Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2026-03-18
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-03-18

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week (3-11-26): Feeder cattle were not well tested last week, thus no accurate trend is available, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive and offered in small to moderate size packages. Demand was mostly good for light to moderate offerings. Limited feeder cattle made putting together loads difficult for buyers. A moderate size crowd was on hand for todays sale. Market activity was active as a result. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand again this week. Almost every cow purchased today was once again purchased to feed in some capacity. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Quality this week was average to attractive, and similar to last week. A few sets of cows which had be started on feed sold this week. Demand from packers was stronger this week as they showed good demand for fleshy cows which had been started on feed. Most of fed cows on offer were purchased to return to feed as most needed another 30-60 days to grade premium white. Canadian buyers were back in the market this week and they showed very good demand for feeding cows to ship north and feed. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average today and similar to last weeks sale. Cows with blemishes were also heavily purchased to feed this week as buyers pushed cow prices well over packer buyers orders for slaughter cows. Very few cows were purchased for immediate harvest as feeding cow demand held cow prices above slaughter cow orders. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Feeding bull buyers were very aggressive in buying bulls to feed. Feeding bulls sold generally steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Demand for young cows remains very good. Young age offerings sold mostly steady. Quality this week was average to attractive, but not as attractive as last weeks offering.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $420.42/cwt on 14 head, down $1.12 from the prior sale (only 13 head in that comparison). That ranks 9 of 19 comparable sales and sits −1.12 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$420.42

▼ 1.12 vs prior sale

14 head · 568 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,388

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$313

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 2

$47.16/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−24.66

vs MT average

+4.30 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	570	427.16	2,433	12thin
Medium 2	558	380.00	2,120	2thin

One grade step is worth $47.16/cwt here — about $313 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 sale14 hd

420.42

—

MT average3 barns · 150 hd

445.09

−24.66

National average164 barns · 8,069 hd

416.12

+4.30

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−1.12

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	1,776	203.46	3,613	37
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,393	174.96	2,438	71
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,496	174.59	2,612	45
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,121	155.11	1,738	15

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)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,580	$3,500	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,440	$3,400	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,407	$2,967	3thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,300	$2,900	1thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,587	$4,700	3thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,835	$4,150	2thin

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
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,080	161.66/cwt	155.00–164.00	1,746	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,218	176.18/cwt	172.50–180.00	2,146	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,469	164.34/cwt	160.00–170.50	2,414	6
Bulls	—	—	2,190	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	4,533	1
Bulls	—	—	1,955	212.56/cwt	202.00–215.00	4,156	17
Bulls	—	—	2,270	216.00/cwt	216.00–216.00	4,903	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,138	146.39/cwt	145.00–147.50	1,666	2
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,690	163.91/cwt	161.00–166.00	2,770	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,645	169.57/cwt	167.00–176.00	2,789	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,419	163.77/cwt	156.00–169.00	2,324	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,335	185.59/cwt	184.00–188.00	2,478	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,145	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	2,072	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	538	465.00/cwt	465.00–465.00	2,502	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	860	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,752	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	350–400	375	650.00/cwt	650.00–650.00	2,438	1
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	823	347.50/cwt	347.50–347.50	2,860	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	477	490.00/cwt	490.00–490.00	2,337	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	850–900	877	311.00/cwt	311.00–311.00	2,727	3
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2	900–950	934	290.00/cwt	290.00–290.00	2,709	4
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2	800–850	818	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,618	32
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	800–850	836	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	2,696	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	570	443.62/cwt	440.00–450.00	2,529	7
Steers	Medium 1	600–650	633	436.16/cwt	432.00–445.00	2,761	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	679	420.43/cwt	418.00–425.00	2,855	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	674	397.06/cwt	395.00–401.00	2,676	3
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 1-2	900–950	902	306.50/cwt	306.50–306.50	2,765	25
Beef/Dairy Heifers	Large 1-2	750–800	770	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	2,464	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	712	407.99/cwt	406.00–421.50	2,905	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	362	600.00/cwt	600.00–600.00	2,172	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	608	450.50/cwt	450.50–450.50	2,739	36
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	459	545.00/cwt	545.00–545.00	2,502	4
Steers	Medium 2	400–450	420	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,491	2
Steers	Medium 2	600–650	610	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,678	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	770	350.40/cwt	350.00–352.00	2,698	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	737	362.82/cwt	359.75–365.50	2,674	142
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	850–900	858	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,917	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	759	395.00/cwt	395.00–395.00	2,998	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	407	572.95/cwt	570.00–575.00	2,332	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	588	462.50/cwt	462.50–462.50	2,720	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	630	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,426	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	378	500.00/cwt	500.00–500.00	1,890	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	659	380.00/cwt	377.00–385.00	2,504	13
Steers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	325	570.00/cwt	570.00–570.00	1,853	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	645	428.38/cwt	427.00–432.50	2,763	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	300–350	315	506.64/cwt	505.00–510.00	1,596	3
Heifers	Medium 2	600–650	623	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,931	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	706	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,436	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	660	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	2,360	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	1000–1050	1,013	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	3,090	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,348	142.36/cwt	140.00–145.00	1,919	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,460	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	2,351	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,455	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	2,183	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,397	177.36/cwt	170.00–182.50	2,478	51
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,118	132.62/cwt	120.00–137.00	1,483	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,423	179.04/cwt	172.00–180.00	2,548	25
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,553	183.91/cwt	182.00–185.00	2,856	3
Bulls	—	—	1,626	187.65/cwt	182.50–192.00	3,051	8
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,746	196.79/cwt	196.00–197.00	3,436	4
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,330	205.24/cwt	199.00–210.00	2,730	5
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,360	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	2,407	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,127	262.10/cwt	240.00–311.00	2,954	17
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,129	219.00/cwt	180.00–280.00	2,473	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,160	242.50/cwt	242.50–242.50	2,813	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,300	2,900.00/head	2,900.00–2,900.00	2,900	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,440	3,400.00/head	3,400.00–3,400.00	3,400	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,580	3,500.00/head	3,500.00–3,500.00	3,500	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,440	3,250.00/head	3,250.00–3,250.00	3,250	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,835	4,150.00/head	4,150.00–4,150.00	4,150	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,255	184.97/cwt	183.00–190.00	2,321	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,065	269.89/cwt	202.00–322.50	2,874	30
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,340	2,400.00/head	2,400.00–2,400.00	2,400	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,587	4,700.00/head	4,700.00–4,700.00	4,700	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	800–850	806	322.00/cwt	322.00–322.00	2,595	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	300–350	342	500.00/cwt	500.00–500.00	1,710	9
Heifers	Medium 2	550–600	558	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	2,120	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	814	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,646	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	450–500	497	440.00/cwt	440.00–440.00	2,187	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	700–750	743	349.00/cwt	349.00–349.00	2,593	20
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	415	490.20/cwt	472.50–525.00	2,034	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	623	405.27/cwt	394.00–417.00	2,525	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	795	338.00/cwt	338.00–338.00	2,687	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	576	422.59/cwt	422.00–425.00	2,434	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	538	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,421	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Fleshy	700–750	732	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	2,452	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	495	452.50/cwt	452.50–452.50	2,240	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	900–950	922	330.88/cwt	330.00–336.50	3,051	22

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 →