Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2026-06-24
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-06-24

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week (6-17-26): Feeder cattle were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive, with lots of variation noticed. Most offerings were in small to moderate size packages. Demand was mostly good to very good. CME positions pushed sharply higher again today with most contracts 2.00-5.00 higher. Demand for fall and lightweight spring calves was good to very good. Offerings were mixed for weaning status but all offerings sold on very good demand. Market activity was moderate to active with a moderate crowd on hand. Internet bidding was active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand. Feeding cows sold steady to firm on boning and lean cows. Breaking fleshed feeding cows sold 4.00-6.00 higher after two weeks of lower movement. Demand for grass fat cows was light to moderate, but stronger this week compared to last week and more offerings were purchased to feed compared to the last two weeks. Demand for feeding cows was very good this week with a large buyer pool noticed. Slaughter cows sold on good to very good demand as packers all showed need for cows for immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher on breaker cows, boning and lean cows sold steady to 3.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Slaughter bulls sold steady to firm. Feeding bulls sold steady to 5.00 lower. Weigh up conditions were mixed this week, with lots of variation noticed. Cow quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Demand for young cows suitable to feed or rebreed was good this week, and similar to last week. Quality was mostly average to attractive. Young cows sold mostly steady to firm in a narrow comparison.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $494.25/cwt on 40 head, down $16.45 from the prior sale. That ranks 7 of 11 comparable sales and sits +2.80 against this barn's trailing median of $491.45.

Average price

$494.25

▼ 16.45 vs prior sale

40 head · 567 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,803

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$435

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

$95.91/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−1.86

vs MT average

+25.79 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	568	500.91	2,845	33
Medium and Large 1-2	557	472.46	2,632	6thin
Medium and Large 2	595	405.00	2,410	1thin

One grade step is worth $95.91/cwt here — about $435 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

11 sales

Steers 500–600 lb: high $510.69, low $452.33, median $491.45 across 11 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 sale40 hd

494.25

—

MT average3 barns · 79 hd

496.10

−1.86

National average150 barns · 8,917 hd

468.46

+25.79

This barn, trailing median11 sales

491.45

+2.80

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	1,798	216.63	3,896	114
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,395	183.10	2,553	246
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,613	173.13	2,792	56
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,162	169.34	1,968	64
Dairy Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,900	140.00	2,660	1thin
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,375	137.50	1,891	1thin
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,155	125.00	1,444	1thin

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)	1,334	$3,914	18
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,294	$3,638	5
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,530	$3,100	1thin
Bred Cows	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,505	$3,000	1thin
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,350	$2,800	2thin
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,389	$2,764	5
Bred Cows	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,648	$2,650	2thin
Bred Heifers	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,033	$3,700	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,572	$4,581	13
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,658	$4,409	54
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,501	$4,231	44
Heifer Pairs	Open	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,418	$4,600	2thin

Every lot, as filed

117 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	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,413	168.06/cwt	155.00–176.00	2,375	29
Bulls	—	—	1,587	200.75/cwt	187.00–210.50	3,186	13
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,160	142.52/cwt	130.00–147.00	1,653	7
Bulls	—Heavy Weight	—	2,510	228.00/cwt	228.00–228.00	5,723	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,355	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,856	1
Bulls	Large 1	1250–1300	1,273	237.50/cwt	237.50–237.50	3,023	2
Bulls	—	—	1,901	218.24/cwt	209.00–225.00	4,149	37
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,623	164.31/cwt	161.00–167.00	2,667	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,805	142.50/cwt	142.50–142.50	2,572	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,758	170.52/cwt	166.00–176.00	2,998	8
Bulls	—	—	2,056	230.33/cwt	224.00–251.00	4,736	33
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,512	199.23/cwt	180.00–210.00	3,012	16
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,551	164.91/cwt	161.00–174.00	2,558	13
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,375	137.50/cwt	137.50–137.50	1,891	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,128	162.22/cwt	160.00–164.00	1,830	2
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,393	213.94/cwt	207.00–224.00	2,980	14
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,340	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	2,251	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,394	188.72/cwt	187.00–195.00	2,631	130
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,735	178.00/cwt	178.00–178.00	3,088	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,172	181.09/cwt	175.00–185.00	2,122	21
Dairy Cows	Breaker 75-80%	—	1,900	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	2,660	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,175	189.40/cwt	187.00–199.00	2,225	9
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,474	164.18/cwt	161.00–166.00	2,420	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,182	163.73/cwt	150.00–174.00	1,935	23
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	534	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	2,804	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	485	505.00/cwt	505.00–505.00	2,449	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	860	331.67/cwt	330.00–334.00	2,852	12
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	300–350	343	640.00/cwt	640.00–640.00	2,195	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	793	357.96/cwt	356.00–370.00	2,839	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	785	392.41/cwt	390.00–394.00	3,080	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	589	410.04/cwt	405.00–412.50	2,415	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	350–400	350	565.00/cwt	565.00–565.00	1,978	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	850–900	867	330.97/cwt	325.00–332.50	2,870	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	913	329.00/cwt	329.00–329.00	3,004	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	600–650	630	432.50/cwt	432.50–432.50	2,725	2
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	1000–1050	1,035	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	3,053	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	250–300	277	654.73/cwt	640.00–665.00	1,814	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,135	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,424	4,100.00/head	4,100.00–4,100.00	4,100	12
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,095	4,200.00/head	4,200.00–4,200.00	4,200	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,567	4,044.36/head	4,000.00–4,050.00	4,044	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	968	308.00/cwt	308.00–308.00	2,981	9
Bulls	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	500–550	510	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	2,474	8
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,678	4,400.00/head	4,400.00–4,400.00	4,400	3
Heifer Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,418	4,600.00/head	4,600.00–4,600.00	4,600	2
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,577	4,388.36/head	4,200.00–4,500.00	4,388	27
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,512	4,261.85/head	4,150.00–4,350.00	4,262	29
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	737	369.71/cwt	367.50–370.50	2,725	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	619	413.38/cwt	401.00–417.00	2,559	30
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	—	1,648	2,650.00/head	2,650.00–2,650.00	2,650	2
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,044	282.41/cwt	215.00–328.00	2,948	60
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,505	3,000.00/head	3,000.00–3,000.00	3,000	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	—	1,195	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	1
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,708	4,450.00/head	4,450.00–4,450.00	4,450	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,639	4,589.78/head	4,500.00–4,600.00	4,590	10
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,192	3,548.05/head	3,500.00–3,700.00	3,548	4
Bred Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,033	3,700.00/head	3,700.00–3,700.00	3,700	4
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	—	1,505	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,530	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	1
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,374	4,018.97/head	4,000.00–4,050.00	4,019	14
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,161	231.91/cwt	190.00–305.00	2,692	85
Steers	Small and Medium 2	350–400	368	1,850.00/head	1,850.00–1,850.00	1,850	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	958	274.00/cwt	245.00–312.50	2,625	6
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,027	236.45/cwt	189.00–287.50	2,428	27
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,155	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,444	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,379	182.50/cwt	176.00–187.00	2,517	75
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	850	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	1,296	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	—	780	90.00/cwt	90.00–90.00	702	1
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,567	186.00/cwt	186.00–186.00	2,915	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,590	180.24/cwt	175.00–183.50	2,866	17
Steers	Large 1-2	750–800	790	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	2,765	2
Bulls	Large 1-2	1200–1250	1,217	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	2,799	3
Bulls	Large 1-2	1100–1150	1,100	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	2,860	1
Bulls	Large 1	1100–1150	1,105	278.00/cwt	278.00–278.00	3,072	2
Bulls	Large 1	1200–1250	1,231	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	2,954	6
Bulls	Large 1	1150–1200	1,175	263.48/cwt	252.50–271.00	3,096	5
Heifers	Medium 2-3	500–550	519	275.00/cwt	275.00–275.00	1,427	9
Heifers	Medium 1-2	400–450	448	445.00/cwt	445.00–445.00	1,994	3
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	822	323.79/cwt	320.00–327.50	2,662	5
Stock Cows	Medium 1-2	—	843	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	2,065	2
Stock Cows	Medium 1	—	980	202.50/cwt	202.50–202.50	1,985	1
Steers	Large 1-2	850–900	870	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	2,958	3
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,294	3,638.10/head	3,500.00–3,700.00	3,638	5
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,389	2,764.44/head	2,700.00–2,800.00	2,764	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1	—	1,395	187.38/cwt	186.00–192.00	2,614	14
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,800	4,600.00/head	4,600.00–4,600.00	4,600	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,883	4,700.00/head	4,700.00–4,700.00	4,700	10
Cow-Calf Pairs	Medium and Large 1	—	1,810	5,350.00/head	5,350.00–5,350.00	5,350	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	823	347.00/cwt	346.00–352.50	2,856	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	645	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,903	1
Steers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	595	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	2,410	1
Steers	Medium and Large 2	650–700	673	368.78/cwt	357.50–382.50	2,482	9
Steers	Medium and Large 2	850–900	875	332.50/cwt	332.50–332.50	2,909	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	580	394.53/cwt	385.00–410.00	2,288	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	776	385.46/cwt	375.00–387.50	2,991	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	700	402.50/cwt	402.50–402.50	2,818	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	625	390.00/cwt	390.00–390.00	2,438	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	557	472.46/cwt	435.00–480.00	2,632	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	695	417.50/cwt	417.50–417.50	2,902	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	920	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,852	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	488	527.22/cwt	520.00–530.00	2,573	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	520	421.51/cwt	415.00–425.00	2,192	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2Full	800–850	812	301.00/cwt	301.00–301.00	2,444	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	450–500	463	470.00/cwt	470.00–470.00	2,176	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	670	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,446	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	770	344.94/cwt	340.00–350.00	2,656	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	728	361.51/cwt	350.00–365.00	2,632	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	300–350	323	552.00/cwt	552.00–552.00	1,783	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	350–400	351	530.00/cwt	530.00–530.00	1,860	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	806	369.08/cwt	367.00–372.50	2,975	7
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	745	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,757	3
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	604	417.99/cwt	410.00–420.00	2,525	10
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	654	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,616	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	583	419.86/cwt	418.00–421.00	2,448	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	585	488.87/cwt	480.00–496.00	2,860	22
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	662	445.36/cwt	435.00–455.00	2,948	65
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	881	365.48/cwt	356.00–367.00	3,220	35

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 →