Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2026-06-03
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-06-03

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week (5-27-26): Feeder cattle were too lightly tested today to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Most offerings were in small packages or as singles, forcing buyers to piece together loads. Demand was mostly moderate to good. Market activity was moderate with a small crowd on hand. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower, with the bulk of lower sales seen on high yielding offerings. A large crowd of feeding cow buyers was seen again this week. Buyers continue to show a willingness to take slightly lame or blemished cows to feed. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to weak undertones were noticed on breaking cows and lower undertones were noticed on boning and lean cows. Southern packer buyers showed significantly lighter demand for slaughter and feeding cows this week. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. Bull quality was average to attractive but not as attractive or as high yielding as last weeks offering. Feeding bull demand was lighter this week as well as southern packers showed lighter demand for bulls to feed. Feeding bulls sold 4.00-8.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Demand for young cows suitable to feed or rebreed was moderate to good this week, and slightly stronger than last week. Quality was mostly average. Young cows sold mostly 5.00 higher in a narrow comparison.

Weight class

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $395.45/cwt on 11 head, up $0.20 from the prior sale (only 10 head in that comparison). That ranks 6 of 19 comparable sales and sits −26.08 against this barn's trailing median of $421.54.

Average price

$395.45

▲ 0.20 vs prior sale

11 head · 584 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,311

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$306

per head · Medium 1 over Medium and Large 2

$16.67/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−12.99

vs MT average

−9.31 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	599	400.00	2,396	8thin
Medium and Large 2	545	383.33	2,090	3thin

One grade step is worth $16.67/cwt here — about $306 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

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

395.45

—

MT average3 barns · 57 hd

408.45

−12.99

National average170 barns · 11,904 hd

404.76

−9.31

This barn, trailing median19 sales

421.54

−26.08

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	1,814	214.80	3,897	57
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,400	182.45	2,555	153
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,607	176.70	2,839	36
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,201	173.62	2,085	85

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)	1,271	$3,560	5
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,329	$3,500	3thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,528	$3,287	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,368	$3,100	2thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,150	$3,500	2thin
Bred Heifers	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,255	$3,400	2thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,775	$4,200	1thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,749	$4,072	6

Every lot, as filed

76 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 1-2	600–650	620	430.08/cwt	425.00–435.00	2,666	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	445	500.00/cwt	500.00–500.00	2,225	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	550	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	2,090	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	543	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	2,091	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	605	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	2,481	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	623	442.01/cwt	437.50–442.50	2,754	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	761	411.00/cwt	411.00–411.00	3,128	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	910	348.00/cwt	348.00–348.00	3,167	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	766	348.26/cwt	346.00–349.00	2,668	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	627	382.50/cwt	382.50–382.50	2,398	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	654	426.69/cwt	415.00–432.50	2,791	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	455	520.00/cwt	520.00–520.00	2,366	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	758	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	2,691	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	725	370.71/cwt	370.00–371.00	2,688	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	460	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,070	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	683	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,527	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,642	3,819.44/head	3,750.00–3,850.00	3,819	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,084	270.22/cwt	202.50–341.50	2,929	45
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	551	465.00/cwt	465.00–465.00	2,562	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	701	415.59/cwt	410.00–417.00	2,913	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	494	429.80/cwt	420.00–432.50	2,123	37
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	800–850	826	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	2,850	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,775	4,200.00/head	4,200.00–4,200.00	4,200	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 2	—	1,073	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	2,092	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	763	362.50/cwt	362.50–362.50	2,766	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	950–1000	952	323.24/cwt	315.00–324.00	3,077	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	1000–1050	1,014	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	3,123	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,855	4,325.00/head	4,325.00–4,325.00	4,325	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,368	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	2
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,255	3,400.00/head	3,400.00–3,400.00	3,400	2
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,329	3,500.00/head	3,500.00–3,500.00	3,500	3
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,177	230.75/cwt	190.00–300.00	2,716	43
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,194	150.08/cwt	145.00–160.00	1,792	5
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,622	166.54/cwt	165.00–168.00	2,701	8
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,272	188.16/cwt	179.00–189.00	2,393	28
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,208	183.71/cwt	175.00–186.00	2,219	37
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,396	183.91/cwt	176.00–186.00	2,567	109
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	928	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,114	4
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	838	327.51/cwt	325.00–330.00	2,745	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	384	520.00/cwt	520.00–520.00	1,997	6
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,271	3,560.42/head	3,500.00–3,650.00	3,560	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,093	209.25/cwt	187.50–252.50	2,287	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,528	3,287.48/head	3,150.00–3,450.00	3,287	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,170	202.71/cwt	189.00–220.00	2,372	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,085	249.92/cwt	247.50–255.00	2,712	3
Steers	Medium and Large 2	700–750	740	342.50/cwt	342.50–342.50	2,535	1
Steers	Large 1-2	1050–1100	1,068	291.00/cwt	291.00–291.00	3,108	2
Beef/Dairy Steers	Large 2-3	750–800	774	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	2,012	4
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	855	257.43/cwt	255.00–260.00	2,201	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	802	310.01/cwt	305.00–315.00	2,486	3
Heifers	Medium 1	550–600	599	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,396	8
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1	—	1,150	3,500.00/head	3,500.00–3,500.00	3,500	2
Bulls	—Light Weight	—	1,375	187.00/cwt	187.00–187.00	2,571	1
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,658	215.96/cwt	212.00–218.00	3,581	12
Stock Cows	Large 1	—	1,050	262.50/cwt	262.50–262.50	2,756	2
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,165	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	3,146	1
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,203	251.24/cwt	247.50–255.00	3,022	2
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,115	276.67/cwt	271.00–282.50	3,085	4
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,524	170.57/cwt	157.50–177.00	2,599	15
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,577	183.25/cwt	181.00–185.00	2,890	3
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,770	171.31/cwt	169.50–173.50	3,032	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,657	170.13/cwt	165.00–174.00	2,819	6
Bulls	—	—	1,882	215.27/cwt	211.00–220.00	4,051	27
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,491	202.16/cwt	190.00–209.00	3,014	6
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,330	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	1,915	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,490	156.91/cwt	154.00–160.00	2,338	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,129	156.11/cwt	152.50–161.00	1,762	4
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,541	184.87/cwt	183.00–186.00	2,849	15
Bulls	—	—	1,705	206.00/cwt	206.00–206.00	3,512	2
Bulls	—	—	2,072	228.49/cwt	223.00–233.00	4,734	7
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,339	187.31/cwt	187.00–188.00	2,508	25
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	925	95.38/cwt	85.00–105.00	882	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,168	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	1,431	2
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,132	133.76/cwt	125.00–140.00	1,514	3
Bulls	—	—	2,238	214.06/cwt	210.00–218.00	4,791	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,465	169.00/cwt	169.00–169.00	2,476	1

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 →