Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-10-16

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-10-16
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-10-16

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Oct 16

● Final85 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Oct 9Oct 16Oct 23 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

3,042 head

▲ 1,466 vs last sale 1,576▲ 334 vs year ago 2,708 · +12.3%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

311 head

▲ 299 vs last sale 12▲ 188 vs year ago 123 · +152.8%

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week, all classes of feeder cattle sold steady with a firm market undertone. Buyer demand for feeder cattle was moderate to good on a moderate to heavy supply, with quality of cattle being plain to attractive. Calves were primarily offered in small to medium sized packages. Slaughter bulls, cows and cows returning to feed sold weak, with moderate demand for lean, thin fleshed cattle and moderate to good demand for fleshier cows. Overall demand for slaughter cattle was moderate on a heavy supply.

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 $157.37/cwt on 1,428 head.

Average price

$157.37

1,428 head · 546 lb average

Value per head Derived

$859

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$51

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

$13.39/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.32

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	537	158.78	852	1,277
Medium and Large 1-2	621	145.39	904	151

One grade step is worth $13.39/cwt here — about −$51 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 sale1,428 hd

157.37

—

MT average5 barns · 5,533 hd

157.69

−0.32

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	1,826	72.51	1,324	13
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,502	60.30	905	27
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,189	53.96	642	85
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,131	46.99	532	144

Every lot

85 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 · Steers24 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	321	225.26/cwt	218.00–231.00	723	45
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	379	201.97/cwt	192.00–215.00	765	111
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	397	184.00/cwt	184.00–184.00	730	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	439	179.82/cwt	168.00–186.00	789	114
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	447	146.76/cwt	145.00–147.00	656	41
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	481	160.94/cwt	152.00–173.00	774	157
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	486	156.06/cwt	155.00–160.00	758	33
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	515	149.67/cwt	149.50–150.00	771	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	519	152.09/cwt	140.00–159.00	789	351
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	555	144.28/cwt	136.00–146.00	801	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	574	146.21/cwt	139.00–151.00	839	176
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	623	142.29/cwt	132.50–145.75	886	179
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	644	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	869	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	670	141.88/cwt	139.00–144.00	951	34
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	696	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	954	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	732	136.37/cwt	131.00–139.00	998	46
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	735	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,000	1
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	771	139.09/cwt	131.00–142.00	1,072	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	810	139.55/cwt	135.00–147.50	1,130	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	850	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	1,139	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	909	131.81/cwt	129.00–132.50	1,198	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	956	131.75/cwt	131.75–131.75	1,260	36
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,004	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,205	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	1,051	117.00/cwt	117.00–117.00	1,230	4
Feeder Cattle · Heifers33 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	228	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	319	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	287	165.69/cwt	147.50–167.50	476	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	310	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	434	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	333	163.42/cwt	156.00–170.00	544	31
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	351	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	446	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	367	159.62/cwt	146.00–167.50	586	102
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	412	115.45/cwt	115.00–120.00	476	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	426	148.21/cwt	137.50–158.75	631	180
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	426	134.94/cwt	125.00–147.00	575	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	450	117.50/cwt	117.50–117.50	529	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	457	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	617	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	475	147.47/cwt	134.00–156.00	700	242
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	495	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	619	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	522	131.37/cwt	120.00–134.00	686	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	523	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	717	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	531	136.62/cwt	132.00–143.00	725	132
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	536	135.50/cwt	135.50–135.50	726	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	569	112.00/cwt	112.00–112.00	637	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	579	135.49/cwt	132.00–137.50	784	123
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	616	127.92/cwt	125.00–128.50	788	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	623	131.50/cwt	122.00–137.00	819	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	661	125.25/cwt	124.00–126.50	828	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	665	132.48/cwt	122.00–133.50	881	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	670	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	831	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	715	133.92/cwt	124.50–136.50	958	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	750	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	953	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	754	131.58/cwt	111.00–137.00	992	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	778	117.00/cwt	117.00–117.00	910	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	835	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	1,052	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Spayed	838	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	1,022	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	887	127.71/cwt	127.50–131.00	1,133	47
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	914	125.01/cwt	124.00–126.00	1,143	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	1,045	116.50/cwt	116.50–116.50	1,217	1
Feeder Cattle · Bulls7 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	338	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	710	4
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	464	152.84/cwt	140.00–161.00	709	10
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	507	140.68/cwt	139.00–147.00	713	9
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	583	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	758	15
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	630	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	914	29
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	660	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	838	1
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	671	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	872	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,781	75.68/cwt	72.00–79.50	1,348	8
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,888	72.95/cwt	72.50–74.00	1,377	2
Bulls	—	—	1,903	63.78/cwt	60.00–67.00	1,214	3
Slaughter Cattle · Cows18 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	645	27.50/cwt	27.50–27.50	177	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	840	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	504	3
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,000	51.19/cwt	51.00–55.00	512	20
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,043	62.63/cwt	59.00–68.00	653	16
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,054	38.00/cwt	38.00–38.00	401	20
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,095	36.84/cwt	32.00–40.00	403	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,109	44.93/cwt	42.00–47.00	498	11
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,127	48.70/cwt	47.00–49.00	549	20
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,156	45.81/cwt	43.50–48.00	530	54
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,189	46.38/cwt	42.00–47.50	551	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,253	51.08/cwt	48.00–52.00	640	32
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,268	56.04/cwt	54.00–59.00	711	33
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,320	57.50/cwt	57.50–57.50	759	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,328	48.75/cwt	48.75–48.75	647	5
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,336	51.15/cwt	48.00–54.00	683	8
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,483	62.22/cwt	59.50–65.50	923	15
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,543	56.75/cwt	56.50–57.00	876	2
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,715	67.50/cwt	67.50–67.50	1,158	5

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 Oct 16, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 3,042Last week 1,576Year ago 2,708

Slaughter CattleReceipts 311Last week 12Year ago 123

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,189	42.00–47.50	46.38
2	—	1,095	32.00–40.00	36.84
8	—	1,336	48.00–54.00	51.15

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,715	67.50	67.50
15	—	1,483	59.50–65.50	62.22

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,320	57.50	57.50
32	—	1,253	48.00–52.00	51.08
20	—	1,054	38.00	38.00
11	—	1,109	42.00–47.00	44.93

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,043	59.00–68.00	62.63
33	—	1,268	54.00–59.00	56.04
20	—	1,127	47.00–49.00	48.70

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	840	60.00	60.00
20	—	1,000	51.00–55.00	51.19
54	—	1,156	43.50–48.00	45.81
1	—	645	27.50	27.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,543	56.50–57.00	56.75
5	—	1,328	48.75	48.75

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,888	72.50–74.00	72.95

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,903	60.00–67.00	63.78
8	—	1,781	72.00–79.50	75.68

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	310	140.00	140.00
3	—	495	125.00	125.00
4	—	569	112.00	112.00
11	—	426	125.00–147.00	134.94
6	—	616	125.00–128.50	127.92
14	—	778	117.00	117.00
10	—	661	124.00–126.50	125.25
7	—	522	120.00–134.00	131.37
17	—	351	127.00	127.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
180	—	426	137.50–158.75	148.21
8	—	914	124.00–126.00	125.01
18	—	623	122.00–137.00	131.50
132	—	531	132.00–143.00	136.62
47	—	887	127.50–131.00	127.71
11	—	665	122.00–133.50	132.48
102	—	367	146.00–167.50	159.62
123	—	579	132.00–137.50	135.49
10	—	754	111.00–137.00	131.58
21	—	287	147.50–167.50	165.69
20	—	715	124.50–136.50	133.92
242	—	475	134.00–156.00	147.47
2	—	228	140.00	140.00
31	—	333	156.00–170.00	163.42

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	450	117.50	117.50
1	—	1,045	116.50	116.50
12	—	412	115.00–120.00	115.45
1	—	670	124.00	124.00
2	—	750	127.00	127.00
1	—	835	126.00	126.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Spayed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	838	122.00	122.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	536	135.50	135.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	523	137.00	137.00
2	—	457	135.00	135.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
41	—	447	145.00–147.00	146.76
36	—	956	131.75	131.75
12	—	555	136.00–146.00	144.28
8	—	696	137.00	137.00
9	—	397	184.00	184.00
33	—	486	155.00–160.00	156.06
1	—	735	136.00	136.00
7	—	644	135.00	135.00
4	—	1,004	120.00	120.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
46	—	732	131.00–139.00	136.37
25	—	771	131.00–142.00	139.09
18	—	810	135.00–147.50	139.55
111	—	379	192.00–215.00	201.97
351	—	519	140.00–159.00	152.09
179	—	623	132.50–145.75	142.29
45	—	321	218.00–231.00	225.26
10	—	909	129.00–132.50	131.81
114	—	439	168.00–186.00	179.82
34	—	670	139.00–144.00	141.88
157	—	481	152.00–173.00	160.94
4	—	850	134.00	134.00
4	—	1,051	117.00	117.00
176	—	574	139.00–151.00	146.21

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	515	149.50–150.00	149.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	583	130.00	130.00
1	—	660	127.00	127.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
29	—	630	145.00	145.00
4	—	671	130.00	130.00
9	—	507	139.00–147.00	140.68
10	—	464	140.00–161.00	152.84
4	—	338	210.00	210.00

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.