Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-01-17

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-01-17
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-01-17

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Jan 17

● Final74 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Dec 13Jan 17Jan 24 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

2,560 head

▲ 1,905 vs last sale 655▲ 2,560 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

15 head

▼ 145 vs last sale 160▲ 15 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

45 head

▼ 1,076 vs last sale 1,121▲ 45 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

The last Friday feeder special sale was 5 weeks ago therefore an accurate market trend cannot be established. Demand for feeder cattle was mostly moderate for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was average to very attractive. Many packages of calves were on offer however load lots were limited. Demand for grass cattle was mostly light, however quality was mostly average on cattle suitable to run as yearlings. The best quality this sale was seen on cattle weighting over 650 lbs. CME positions traded lower throughout much of the day before ending the day higher. Market activity this sale was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good demand for very light offerings. Packers showed good demand for both slaughter and feeding cows this sale. All cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trends.

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 $160.55/cwt on 1,089 head.

Average price

$160.55

1,089 head · 624 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,001

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$185

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

$35.00/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−5.39

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 2	429	176.00	755	4thin
Medium and Large 1	626	161.56	1,011	910
Medium and Large 1-2	575	159.30	916	129
Large 1	741	142.81	1,058	43
Large 1-2	667	141.00	940	3thin

One grade step is worth $35.00/cwt here — about −$185 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 sale1,089 hd

160.55

—

MT average4 barns · 1,841 hd

165.94

−5.39

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	1,784	84.83	1,514	6thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,330	54.00	718	1thin
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,153	47.00	542	3thin

Every lot

74 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 · Steers33 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	333	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	599	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	388	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	706	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	425	190.61/cwt	189.00–200.00	810	55
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	429	176.00/cwt	176.00–176.00	755	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	465	173.00/cwt	173.00–173.00	804	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	474	170.90/cwt	170.00–172.50	810	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	483	196.00/cwt	196.00–196.00	947	30
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	488	182.29/cwt	179.00–189.00	890	22
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	517	175.54/cwt	167.00–182.50	908	60
Steers	—	Large 1	518	173.00/cwt	173.00–173.00	896	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	523	166.00/cwt	166.00–166.00	868	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	536	163.66/cwt	159.00–170.00	877	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	566	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	1,002	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	580	166.62/cwt	159.00–172.00	966	210
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	585	158.64/cwt	145.00–163.00	928	54
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	590	153.00/cwt	153.00–153.00	903	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	600	158.00/cwt	158.00–158.00	948	38
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	611	161.34/cwt	156.00–164.00	986	76
Steers	—	Large 1	612	156.00/cwt	156.00–156.00	955	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	654	151.50/cwt	151.50–151.50	991	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	661	146.57/cwt	141.00–149.00	969	17
Steers	—	Large 1-2	667	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	940	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	671	155.29/cwt	147.00–159.00	1,042	190
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	707	147.41/cwt	140.00–150.00	1,042	80
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	745	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,050	15
Steers	—	Large 1	772	137.03/cwt	133.00–139.00	1,058	28
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	776	143.44/cwt	141.50–144.50	1,113	39
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Fancy	804	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	1,182	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	814	140.21/cwt	138.50–141.00	1,141	39
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	835	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	1,123	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	891	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	1,198	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	952	133.25/cwt	133.25–133.25	1,269	10
Steers	—	Large 1	1,060	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	1,346	3
Feeder Cattle · Heifers23 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	317	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	412	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	393	151.22/cwt	151.00–152.50	594	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	422	148.03/cwt	147.00–153.00	625	32
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	473	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	710	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	480	163.49/cwt	160.00–170.50	785	60
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	491	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	737	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	497	162.00/cwt	162.00–162.00	805	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	520	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	770	23
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	524	157.13/cwt	150.00–160.50	823	96
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	538	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	732	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	573	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	796	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	579	147.42/cwt	142.00–151.50	854	166
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	604	131.43/cwt	128.00–136.00	794	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	627	143.81/cwt	139.50–146.50	902	176
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	672	137.07/cwt	132.00–140.00	921	79
Heifers	—	Large 1	710	129.50/cwt	129.50–129.50	919	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	713	135.50/cwt	135.50–135.50	966	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	722	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	910	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	754	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	973	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	823	129.50/cwt	129.50–129.50	1,066	31
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	843	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	1,071	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	879	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,121	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	914	131.96/cwt	130.00–134.50	1,206	14
Feeder Cattle · Bulls8 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	413	180.00/cwt	180.00–180.00	743	13
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	493	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	764	15
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	536	143.44/cwt	140.00–144.00	769	21
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	666	136.64/cwt	136.00–137.50	910	14
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	698	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	914	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	748	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,025	13
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	838	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	1,081	11
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,175	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	1,293	1
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,440	76.98/cwt	76.50–77.50	1,109	2
Bulls	—	—	1,788	86.45/cwt	86.00–87.00	1,546	2
Bulls	—	—	2,125	91.06/cwt	88.00–94.50	1,935	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows3 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,130	44.00/cwt	44.00–44.00	497	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,200	53.00/cwt	53.00–53.00	636	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,330	54.00/cwt	54.00–54.00	718	1
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows1 lot · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,625	59.50/cwt	59.50–59.50	967	3
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows3 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,116	69.37/cwt	64.00–79.00	774	18
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,354	63.75/cwt	63.75–63.75	863	8
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,470	59.00/cwt	59.00–59.00	867	2

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 Jan 17, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 2,560Last week 655Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 15Last week 160Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 45Last week 1,121Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	754	129.00	129.00
12	—	713	135.50	135.50
14	—	914	130.00–134.50	131.96
31	—	823	129.50	129.50
60	—	480	160.00–170.50	163.49
79	—	672	132.00–140.00	137.07
96	—	524	150.00–160.50	157.13
166	—	579	142.00–151.50	147.42
176	—	627	139.50–146.50	143.81

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
23	—	520	148.00	148.00
5	—	491	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	710	129.50	129.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
32	—	422	147.00–153.00	148.03
2	—	573	139.00	139.00
3	—	722	126.00	126.00
4	—	879	127.50	127.50
6	—	538	136.00	136.00
10	—	843	127.00	127.00
14	—	604	128.00–136.00	131.43
21	—	393	151.00–152.50	151.22

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	473	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	317	130.00	130.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	497	162.00	162.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	698	131.00	131.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,175	110.00	110.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	838	129.00	129.00
13	—	413	180.00	180.00
13	—	748	137.00	137.00
14	—	666	136.00–137.50	136.64
15	—	493	155.00	155.00
21	—	536	140.00–144.00	143.44

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	952	133.25	133.25
22	—	488	179.00–189.00	182.29
4	—	891	134.50	134.50
39	—	776	141.50–144.50	143.44
39	—	814	138.50–141.00	140.21
55	—	425	189.00–200.00	190.61
60	—	517	167.00–182.50	175.54
76	—	611	156.00–164.00	161.34
80	—	707	140.00–150.00	147.41
190	—	671	147.00–159.00	155.29
210	—	580	159.00–172.00	166.62

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	518	173.00	173.00
3	—	1,060	127.00	127.00
9	—	612	156.00	156.00
28	—	772	133.00–139.00	137.03

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	667	141.00	141.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	804	147.00	147.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	566	177.00	177.00
30	—	483	196.00	196.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	590	153.00	153.00
8	—	523	166.00	166.00
10	—	835	134.50	134.50
15	—	654	151.50	151.50
38	—	600	158.00	158.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	333	180.00	180.00
8	—	474	170.00–172.50	170.90
10	—	388	182.00	182.00
15	—	745	141.00	141.00
16	—	536	159.00–170.00	163.66
17	—	661	141.00–149.00	146.57
54	—	585	145.00–163.00	158.64

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	465	173.00	173.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	429	176.00	176.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	3	—	1,625	59.50	59.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,470	59.00	59.00
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,354	63.75	63.75
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	18	—	1,116	64.00–79.00	69.37

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,440	76.50–77.50	76.98
2	—	1,788	86.00–87.00	86.45
2	—	2,125	88.00–94.50	91.06

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,330	54.00	54.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,200	53.00	53.00
2	—	1,130	44.00	44.00

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.