Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2026-05-20
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-05-20

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week (5-13-26): Feeder cattle were scarcely traded this week as todays sale featured weigh cows, pairs, and bred cows. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Feeding cow demand remains very good. Feeding cows sold mostly 3.00-5.00 higher on a high quality offering. Additional buyers were in the feeding cow market this week which helped push cows higher as buyers showed good demand for all offerings which would feed. Canadian buyers were mostly absent this week, however offerings still pushed higher as private feeders showed very good demand for feeding cows. Demand for big, young to middle age cows was very good as feeding buyers and replacement buyers both showed good demand for high quality offerings. Many sets of cows were worked through the chute and offered buyers good weigh up conditions. Quality this week was average to very attractive with many sets of cows seen off reputation ranches. Very few cows were purchased for slaughter this week as feeding cow demand was very good. Limited slaughter cow offerings sold with steady undertones. Slaughter bulls sold mostly steady to firm in a narrow comparison. Bull quality this week was mostly attractive. Demand for young cows suitable to feed or rebreed was good to very good. Feeding and rebreeding buyers both showed good demand this week which helped push young offerings higher. Young cows sold mostly 10.00-12.00 higher. A large offering of cow calf pairs and bred cows was seen this week. Demand for pairs was mostly light to moderate. Drought conditions are driving ranchers to sell their pairs as many do not have enough grass. Drought is also keeping ranchers from buying pairs and many are leaving the state as a result. Pair quality was mixed this week from plain to very attractive. Ranchers opted to sell the light or bottom end of their pairs first as they try to cull down to have enough grass for summer. Several sets of cows were thin as dry conditions have cows chasing grass.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $425.00/cwt on 11 head, down $5.73 from the prior sale. That ranks 11 of 19 comparable sales and sits +3.46 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$425.00

▼ 5.73 vs prior sale

11 head · 593 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,520

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

—

single grade reported

vs the market

−11.21

vs MT average

+6.74 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	593	425.00	2,520	11thin

Only one grade was reported at this weight, so there is no spread to compute.

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 sale11 hd

425.00

—

MT average2 barns · 49 hd

436.21

−11.21

National average175 barns · 12,602 hd

418.26

+6.74

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

+3.46

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	1,803	221.91	4,001	35
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,398	189.73	2,652	129
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,599	186.39	2,980	48
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,143	170.21	1,946	36

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)	1,234	$3,878	48
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,449	$3,673	13
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,489	$3,562	16
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,549	$3,449	15
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,428	$3,200	4thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,176	$3,876	4thin
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,055	$3,750	2thin
Bred Heifers	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	(<2 yrs)	1,169	$3,700	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,399	$5,088	326
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,457	$4,627	34
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,556	$4,327	125
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,535	$4,108	91
Heifer Pairs	Open	(<2 yrs)	994	$4,281	60

Every lot, as filed

74 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
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,433	3,771.28/head	3,600.00–4,000.00	3,771	10
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,241	4,650.00/head	4,650.00–4,650.00	4,650	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,496	3,866.15/head	3,500.00–4,350.00	3,866	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	850–900	860	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,795	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	593	425.00/cwt	425.00–425.00	2,520	11
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,564	4,189.97/head	3,925.00–4,450.00	4,190	75
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	1,335	3,650.00/head	3,650.00–3,650.00	3,650	6
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,500	4,300.00/head	4,300.00–4,300.00	4,300	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,494	3,600.00/head	3,600.00–3,600.00	3,600	4
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,058	4,525.00/head	4,525.00–4,525.00	4,525	15
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,444	3,950.00/head	3,950.00–3,950.00	3,950	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,231	4,540.84/head	4,250.00–4,600.00	4,541	19
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,591	4,626.82/head	4,200.00–4,925.00	4,627	77
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,436	5,283.24/head	4,910.00–5,400.00	5,283	263
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,524	4,909.53/head	4,650.00–5,125.00	4,910	22
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,323	4,432.57/head	4,350.00–4,475.00	4,433	11
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,184	3,893.03/head	3,600.00–4,150.00	3,893	24
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,591	3,574.59/head	3,300.00–3,650.00	3,575	12
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,454	3,766.57/head	3,500.00–3,875.00	3,767	9
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,049	292.98/cwt	245.00–330.00	3,073	43
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	620	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,263	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,428	3,200.00/head	3,200.00–3,200.00	3,200	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,216	3,350.00/head	3,350.00–3,350.00	3,350	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,525	3,591.42/head	3,550.00–3,650.00	3,591	12
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,192	231.48/cwt	191.00–300.00	2,759	67
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,045	247.07/cwt	240.00–255.00	2,582	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,161	3,741.27/head	3,700.00–3,750.00	3,741	19
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,276	196.61/cwt	193.00–210.00	2,509	8
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,027	3,350.00/head	3,350.00–3,350.00	3,350	8
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,169	3,700.00/head	3,700.00–3,700.00	3,700	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,067	223.13/cwt	192.50–295.00	2,381	11
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,381	3,475.00/head	3,475.00–3,475.00	3,475	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,380	185.81/cwt	180.00–189.00	2,564	44
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,390	169.84/cwt	163.00–175.00	2,361	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,189	165.33/cwt	159.00–167.50	1,966	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,588	193.47/cwt	192.00–204.00	3,072	26
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,702	173.28/cwt	172.00–175.00	2,949	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,111	166.86/cwt	155.00–173.00	1,854	8
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	—	999	4,375.00/head	4,375.00–4,375.00	4,375	18
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,176	3,875.58/head	3,850.00–3,900.00	3,876	4
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	—	1,113	283.67/cwt	242.50–288.00	3,157	12
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Fancy	1000–1050	1,015	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	3,299	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	827	333.50/cwt	333.50–333.50	2,758	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,015	309.37/cwt	307.50–310.00	3,140	4
Heifer Pairs	Medium 1	—	956	4,083.86/head	3,950.00–4,350.00	4,084	27
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium 1	—	1,208	4,150.00/head	4,150.00–4,150.00	4,150	6
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,055	3,750.00/head	3,750.00–3,750.00	3,750	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,438	3,460.98/head	3,375.00–3,550.00	3,461	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,383	2,945.90/head	2,550.00–3,150.00	2,946	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,380	4,202.85/head	4,150.00–4,300.00	4,203	21
Bulls	Large 1	1300–1350	1,345	257.50/cwt	257.50–257.50	3,463	1
Bulls	Large 1Fancy	1050–1100	1,060	331.00/cwt	331.00–331.00	3,509	1
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,225	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	3,185	1
Bulls	Large 1	1400–1450	1,425	225.00/cwt	225.00–225.00	3,206	1
Bulls	Large 1	1350–1400	1,375	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	3,273	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	800	316.16/cwt	305.00–320.00	2,529	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,493	145.96/cwt	145.00–147.00	2,179	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,079	129.77/cwt	122.00–138.00	1,400	4
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,083	220.24/cwt	205.00–235.00	2,385	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Large 1	—	1,443	4,400.00/head	4,400.00–4,400.00	4,400	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Large 1	—	1,656	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Large 1	—	1,578	4,025.00/head	4,025.00–4,025.00	4,025	11
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,313	169.48/cwt	169.00–170.00	2,225	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,221	180.36/cwt	174.00–187.50	2,202	4
Bulls	—	—	2,056	232.92/cwt	227.00–252.00	4,789	6
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,689	184.07/cwt	182.00–187.00	3,109	9
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,671	220.34/cwt	215.00–223.50	3,682	18
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,516	174.00/cwt	174.00–174.00	2,638	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	822	131.31/cwt	125.00–135.00	1,079	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,219	192.08/cwt	189.00–193.00	2,341	13
Bulls	—	—	2,013	223.78/cwt	220.00–226.00	4,505	8
Bulls	—	—	1,420	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	2,698	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,585	211.55/cwt	210.00–213.00	3,353	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,410	196.76/cwt	190.00–204.00	2,774	71

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 →