt	152.50–160.00	1,940	2
Bulls	—	—	1,894	183.60/cwt	176.00–196.00	3,477	24
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,173	156.54/cwt	150.00–165.00	1,836	29
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,369	165.02/cwt	162.00–168.00	2,259	90
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,382	158.05/cwt	151.00–162.00	2,184	86
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,598	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	2,221	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	567	323.35/cwt	320.00–330.00	1,833	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	753	316.50/cwt	316.50–316.50	2,383	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 2Fleshy	900–950	920	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	1,840	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	650	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,788	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	900–950	935	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	2,197	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	583	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	2,084	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,153	195.75/cwt	166.00–230.00	2,257	65
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,200	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,200	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	2,028	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,223	2,377.91/head	2,350.00–2,400.00	2,378	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	923	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	2,492	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	865	247.50/cwt	247.50–247.50	2,141	2
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,129	240.04/cwt	239.00–245.00	2,710	17
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	783	216.36/cwt	205.00–227.50	1,694	4
Stock Cows	Medium 2	—	920	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	1,472	1
Steers	Medium 1-2	500–550	523	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,621	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,535	2,600.00/head	2,600.00–2,600.00	2,600	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,292	2,150.00/head	2,150.00–2,150.00	2,150	9
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,397	170.77/cwt	165.00–174.00	2,386	6
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,506	179.92/cwt	172.00–185.00	2,710	15
Cow-Calf Pairs	Large 1-2	—	1,340	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	2
Heifers	Large 1Fleshy	900–950	925	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	2,035	4
Heifers	Large 1Fleshy	800–850	840	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	1,999	4
Bulls	Large 1-2	1200–1250	1,205	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	2,277	1

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 →