Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-11-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-11-12

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were not tested last week as last weeks sale featured bred cows and weigh ups. Weigh up cows sold on mixed demand for heavy offerings. Demand for feeding cows was mostly moderate to good, but demand did diminish as buyers filled loads and exited the market. Buyers remaining late in the day showed lighter demand as supplies were heavy. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-6.00 lower on high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Thin feeding cows mostly 3.00-6.00 lower. Demand for thin feeding cows was lighter this week as buyers have had seen heavy offerings over the past few weeks across the northern portion of the country. Most blemished cows were purchased by packers for immediate harvest as feeding buyers showed significantly lighter demand for blemished and thin feeding cows. Slaughter cows sold unevenly as regional packers were in the market this week buying cows for harvest. These buyers purchased their loads and exited the market. Cow prices slipped sharply lower after regional packers filled their loads. Breaking cows sold 3.00 lower to 3.00 higher, boning and lean cows sold 10.00 higher to sharply lower. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive with lots of variation in quality noticed. Slaughter bulls sold 5.00-8.00 lower. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 10.00-15.00 lower. Demand for young offerings was lighter this week as it is getting late in the year to set up cows up for fall calving.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $351.24/cwt on 48 head. That ranks 2 of 19 comparable sales and sits −70.30 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$351.24

48 head · 555 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,948

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$94

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

$62.00/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−28.98

vs MT average

−12.72 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	522	386.00	2,015	15thin
Medium and Large 1-2	537	350.96	1,886	14thin
Medium 1-2	593	324.00	1,921	19thin

One grade step is worth $62.00/cwt here — about $94 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 sale48 hd

351.24

—

MT average5 barns · 1,393 hd

380.21

−28.98

National average183 barns · 20,348 hd

363.96

−12.72

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−70.30

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	1,796	166.92	2,998	45
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,570	169.28	2,657	82
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,365	159.73	2,180	528
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,175	140.43	1,649	305

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)	1,124	$3,081	20
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,244	$3,029	11
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,303	$2,608	6
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,320	$2,323	23
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,399	$2,226	10
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,346	$2,150	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,432	$4,000	15

Every lot, as filed

86 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 1-2Unweaned	600–650	619	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,950	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	600–650	629	334.37/cwt	326.00–370.00	2,103	27
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,124	3,080.63/head	2,700.00–3,350.00	3,081	20
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	990	268.13/cwt	210.00–310.00	2,654	119
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,309	2,213.06/head	2,200.00–2,250.00	2,213	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	595	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,083	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	558	342.00/cwt	330.00–350.00	1,908	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	908	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,815	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	829	287.12/cwt	280.00–290.00	2,380	16
Steers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	500–550	508	375.00/cwt	375.00–375.00	1,905	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	400–450	420	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,323	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	951	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	2,929	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	550–600	574	411.00/cwt	411.00–411.00	2,359	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	522	386.00/cwt	386.00–386.00	2,015	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	850	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	2,678	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	325	535.00/cwt	535.00–535.00	1,739	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	458	430.00/cwt	430.00–430.00	1,969	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600–650	611	377.43/cwt	374.00–380.00	2,306	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	970	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	2,862	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	802	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	2,506	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1Full	500–550	524	401.00/cwt	401.00–401.00	2,101	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	950	287.50/cwt	287.50–287.50	2,731	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	300–350	305	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	1,464	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,199	176.96/cwt	165.00–180.00	2,122	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,108	217.47/cwt	176.00–310.00	2,410	128
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,308	2,700.00/head	2,700.00–2,700.00	2,700	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,432	4,000.00/head	4,000.00–4,000.00	4,000	15
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	471	390.00/cwt	390.00–390.00	1,837	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	495	445.00/cwt	445.00–445.00	2,203	10
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	977	209.96/cwt	180.00–235.00	2,051	26
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,275	2,150.00/head	2,150.00–2,150.00	2,150	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 2	—	890	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	1,602	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,222	3,135.66/head	2,800.00–3,300.00	3,136	9
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,346	2,150.00/head	2,150.00–2,150.00	2,150	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,331	2,441.96/head	2,375.00–2,500.00	2,442	11
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	987	236.63/cwt	200.00–270.00	2,336	10
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	748	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,646	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,663	159.69/cwt	147.00–166.00	2,656	12
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,420	177.59/cwt	173.00–178.00	2,522	53
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,371	152.95/cwt	121.00–162.00	2,097	101
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,177	101.44/cwt	90.00–119.00	1,194	58
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,158	144.65/cwt	120.00–164.00	1,675	13
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,388	138.11/cwt	125.00–153.50	1,917	13
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	947	90.58/cwt	87.50–95.00	858	4
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	865	107.50/cwt	107.50–107.50	930	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,163	70.86/cwt	50.00–87.50	824	16
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,556	167.42/cwt	164.00–168.50	2,605	15
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,524	172.75/cwt	168.00–178.00	2,633	36
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	—	2,120	167.00/cwt	167.00–167.00	3,540	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	906	57.66/cwt	40.00–80.00	522	6
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,375	110.44/cwt	102.00–122.50	1,519	26
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,344	96.76/cwt	92.50–97.50	1,300	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,205	162.52/cwt	159.00–165.50	1,958	87
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	840	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,092	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,484	179.18/cwt	179.00–180.00	2,659	5
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,287	163.49/cwt	157.00–179.00	2,104	84
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,430	162.50/cwt	162.50–162.50	2,324	1
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,225	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	2,052	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,171	145.71/cwt	120.00–158.00	1,706	56
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,219	169.78/cwt	164.00–174.00	2,070	23
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,173	169.57/cwt	165.00–182.50	1,989	40
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,772	172.98/cwt	170.00–182.00	3,065	11
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,282	135.10/cwt	131.00–142.50	1,732	3
Bulls	—	—	2,215	192.00/cwt	192.00–192.00	4,253	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,616	172.99/cwt	169.50–177.50	2,796	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,615	134.33/cwt	132.50–136.00	2,169	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,375	165.57/cwt	160.00–173.00	2,277	244
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2Fleshy	950–1000	998	287.00/cwt	287.00–287.00	2,864	22
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2Fleshy	850–900	888	273.00/cwt	273.00–273.00	2,424	19
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	905	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	2,308	1
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,540	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	4,623	1
Bulls	—	—	1,958	176.14/cwt	172.00–181.00	3,449	13
Bulls	—	—	1,759	157.83/cwt	147.50–167.00	2,776	14
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	400–450	400	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	1,920	2
Heifers	Medium 1Fleshy	850–900	863	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	2,201	6
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	796	252.50/cwt	252.50–252.50	2,010	5
Steers	Large 1-2Unweaned	600–650	645	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,096	2
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	750–800	754	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,337	4
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	800–850	837	306.00/cwt	306.00–306.00	2,561	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,343	2,550.00/head	2,550.00–2,550.00	2,550	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,243	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	2,144	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,399	2,225.71/head	2,100.00–2,500.00	2,226	10
Heifers	Medium 1-2	550–600	593	324.00/cwt	324.00–324.00	1,921	19
Heifers	Medium 1Unweaned	350–400	375	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	1,688	4
Steers	Medium 1Unweaned	450–500	477	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	1,956	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500–550	526	355.93/cwt	327.50–371.00	1,872	9

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 →