Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-09-17
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-09-17

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week's sale, Feeder Steers traded weaker while not having a good test on Yearling Steers over 850 lbs. Feeder Heifers over 600 lbs. sold mostly 10.00-15.00 lower. Slaughter Bulls sold with lower undertones while slaughter Cows Sold Firm.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $433.08/cwt on 126 head. That ranks 1 of 11 comparable sales and sits −58.37 against this barn's trailing median of $491.45.

Average price

$433.08

126 head · 545 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,360

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$83

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

$32.07/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−1.78

vs MT average

+28.44 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	544	434.10	2,362	122
Medium and Large 2	567	402.03	2,280	4thin

One grade step is worth $32.07/cwt here — about $83 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 700–800 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 sale126 hd

433.08

—

MT average2 barns · 143 hd

434.86

−1.78

National average165 barns · 10,728 hd

404.64

+28.44

This barn, trailing median11 sales

491.45

−58.37

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	1,803	185.38	3,342	73
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,600	169.85	2,718	28
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,385	160.36	2,222	95
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,168	149.52	1,747	17

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 Heifers	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,070	$3,200	1thin
Bred Heifers	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	(<2 yrs)	886	$2,838	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,220	$4,200	4thin

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	550–600	553	364.63/cwt	355.00–372.00	2,016	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	850	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,890	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	474	477.77/cwt	460.00–500.00	2,265	43
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	578	413.24/cwt	390.00–431.00	2,389	44
Steers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	273	680.00/cwt	680.00–680.00	1,856	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	757	387.00/cwt	386.00–390.00	2,930	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	920	308.18/cwt	302.00–310.00	2,835	21
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	841	324.50/cwt	324.50–324.50	2,729	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	982	302.94/cwt	298.00–307.00	2,975	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	361	506.58/cwt	465.00–517.50	1,829	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	429	513.32/cwt	480.00–517.50	2,202	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	672	354.61/cwt	337.00–367.50	2,383	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	200–250	213	666.52/cwt	605.00–680.00	1,420	6
Steers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	431	477.39/cwt	445.00–500.00	2,058	5
Steers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	745	347.64/cwt	322.00–355.00	2,590	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	525	445.87/cwt	435.00–457.50	2,341	78
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	295	600.00/cwt	600.00–600.00	1,770	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	886	318.62/cwt	318.00–322.00	2,823	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	519	343.83/cwt	330.00–365.00	1,784	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	400–450	405	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	1,944	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	821	348.78/cwt	344.00–350.00	2,863	25
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	573	398.08/cwt	380.00–407.50	2,281	18
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	500–550	519	371.88/cwt	325.00–430.00	1,930	6
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	350–400	395	475.00/cwt	475.00–475.00	1,876	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	300–350	310	610.00/cwt	610.00–610.00	1,891	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	507	418.56/cwt	380.00–445.00	2,122	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	322	577.05/cwt	555.00–600.00	1,858	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	866	311.72/cwt	292.00–338.00	2,699	71
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	886	2,838.22/head	2,400.00–3,025.00	2,838	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	323	460.08/cwt	450.00–470.00	1,486	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	454	478.03/cwt	450.00–502.50	2,170	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	815	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,690	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	600	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,100	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	910	322.00/cwt	322.00–322.00	2,930	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,007	304.28/cwt	297.00–306.50	3,064	24
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	613	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,268	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	700–750	745	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,459	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,347	158.35/cwt	146.00–166.00	2,133	47
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,155	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,328	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,288	139.75/cwt	135.00–149.00	1,800	3
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,485	171.45/cwt	169.00–174.00	2,546	9
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,262	125.32/cwt	125.00–126.00	1,582	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,170	85.00/cwt	85.00–85.00	995	1
Bulls	—	—	1,936	186.63/cwt	178.00–195.00	3,613	34
Bulls	—	—	1,675	209.11/cwt	206.00–210.00	3,503	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,437	165.00/cwt	146.00–169.00	2,371	16
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,605	178.65/cwt	174.00–187.00	2,867	15
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,132	166.53/cwt	165.50–172.00	1,885	11
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,300	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	1,742	1
Bulls	—	—	1,760	173.27/cwt	172.00–175.00	3,050	5
Bulls	—	—	2,092	200.14/cwt	198.00–203.00	4,187	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,790	156.00/cwt	156.00–156.00	2,792	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,389	142.99/cwt	137.00–154.00	1,986	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,412	168.37/cwt	164.00–180.00	2,377	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,593	170.36/cwt	161.00–173.00	2,714	27
Heifers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,125	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	3,161	1
Steers	Large 1	1150–1200	1,160	298.54/cwt	287.00–305.00	3,463	4
Steers	Large 1	1100–1150	1,140	301.00/cwt	301.00–301.00	3,431	12
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,095	287.00/cwt	287.00–287.00	3,143	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,522	159.41/cwt	155.00–162.00	2,426	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,705	191.78/cwt	191.00–192.00	3,270	9
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,457	158.80/cwt	157.00–159.00	2,314	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,451	162.16/cwt	155.00–164.00	2,353	16
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,153	227.55/cwt	192.00–247.50	2,624	8
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	792	286.00/cwt	286.00–286.00	2,265	11
Steers	Large 1-2	1000–1050	1,045	307.00/cwt	307.00–307.00	3,208	7
Heifers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,039	297.50/cwt	297.50–297.50	3,091	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	483	384.55/cwt	365.00–435.00	1,857	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	385	455.00/cwt	455.00–455.00	1,752	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	900–950	910	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	2,503	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	750–800	765	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,333	1
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,070	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,220	4,200.00/head	4,200.00–4,200.00	4,200	4
Steers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	330	540.00/cwt	540.00–540.00	1,782	6
Steers	Medium and Large 2	350–400	355	510.00/cwt	510.00–510.00	1,811	1
Steers	Medium and Large 2	600–650	631	361.73/cwt	356.00–390.00	2,283	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	427	404.88/cwt	360.00–430.00	1,729	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 3	300–350	313	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,002	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 3	450–500	462	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	1,132	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	898	306.00/cwt	306.00–306.00	2,748	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	200–250	205	715.00/cwt	715.00–715.00	1,466	4
Steers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	567	402.03/cwt	360.00–417.00	2,280	4
Steers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	490	429.46/cwt	426.00–440.00	2,104	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	573	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	2,034	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	745	321.00/cwt	321.00–321.00	2,391	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1050–1100	1,089	289.50/cwt	289.50–289.50	3,153	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	628	379.68/cwt	368.00–404.00	2,384	16
Bulls	Medium and Large 2	400–450	445	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	1,624	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	480	416.38/cwt	416.00–417.50	1,999	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	850–900	868	271.04/cwt	255.00–319.00	2,353	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	987	306.03/cwt	290.00–315.50	3,021	25
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	357	513.80/cwt	497.00–530.00	1,834	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	418	443.06/cwt	425.00–457.50	1,852	44
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	720	387.13/cwt	386.00–392.00	2,787	16

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 →