Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-01-17
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-01-17

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale (12-13-24): The last Friday feeder special was in the middle of December and market conditions have improved constantly since then. Feeder steer calves under 700 lbs sold 10.00-18.00 higher; steers over 700 lbs were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Heifer calves under 450 lbs were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Heifers 450-649 lbs sold mostly 10.00-15.00 higher; heifers over 650 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand for all feeder calves was good. Offerings were heavy. While prices were higher than last months feeder special, it is worth noting that calf prices were slightly lower compared to similar special feeder calf sales last week. Calf quality was mixed from plain to very attractive. Most calves were weaned from 45-100 days. Demand for all calves to go to grass remains good to very good. Package sizes were mixed today, however buyers showed good demand for all calves on offer. Demand remained constant throughout the sale which stretched well into the evening. A moderate size buyer pool was on hand for todays sale and buyers bid rapidly on feeders as they pushed to fill loads. Market activity was mostly active today. Weigh up cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly light for very light offerings. Slaughter cows sold on mostly light demand as buyers were concerned about leaving cows over the weekend due to subzero temperatures. Cow quality today was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average as most cows filled up due to very cold conditions. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly moderate demand as quality was attractive.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $339.04/cwt on 772 head. That ranks 1 of 1 comparable sales and sits −164.85 against this barn's trailing median of $503.89.

Average price

$339.04

772 head · 563 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,908

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$198

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

$52.41/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−6.35

vs MT average

−3.41 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	557	349.91	1,951	537
Medium 1	573	324.85	1,861	130
Large 1-2	540	312.50	1,688	7thin
Medium and Large 1-2	580	300.32	1,743	93
Medium and Large 2	589	297.50	1,752	5thin

One grade step is worth $52.41/cwt here — about $198 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.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale772 hd

339.04

—

MT average4 barns · 1,191 hd

345.39

−6.35

National average190 barns · 32,836 hd

342.45

−3.41

This barn, trailing median1 sales

503.89

−164.85

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	1,692	137.20	2,321	7thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,940	120.00	2,328	1thin
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,172	111.47	1,306	18
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,426	105.30	1,502	6thin
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,310	108.00	1,415	2thin
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,683	92.00	1,548	2thin

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	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,440	$2,050	1thin

Every lot, as filed

101 lots · USDA AMS · Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Fri)

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
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	519	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,661	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	550–600	576	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	1,619	23
Bred Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,440	2,050.00/head	2,050.00–2,050.00	2,050	1
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	619	293.49/cwt	287.00–301.00	1,817	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Replacement	550–600	554	339.50/cwt	339.50–339.50	1,881	69
Steers	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	350–400	386	447.50/cwt	447.50–447.50	1,727	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	677	271.26/cwt	266.00–287.00	1,836	110
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	717	261.05/cwt	255.00–264.00	1,872	42
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	442	350.60/cwt	349.00–390.00	1,550	60
Bulls	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	622	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,742	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	600–650	603	341.50/cwt	341.50–341.50	2,059	49
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	481	341.64/cwt	329.00–352.00	1,643	89
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	622	326.76/cwt	314.00–336.50	2,032	429
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	817	247.00/cwt	247.00–247.00	2,018	29
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	570	345.19/cwt	330.00–354.00	1,968	360
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	626	296.92/cwt	285.00–299.50	1,859	206
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	578	303.71/cwt	297.00–324.00	1,755	252
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	532	359.52/cwt	347.00–374.00	1,913	177
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	883	263.62/cwt	261.00–264.00	2,328	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	392	385.00/cwt	385.00–385.00	1,509	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	685	300.73/cwt	290.00–310.00	2,060	242
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	500–550	504	348.50/cwt	348.50–348.50	1,756	74
Steers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	322	483.30/cwt	470.00–510.00	1,556	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	471	382.25/cwt	370.00–391.00	1,800	188
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	550–600	594	293.48/cwt	274.00–309.00	1,743	18
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	519	329.73/cwt	319.00–346.00	1,711	287
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	519	327.37/cwt	321.00–332.50	1,699	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	623	262.02/cwt	244.00–270.00	1,632	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	732	277.12/cwt	275.00–280.00	2,029	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	600–650	608	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	1,648	5
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	1,280	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	1,677	1
Stock Cows	Medium and Large 1-2	—	863	177.62/cwt	175.00–180.00	1,533	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	474	364.09/cwt	352.50–367.50	1,726	47
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	672	258.03/cwt	256.00–260.00	1,734	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	300–350	342	470.00/cwt	470.00–470.00	1,607	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	667	285.14/cwt	279.00–289.00	1,902	13
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	590	303.99/cwt	290.00–321.00	1,794	62
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	907	202.00/cwt	202.00–202.00	1,832	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	378	425.31/cwt	415.00–435.00	1,608	17
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	757	278.00/cwt	278.00–278.00	2,104	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	441	384.85/cwt	377.50–387.50	1,697	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	577	288.64/cwt	285.00–294.00	1,665	17
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	535	310.08/cwt	306.00–317.50	1,659	29
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	450–500	474	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,493	8
Cows	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	—	1,940	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	2,328	1
Dairy Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,683	92.00/cwt	92.00–92.00	1,548	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,560	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,794	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,362	100.26/cwt	97.00–102.00	1,366	3
Bulls	—	—	1,920	142.68/cwt	142.00–143.00	2,739	3
Bulls	—Return to Feed	—	1,110	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	1,610	1
Cows	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	—	1,485	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	1,634	1
Dairy Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,310	108.00/cwt	108.00–108.00	1,415	2
Cows	Boner 80-85%	—	1,425	106.00/cwt	106.00–106.00	1,511	1
Bulls	—	—	1,657	129.12/cwt	123.00–133.00	2,140	3
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,085	105.79/cwt	105.00–110.00	1,148	6
Cows	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	—	1,223	120.62/cwt	120.00–121.00	1,475	10
Heifers	Large 1	500–550	537	294.53/cwt	294.00–295.00	1,582	15
Bulls	Large 1	550–600	561	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,711	5
Heifers	Large 1	450–500	482	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	1,494	19
Steers	Large 1-2	500–550	540	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	1,688	7
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,150	67.50/cwt	67.50–67.50	776	1
Cows	Lean 85-90%	—	1,205	98.00/cwt	98.00–98.00	1,181	1
Steers	Large 1	600–650	606	282.99/cwt	277.00–299.00	1,715	15
Heifers	Large 1	800–850	840	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,848	6
Heifers	Large 1	400–450	443	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	1,384	17
Bulls	Large 1	400–450	433	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,494	6
Heifers	Large 1	550–600	574	282.79/cwt	280.00–286.00	1,623	13
Heifers	Large 1	1050–1100	1,067	207.32/cwt	205.00–208.00	2,212	22
Heifers	Medium 1	450–500	462	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,455	9
Heifers	Medium 1-2	350–400	398	312.50/cwt	312.50–312.50	1,244	6
Heifers	Medium 1-2	400–450	432	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	1,231	21
Steers	Large 1	750–800	794	271.30/cwt	254.00–276.00	2,154	14
Steers	Large 1	700–750	709	274.60/cwt	272.50–286.00	1,947	40
Heifers	Large 1	600–650	600	278.00/cwt	278.00–278.00	1,668	17
Steers	Medium 1	500–550	534	338.37/cwt	320.00–345.00	1,807	15
Heifers	Medium 1	500–550	530	312.00/cwt	312.00–312.00	1,654	6
Steers	Medium 1	550–600	578	323.09/cwt	316.50–328.00	1,867	115
Heifers	Medium 1	400–450	424	328.60/cwt	312.50–340.00	1,393	17
Heifers	Medium 1	550–600	569	292.50/cwt	292.50–292.50	1,664	3
Heifers	Medium 1	350–400	365	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,168	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	368	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,362	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	410	347.50/cwt	347.50–347.50	1,425	27
Steers	Medium 1	600–650	637	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,943	48
Steers	Medium 1	450–500	477	357.32/cwt	350.00–363.00	1,704	11
Steers	Medium 1	400–450	430	367.50/cwt	367.50–367.50	1,580	11
Steers	Medium 1	750–800	750	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	1,988	11
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	771	275.23/cwt	270.00–284.00	2,122	23
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	450–500	456	372.50/cwt	372.50–372.50	1,699	6
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	950–1000	974	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	2,094	10
Steers	Medium and Large 2	550–600	589	297.50/cwt	297.50–297.50	1,752	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	400–450	443	320.00/cwt	320.00–320.00	1,418	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 2	500–550	545	267.50/cwt	267.50–267.50	1,458	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	415	428.85/cwt	394.00–449.00	1,780	93
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	750–800	778	257.00/cwt	257.00–257.00	1,999	30
Heifers	Medium and Large 1Fancy	650–700	651	293.00/cwt	293.00–293.00	1,907	15
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	357	475.00/cwt	475.00–475.00	1,696	10
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	931	256.00/cwt	256.00–256.00	2,383	30
Bulls	Medium and Large 1	750–800	758	244.00/cwt	244.00–244.00	1,850	12
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	874	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	2,080	20
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	722	294.70/cwt	280.00–303.00	2,128	145
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	834	266.95/cwt	262.00–270.00	2,226	122

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 →