Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2019-12-06

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2019-12-06
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-12-06

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Dec 6

● Final68 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Nov 22Dec 6Dec 13 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,975 head

▼ 862 vs last sale 2,837▲ 1,975 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

28 head

▼ 93 vs last sale 121▲ 28 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

97 head

▲ 5 vs last sale 92▲ 97 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last Fridays sale: Yearling steers and heifers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings was mostly good on a average to attractive quality offering. Steer calves weighing less than 550 lbs sold steady to 4.00 lower; steers 550-699 lbs sold generally steady; heavier weights of steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Heifer calves weighing less than 500 lbs were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. 500-649 lbs heifers sold unevenly steady from 2.00 lower to 5.00 higher. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Many sets of calves were weaned this week however, weaned calf quality was mostly mixed as well and mostly plain to average overall. A very large portion of the offering today had frozen ears or tails. Although none of these offerings are included in the report below, most sold with a 10.00-15.00 discount depending on quality. Demand was mostly moderate for light to moderate offerings. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light offerings. Packers purchased both feeding cows and slaughter cows on good demand as they attempted to finish filling loads for the week. Slaughter cows and feeding cows both were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however sharply higher undertones were noticed compared to two weeks ago. Slaughter bulls sold with higher undertones in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to re-breed sold with higher undertones in a narrow comparison. Young age cow quality was significantly higher than two weeks ago.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $154.82/cwt on 869 head.

Average price

$154.82

869 head · 585 lb average

Value per head Derived

$906

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$141

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

$21.98/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−4.56

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	487	160.48	782	79
Medium and Large 1	597	154.98	925	748
Medium 1	571	148.00	845	8thin
Large 1	623	142.00	885	2thin
Small and Medium 1-2	467	140.53	656	19thin
Medium 1-2	666	138.50	922	13thin

One grade step is worth $21.98/cwt here — about −$141 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale869 hd

154.82

—

MT average5 barns · 4,353 hd

159.38

−4.56

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	1,790	71.64	1,282	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,500	57.67	865	3thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,372	54.71	751	8thin
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,267	46.79	593	6thin

Every lot

68 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. Grouped by class and set lightest first; USDA files them in sale-ring order.

Class	Weight	Grade / description	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Feeder Cattle · Steers29 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	329	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	592	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	388	174.41/cwt	174.00–175.00	677	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	408	171.50/cwt	171.50–171.50	700	19
Steers	—	Small and Medium 1-2	412	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	602	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	425	187.58/cwt	183.00–191.00	797	32
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	428	179.54/cwt	178.00–180.00	768	17
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	464	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	789	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	474	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	782	11
Steers	—	Small and Medium 1-2	477	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	665	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	479	171.37/cwt	165.00–177.00	821	42
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	494	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	815	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	526	159.97/cwt	155.50–169.00	841	29
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	543	156.70/cwt	153.00–167.00	851	86
Steers	—	Medium 1	571	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	845	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	578	156.66/cwt	155.00–157.50	905	75
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	584	155.22/cwt	151.00–156.00	906	51
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	585	145.51/cwt	142.00–147.00	851	26
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	612	148.76/cwt	146.00–155.00	910	28
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	619	149.32/cwt	142.50–154.00	924	183
Steers	—	Large 1Unweaned	623	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	885	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	655	143.36/cwt	141.00–148.25	939	55
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	661	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	925	7
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	666	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	922	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	688	146.87/cwt	144.25–148.25	1,010	29
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	705	144.65/cwt	140.00–146.50	1,020	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	711	138.03/cwt	137.00–138.50	981	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	768	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	1,033	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	785	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	1,115	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	817	150.50/cwt	150.50–150.50	1,230	42
Feeder Cattle · Heifers24 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	369	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	557	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	374	155.03/cwt	151.00–157.00	580	40
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	429	150.11/cwt	148.00–151.00	644	25
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	431	147.11/cwt	144.00–150.00	634	34
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	436	141.53/cwt	141.00–143.00	617	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	457	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	686	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	467	148.87/cwt	144.00–150.00	695	48
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	473	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	639	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	486	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	666	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	512	140.49/cwt	135.00–143.00	719	60
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	519	141.37/cwt	135.00–145.00	734	48
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	529	132.64/cwt	132.00–134.00	702	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	564	140.43/cwt	139.00–141.00	792	31
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	574	137.28/cwt	128.00–142.50	788	150
Heifers	—	Medium 1Unweaned	580	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	748	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	616	134.84/cwt	127.00–137.00	831	66
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	623	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	822	7
Heifers	—	Large 1Unweaned	646	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	820	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	679	129.89/cwt	129.50–130.50	882	15
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	694	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	909	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	746	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	925	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	944	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,204	8
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,025	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,333	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,043	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,252	2
Feeder Cattle · Bulls1 lot · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	639	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	824	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,706	67.54/cwt	56.00–75.00	1,152	8
Bulls	—	—	2,015	82.56/cwt	81.50–83.00	1,664	3
Slaughter Cattle · Cows6 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,267	46.79/cwt	42.50–48.00	593	6
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,275	52.00/cwt	52.00–52.00	663	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,311	52.91/cwt	52.50–54.00	694	4
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,378	60.34/cwt	60.00–60.50	831	3
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,600	45.00/cwt	45.00–45.00	720	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,613	60.50/cwt	60.50–60.50	976	2
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows6 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	989	68.73/cwt	59.00–73.00	680	14
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,016	80.49/cwt	62.00–85.00	818	47
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,128	52.03/cwt	51.00–53.00	587	4
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,174	47.12/cwt	42.00–48.00	553	19
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,255	54.00/cwt	54.00–54.00	678	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,444	58.50/cwt	51.00–61.00	845	11

This sale against other markets

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 →

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Fri)

Fri Dec 6, 2019

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Billings, MT (LS-BL)

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,975Last week 2,837Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 28Last week 121Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 97Last week 92Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	529	132.00–134.00	132.64
7	—	369	151.00	151.00
2	—	1,043	120.00	120.00
4	—	473	135.00	135.00
8	—	944	127.50	127.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	746	124.00	124.00
7	—	694	131.00	131.00
31	—	564	139.00–141.00	140.43
7	—	623	132.00	132.00
40	—	374	151.00–157.00	155.03
48	—	467	144.00–150.00	148.87
34	—	431	144.00–150.00	147.11
60	—	512	135.00–143.00	140.49

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,025	130.00	130.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	436	141.00–143.00	141.53
6	—	486	137.00	137.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
150	—	574	128.00–142.50	137.28
3	—	457	150.00	150.00
48	—	519	135.00–145.00	141.37
25	—	429	148.00–151.00	150.11
66	—	616	127.00–137.00	134.84
15	—	679	129.50–130.50	129.89

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	580	129.00	129.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	646	127.00	127.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
29	—	526	155.50–169.00	159.97
28	—	612	146.00–155.00	148.76
75	—	578	155.00–157.50	156.66
42	—	817	150.50	150.50
32	—	425	183.00–191.00	187.58
29	—	688	144.25–148.25	146.87
10	—	464	170.00	170.00
6	—	785	142.00	142.00
21	—	705	140.00–146.50	144.65

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Small and Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	477	139.50	139.50
3	—	412	146.00	146.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	666	138.50	138.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	571	148.00	148.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
19	—	408	171.50	171.50
9	—	329	180.00	180.00
7	—	661	140.00	140.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	494	165.00	165.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	474	165.00	165.00
7	—	388	174.00–175.00	174.41
26	—	585	142.00–147.00	145.51

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
183	—	619	142.50–154.00	149.32
86	—	543	153.00–167.00	156.70
16	—	711	137.00–138.50	138.03
42	—	479	165.00–177.00	171.37
17	—	428	178.00–180.00	179.54
5	—	768	134.50	134.50
55	—	655	141.00–148.25	143.36
51	—	584	151.00–156.00	155.22

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	623	142.00	142.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	639	129.00	129.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	14	—	989	59.00–73.00	68.73
(<2 yrs)	Open	47	—	1,016	62.00–85.00	80.49
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,255	54.00	54.00
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	11	—	1,444	51.00–61.00	58.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	19	—	1,174	42.00–48.00	47.12
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,128	51.00–53.00	52.03

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,267	42.50–48.00	46.79

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,613	60.50	60.50
1	—	1,275	52.00	52.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,311	52.50–54.00	52.91
3	—	1,378	60.00–60.50	60.34
1	—	1,600	45.00	45.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,706	56.00–75.00	67.54
3	—	2,015	81.50–83.00	82.56

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.