Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-10-01
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-10-01

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. All calves were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings was mostly good for light offerings. Demand for calves was mostly good to very good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most offerings were in small packages this week with many singles noted. Buyers were forced to pick around to try and find like cattle to fill orders. Many blemished cattle continue to be seen as producers took advantage of record high feeder cattle prices. Market activity was active despite a lower quality offering. Weigh up cows sold on mostly very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Slaughter cows were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Very few offerings were purchased for slaughter this week as feeding cow buyers kept cow prices above slaughter cow orders. Only extremely blemished cows, not suitable to feed, were purchased for immediate harvest this week. Feeding cows sold generally steady. Quality was similar to last week, however weigh conditions were not as attractive as they were the previous week. Weigh conditions were mostly average this week. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00-5.00 higher as private feeders pushed to buy most sound bulls to feed. Demand for feeding bulls was good to very good this sale. Feeding bulls sold 2.00-3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Stronger demand was seen for replacement young cow offerings this week. Quality was mostly average to attractive.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $393.87/cwt on 18 head. That ranks 5 of 19 comparable sales and sits −27.67 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$393.87

18 head · 547 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,154

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$158

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

$58.44/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−12.07

vs MT average

+24.96 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	540	408.44	2,206	13thin
Medium and Large 1-2	535	365.00	1,953	2thin
Medium 1-2	585	350.00	2,048	3thin

One grade step is worth $58.44/cwt here — about $158 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 500–600 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 sale18 hd

393.87

—

MT average3 barns · 273 hd

405.94

−12.07

National average182 barns · 13,299 hd

368.91

+24.96

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−27.67

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	—	High	1,798	194.12	3,491	48
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,574	171.51	2,700	76
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,445	166.80	2,410	176
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,224	157.14	1,923	66

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 Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,250	$3,345	6
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,252	$3,126	4thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,379	$3,100	4thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,010	$3,000	1thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,456	$2,950	7
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,370	$2,850	7
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,371	$2,730	5

Every lot, as filed

73 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 1Unweaned	650–700	665	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,427	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	522	417.71/cwt	405.00–427.50	2,180	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	410	510.00/cwt	510.00–510.00	2,091	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	1000–1050	1,010	306.00/cwt	306.00–306.00	3,091	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,030	292.00/cwt	290.00–294.00	3,008	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	561	397.62/cwt	340.00–410.00	2,231	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	560	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	1,848	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400–450	419	514.31/cwt	500.00–535.00	2,155	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	573	405.81/cwt	395.00–417.50	2,325	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	627	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,414	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	484	426.64/cwt	425.00–430.00	2,065	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	580	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	2,378	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	790	334.00/cwt	334.00–334.00	2,639	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	448	492.50/cwt	492.50–492.50	2,206	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	350–400	375	465.00/cwt	465.00–465.00	1,744	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	464	494.18/cwt	485.00–505.00	2,293	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	540	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	2,592	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,252	3,125.87/head	3,100.00–3,200.00	3,126	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,423	2,800.00/head	2,800.00–2,800.00	2,800	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,143	232.25/cwt	191.00–270.00	2,655	35
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,456	2,950.00/head	2,950.00–2,950.00	2,950	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,293	2,624.56/head	2,550.00–2,700.00	2,625	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,005	311.00/cwt	311.00–311.00	3,126	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	938	246.39/cwt	200.00–260.00	2,311	7
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,175	172.86/cwt	167.50–178.00	2,031	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,309	186.66/cwt	168.00–189.50	2,443	21
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,295	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	2,396	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,250	3,345.20/head	3,250.00–3,400.00	3,345	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Full	950–1000	982	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	2,946	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,092	214.24/cwt	183.00–230.00	2,340	7
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,517	179.06/cwt	175.00–179.50	2,716	30
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,215	176.23/cwt	173.00–184.00	2,141	13
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,474	149.48/cwt	143.00–155.00	2,203	14
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,260	167.99/cwt	157.50–173.00	2,117	28
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,428	176.51/cwt	171.00–181.00	2,521	50
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,439	169.21/cwt	158.00–178.50	2,435	91
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,156	140.72/cwt	138.00–145.00	1,627	8
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,445	148.06/cwt	145.00–151.00	2,139	11
Bulls	—	—	1,905	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	3,943	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,668	154.16/cwt	152.00–156.00	2,571	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,772	162.49/cwt	162.00–164.00	2,879	10
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,420	183.00/cwt	183.00–183.00	2,599	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,230	154.32/cwt	151.00–156.00	1,898	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,575	157.01/cwt	156.00–158.00	2,473	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,522	135.19/cwt	131.00–140.00	2,058	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,195	125.64/cwt	117.50–137.00	1,501	13
Bulls	—	—	1,961	197.24/cwt	193.00–204.00	3,868	16
Bulls	—	—	1,843	177.74/cwt	169.00–185.00	3,276	6
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,245	234.00/cwt	234.00–234.00	2,913	1
Steers	Large 1	600–650	631	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,335	7
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,160	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	3,074	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,560	169.23/cwt	162.00–173.00	2,640	32
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,594	155.04/cwt	153.00–156.00	2,471	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,690	196.07/cwt	189.00–204.00	3,314	24
Heifers	Medium 1-2	650–700	698	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,443	5
Heifers	Medium 1-2	550–600	585	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,048	3
Bulls	Medium 1Unweaned	400–450	420	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	1,722	3
Bulls	Large 1-2	1250–1300	1,250	217.50/cwt	217.50–217.50	2,719	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1200–1250	1,205	228.00/cwt	228.00–228.00	2,747	1
Bulls	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,095	263.00/cwt	263.00–263.00	2,880	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,072	277.76/cwt	242.00–299.00	2,978	19
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,385	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	2,770	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,370	2,850.00/head	2,850.00–2,850.00	2,850	7
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,379	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 2	—	1,078	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	2,102	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,010	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	510	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,040	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	907	297.00/cwt	297.00–297.00	2,694	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	687	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,336	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	715	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	2,360	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	881	311.00/cwt	311.00–311.00	2,740	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	400–450	424	444.17/cwt	440.00–445.00	1,883	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	508	452.62/cwt	425.00–455.00	2,299	13

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 →