Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-12-04

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-12-04
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-12-04

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Dec 4

● Final81 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Nov 20Dec 4Dec 11 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

3,530 head

▲ 612 vs last sale 2,918▲ 1,555 vs year ago 1,975 · +78.7%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

80 head

▼ 122 vs last sale 202▲ 52 vs year ago 28 · +185.7%

Replacement Cattle receipts

14 head

▼ 65 vs last sale 79▼ 83 vs year ago 97 · −85.6%

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to two weeks ago: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Weaned and unweaned steers sold mostly 8.00-13.00 higher on all weights. Weaned and unweaned heifer calves under 550 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 higher; heifers over 550 lbs sold mostly 2.00-6.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Demand this sale was mostly good to very good. Todays feeder special featured enhanced health protocol cattle. Many sets of calves were weaned and given an extensive vaccination protocol. Weaned calves sold on mostly very good demand this sale. Most unweaned calves were given 2 rounds of vaccinations. Quality this sale was mostly attractive to very attractive. Many buyers were on hand today actively bidding on offerings. Market activity was mostly active with offerings quickly moving through the ring. Weigh up cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend. Demand was mostly good for very light offerings. Higher undertones were noticed on both slaughter and feeding cows. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly good demand as well. Bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed. Two year old to young age cows sold on mostly moderate demand this sale. Quality was average. This class of cows was too lightly tested to develop any market trend.

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 $166.22/cwt on 1,587 head.

Average price

$166.22

1,587 head · 532 lb average

Value per head Derived

$884

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$227

per head · Medium 1 over Medium and Large 1

$12.30/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−4.63

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	384	177.77	683	81
Medium 1-2	385	167.50	645	6thin
Medium and Large 1-2	454	166.62	757	146
Medium and Large 1	550	165.48	910	1,354

One grade step is worth $12.30/cwt here — about −$227 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 sale1,587 hd

166.22

—

MT average5 barns · 4,816 hd

170.84

−4.63

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	1,851	76.59	1,417	6thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Low	1,778	57.50	1,022	2thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,403	56.32	790	18
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Very Low	1,207	46.87	566	52

Every lot

81 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 · Steers36 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	336	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	612	6
Steers	—	Medium 1	337	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	610	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	339	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	627	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	372	185.35/cwt	185.00–185.50	690	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	379	179.05/cwt	175.50–187.00	679	13
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	385	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	645	6
Steers	—	Medium 1	387	176.57/cwt	175.00–187.00	683	59
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	388	174.00/cwt	174.00–174.00	675	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	391	196.50/cwt	196.50–196.50	768	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	413	187.20/cwt	181.00–193.00	773	27
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	417	172.69/cwt	167.00–178.00	720	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	421	187.96/cwt	181.00–193.50	791	54
Steers	—	Medium 1	432	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	782	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	466	164.91/cwt	164.00–165.00	768	24
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	474	179.50/cwt	169.00–185.00	851	96
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	480	164.27/cwt	164.00–165.00	788	43
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	483	177.34/cwt	170.00–189.00	857	260
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	501	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	716	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	529	167.41/cwt	160.00–172.00	886	102
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	531	167.69/cwt	161.00–171.00	890	102
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	549	153.50/cwt	153.50–153.50	843	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	561	160.12/cwt	159.50–163.00	898	93
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	566	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	860	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	568	159.36/cwt	155.00–163.50	905	189
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	584	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	841	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	608	156.73/cwt	146.00–161.50	953	49
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	614	141.33/cwt	138.00–143.00	868	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	615	155.94/cwt	148.50–162.00	959	237
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	618	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	865	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	653	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	947	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	678	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	922	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	685	145.99/cwt	138.00–148.50	1,000	53
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	711	150.02/cwt	149.50–150.50	1,067	23
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	717	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	975	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	722	137.88/cwt	137.50–138.00	995	17
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	883	135.50/cwt	135.50–135.50	1,196	10
Feeder Cattle · Heifers29 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	318	157.50/cwt	157.50–157.50	501	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	357	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	468	6
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	367	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	477	8
Heifers	—	Medium 1	378	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	529	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	384	159.25/cwt	156.50–168.00	612	50
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	390	161.37/cwt	158.00–163.00	629	22
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	393	154.30/cwt	154.00–156.50	606	41
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	410	146.38/cwt	145.00–150.00	600	26
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	418	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	585	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	420	155.72/cwt	152.00–160.00	654	229
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	421	154.35/cwt	153.00–158.00	650	42
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	472	156.28/cwt	145.00–161.00	738	211
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	475	156.55/cwt	151.00–161.50	744	37
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	476	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	671	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	483	136.21/cwt	135.00–138.00	658	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	495	128.50/cwt	128.50–128.50	636	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	514	153.45/cwt	143.00–157.00	789	89
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	520	148.06/cwt	144.00–151.00	770	132
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	528	138.43/cwt	138.00–139.00	731	27
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	571	137.92/cwt	134.00–145.00	788	153
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	574	136.04/cwt	133.00–137.50	781	36
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	609	132.09/cwt	130.00–135.00	804	39
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	626	129.80/cwt	128.00–131.00	813	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	631	124.64/cwt	124.00–127.00	786	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	658	125.26/cwt	125.00–126.50	824	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	667	129.74/cwt	126.00–130.00	865	15
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	703	125.83/cwt	124.50–126.50	885	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	823	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	1,008	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	938	129.25/cwt	129.25–129.25	1,212	21
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,815	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	1,307	1
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,843	77.00/cwt	77.00–77.00	1,419	3
Bulls	—	—	1,880	78.28/cwt	77.00–79.50	1,472	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows11 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,087	37.13/cwt	37.00–38.00	404	8
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,212	47.21/cwt	45.50–49.75	572	16
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,221	51.27/cwt	50.00–54.00	626	13
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,230	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	775	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,254	43.79/cwt	41.00–47.00	549	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,260	49.83/cwt	49.50–52.00	628	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,350	48.00/cwt	48.00–48.00	648	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,365	62.00/cwt	62.00–62.00	846	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,375	53.50/cwt	53.50–53.50	736	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,411	56.68/cwt	52.50–61.00	800	15
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,778	57.50/cwt	57.50–57.50	1,022	2
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows2 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	885	62.00/cwt	62.00–62.00	549	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,049	75.47/cwt	69.00–85.00	792	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 4, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 3,530Last week 2,918Year ago 1,975

Slaughter CattleReceipts 80Last week 202Year ago 28

Replacement CattleReceipts 14Last week 79Year ago 97

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	417	167.00–178.00	172.69
6	—	549	153.50	153.50
4	—	566	152.00	152.00
9	—	388	174.00	174.00
12	—	339	185.00	185.00
6	—	614	138.00–143.00	141.33
43	—	480	164.00–165.00	164.27

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
53	—	685	138.00–148.50	145.99
23	—	711	149.50–150.50	150.02
54	—	421	181.00–193.50	187.96
260	—	483	170.00–189.00	177.34
237	—	615	148.50–162.00	155.94
189	—	568	155.00–163.50	159.36
102	—	529	160.00–172.00	167.41
10	—	883	135.50	135.50
8	—	391	196.50	196.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	372	185.00–185.50	185.35
102	—	531	161.00–171.00	167.69
27	—	413	181.00–193.00	187.20
3	—	653	145.00	145.00
49	—	608	146.00–161.50	156.73
93	—	561	159.50–163.00	160.12
17	—	722	137.50–138.00	137.88
96	—	474	169.00–185.00	179.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	336	182.00	182.00
4	—	501	143.00	143.00
4	—	618	140.00	140.00
24	—	466	164.00–165.00	164.91
13	—	379	175.50–187.00	179.05

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	584	144.00	144.00
6	—	717	136.00	136.00
5	—	678	136.00	136.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
59	—	387	175.00–187.00	176.57
9	—	432	181.00	181.00
13	—	337	181.00	181.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	385	167.50	167.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
132	—	520	144.00–151.00	148.06
17	—	658	125.00–126.50	125.26
42	—	421	153.00–158.00	154.35
36	—	574	133.00–137.50	136.04
50	—	384	156.50–168.00	159.25
5	—	626	128.00–131.00	129.80
37	—	475	151.00–161.50	156.55

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	476	141.00	141.00
41	—	393	154.00–156.50	154.30
26	—	410	145.00–150.00	146.38
27	—	528	138.00–139.00	138.43

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	703	124.50–126.50	125.83
15	—	667	126.00–130.00	129.74
211	—	472	145.00–161.00	156.28
21	—	938	129.25	129.25
153	—	571	134.00–145.00	137.92
39	—	609	130.00–135.00	132.09
229	—	420	152.00–160.00	155.72
89	—	514	143.00–157.00	153.45
22	—	390	158.00–163.00	161.37

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	631	124.00–127.00	124.64
12	—	483	135.00–138.00	136.21
13	—	318	157.50	157.50
3	—	823	122.50	122.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	378	140.00	140.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	357	131.00	131.00
3	—	495	128.50	128.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	367	130.00	130.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	418	140.00	140.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,375	53.50	53.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,350	48.00	48.00
15	—	1,411	52.50–61.00	56.68
1	—	1,365	62.00	62.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,087	37.00–38.00	37.13
7	—	1,260	49.50–52.00	49.83
7	—	1,254	41.00–47.00	43.79

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,212	45.50–49.75	47.21
1	—	1,230	63.00	63.00
13	—	1,221	50.00–54.00	51.27

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,778	57.50	57.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,815	72.00	72.00
2	—	1,880	77.00–79.50	78.28

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,843	77.00	77.00

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	2	—	885	62.00	62.00
(<2 yrs)	Open	11	—	1,049	69.00–85.00	75.47

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.