Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2023-12-01

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2023-12-01
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-12-01

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Dec 1

● Final76 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Nov 17Dec 1Dec 8 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,821 head

▲ 416 vs last sale 1,405▼ 257 vs year ago 2,078 · −12.4%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

61 head

▼ 19 vs last sale 80▼ 98 vs year ago 159 · −61.6%

Replacement Cattle receipts

29 head

▲ 7 vs last sale 22▼ 38 vs year ago 67 · −56.7%

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale: Steers under 500 lbs were too lightly tested last sale to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Steer calves over 500 lbs sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher on a higher quality offering. Heifer calves sold generally steady in a narrow comparison. A large portion of the offering this sale was weaned. Most calves were weaned 45-60 days. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive and overall much more attractive than last sale. Demand was mostly good to very good for light to moderate offerings. Most weaned calves offered buyers two rounds of vaccinations and sold on good demand. Package sizes were moderate today and overall larger than last sale. No load lots were seen today, however several partial loads were seen. Market activity was mostly active with active bidding seen from buyers. Weigh up cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was moderate for light offerings. Packers showed stronger demand today as they pushed to fill loads from Wednesdays sale. Young age cows sold on light demand today. All young cows sold with lower undertones.

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 $267.27/cwt on 763 head.

Average price

$267.27

763 head · 579 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,547

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$137

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

$52.40/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−1.35

vs MT average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	505	282.40	1,427	81
Medium and Large 1	589	267.45	1,575	646
Medium and Large 2	561	230.00	1,289	36

One grade step is worth $52.40/cwt here — about $137 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 sale763 hd

267.27

—

MT average5 barns · 3,178 hd

268.62

−1.35

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	1,436	87.17	1,251	6thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,536	94.50	1,452	5thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,426	90.70	1,293	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,186	80.21	951	33

Every lot, as filed

76 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 · Steers28 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	332	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,179	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	370	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	1,240	1
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	381	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,314	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	387	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,335	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	388	332.46/cwt	322.50–340.00	1,290	23
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	405	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,235	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	427	316.24/cwt	315.00–320.00	1,350	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	433	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,299	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	472	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	1,392	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	481	312.04/cwt	305.00–312.50	1,501	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	489	311.46/cwt	307.50–314.00	1,523	69
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	518	301.56/cwt	293.00–313.00	1,562	66
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	518	252.76/cwt	250.00–257.00	1,309	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	523	291.68/cwt	285.00–302.50	1,525	26
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	541	229.00/cwt	229.00–229.00	1,239	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	541	225.55/cwt	225.00–226.00	1,220	11
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	558	237.00/cwt	237.00–237.00	1,322	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	575	265.37/cwt	255.00–273.00	1,526	141
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	590	254.00/cwt	254.00–254.00	1,499	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	616	223.00/cwt	223.00–223.00	1,374	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	626	251.62/cwt	238.00–263.00	1,575	165
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	632	232.50/cwt	232.50–232.50	1,469	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	645	242.00/cwt	242.00–242.00	1,561	31
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	678	221.30/cwt	214.00–227.00	1,500	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	680	232.48/cwt	228.00–234.00	1,581	52
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	687	220.00/cwt	220.00–220.00	1,511	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	715	214.00/cwt	213.00–215.00	1,530	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	724	226.04/cwt	216.00–233.00	1,637	60
Feeder Cattle · Heifers31 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	368	280.00/cwt	280.00–280.00	1,030	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	383	245.00/cwt	245.00–245.00	938	3
Heifers	—	Medium 1	389	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,011	9
Heifers	—	Medium 1	418	277.50/cwt	277.50–277.50	1,160	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	423	279.00/cwt	272.50–287.00	1,180	47
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	436	247.50/cwt	247.50–247.50	1,079	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	448	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,165	17
Heifers	—	Medium 1Unweaned	465	232.50/cwt	232.50–232.50	1,081	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	477	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,121	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	478	246.58/cwt	238.00–252.50	1,179	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	481	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	1,130	10
Heifers	—	Medium 1	482	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,229	24
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	489	273.70/cwt	268.00–281.00	1,338	130
Heifers	—	Medium 1	500	227.50/cwt	227.50–227.50	1,138	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	526	242.53/cwt	240.00–246.00	1,276	36
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	528	258.60/cwt	250.00–262.50	1,365	109
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	539	238.00/cwt	238.00–238.00	1,283	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	543	229.00/cwt	229.00–229.00	1,243	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	553	239.00/cwt	239.00–239.00	1,322	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	572	242.70/cwt	241.50–245.00	1,388	45
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	576	204.11/cwt	202.00–207.00	1,176	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	584	228.70/cwt	221.00–230.00	1,336	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fancy	610	247.71/cwt	247.00–248.00	1,511	86
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	616	227.26/cwt	226.00–228.00	1,400	16
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	620	243.41/cwt	242.00–243.50	1,509	46
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	623	221.00/cwt	221.00–221.00	1,377	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	656	217.43/cwt	215.00–221.00	1,426	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	667	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	1,301	3
Heifers	—	Medium 1	683	203.00/cwt	203.00–203.00	1,386	26
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	714	207.00/cwt	207.00–207.00	1,478	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	716	202.92/cwt	202.00–204.00	1,453	11
Feeder Cattle · Bulls1 lot · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	619	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	1,176	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Light Weight	1,196	77.50/cwt	77.50–77.50	927	4
Bulls	—	—	1,880	102.00/cwt	102.00–102.00	1,918	1
Bulls	—	—	1,950	111.00/cwt	111.00–111.00	2,165	1
Slaughter Cattle · Cows10 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	945	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	595	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,162	84.17/cwt	83.00–88.00	978	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,187	81.75/cwt	81.75–81.75	970	20
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,200	68.00/cwt	68.00–68.00	816	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,210	91.00/cwt	91.00–91.00	1,101	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,325	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	835	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,330	84.00/cwt	84.00–84.00	1,117	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,433	93.00/cwt	93.00–93.00	1,333	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,450	86.00/cwt	86.00–86.00	1,247	2
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,536	94.50/cwt	94.50–94.50	1,452	5
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows3 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	774	80.00/cwt	80.00–80.00	619	4
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,013	136.67/cwt	117.50–146.00	1,384	14
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,033	104.00/cwt	102.50–105.00	1,074	5

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 →

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

Fri Dec 1, 2023

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,821Last week 1,405Year ago 2,078

Slaughter CattleReceipts 61Last week 80Year ago 159

Replacement CattleReceipts 29Last week 22Year ago 67

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	584	221.00–230.00	228.70
5	—	478	238.00–252.50	246.58
16	—	616	226.00–228.00	227.26
11	—	436	247.50	247.50
7	—	539	238.00	238.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	465	232.50	232.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	383	245.00	245.00
5	—	477	235.00	235.00
3	—	543	229.00	229.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	623	221.00	221.00
19	—	714	207.00	207.00
10	—	656	215.00–221.00	217.43
10	—	553	239.00	239.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
45	—	572	241.50–245.00	242.70
2	—	368	280.00	280.00
46	—	620	242.00–243.50	243.41
130	—	489	268.00–281.00	273.70
109	—	528	250.00–262.50	258.60
47	—	423	272.50–287.00	279.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
24	—	482	255.00	255.00
9	—	389	260.00	260.00
18	—	418	277.50	277.50
26	—	683	203.00	203.00
2	—	500	227.50	227.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	576	202.00–207.00	204.11
10	—	481	235.00	235.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
86	—	610	247.00–248.00	247.71

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	716	202.00–204.00	202.92
17	—	448	260.00	260.00
3	—	667	195.00	195.00
36	—	526	240.00–246.00	242.53

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
141	—	575	255.00–273.00	265.37
15	—	381	345.00	345.00
60	—	724	216.00–233.00	226.04
165	—	626	238.00–263.00	251.62
66	—	518	293.00–313.00	301.56
69	—	489	307.50–314.00	311.46

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	427	315.00–320.00	316.24
9	—	472	295.00	295.00
9	—	678	214.00–227.00	221.30
8	—	518	250.00–257.00	252.76
3	—	332	355.00	355.00
3	—	632	232.50	232.50
6	—	715	213.00–215.00	214.00
4	—	558	237.00	237.00
1	—	370	335.00	335.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	616	223.00	223.00
11	—	541	225.00–226.00	225.55
2	—	405	305.00	305.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
23	—	388	322.50–340.00	332.46
2	—	433	300.00	300.00
5	—	687	220.00	220.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
52	—	680	228.00–234.00	232.48
31	—	645	242.00	242.00
16	—	481	305.00–312.50	312.04
3	—	387	345.00	345.00
2	—	590	254.00	254.00
26	—	523	285.00–302.50	291.68

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	541	229.00	229.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	619	190.00	190.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	1,187	81.75	81.75
2	—	1,210	91.00	91.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,325	63.00	63.00
2	—	1,200	68.00	68.00
6	—	1,162	83.00–88.00	84.17

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,450	86.00	86.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,536	94.50	94.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,330	84.00	84.00
7	—	1,433	93.00	93.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	945	63.00	63.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,880	102.00	102.00
1	—	1,950	111.00	111.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,196	77.50	77.50

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	5	—	1,033	102.50–105.00	104.00
(<2 yrs)	Open	14	—	1,013	117.50–146.00	136.67

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	4	—	774	80.00	80.00

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.