Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2025-10-03

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2025-10-03
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-10-03

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Fri, Oct 3

● Final67 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1776

← Feb 28Oct 3Oct 10 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,663 head

▼ 1,683 vs last sale 3,346▲ 134 vs year ago 1,529 · +8.8%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

46 head

▲ 11 vs last sale 35▲ 18 vs year ago 28 · +64.3%

Replacement Cattle receipts

23 head

▼ 22 vs last sale 45▲ 5 vs year ago 18 · +27.8%

Also sold hereRegular saleWed Oct 28, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

This was the first Friday feeder special of the fall run so no comparisons can be made. Demand was good for all yearlings on offer, while demand for calves was very good offerings were light. Quality this week was mostly average for yearlings and average to attractive for calves. Calves were mostly offered in small to moderate size packages. No load lots were seen this sale. Demand from order buyers buying for packers was very good as they tried to buy big calves to finish early. This helped push 600 lb and heavier cattle above heavy 5 weight cattle. Demand for light calves was very good as some farmer feeders are already buying calves to develop into yearlings. A large buyer pool was on hand for todays sale. Market activity was mostly active with a good mix of order buyers, farmer feeders and very active internet bidding. Weigh up cows and bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand was mostly light for very light offerings. Weigh up conditions were mostly below average as many cows were very full. Cow and bull quality today was mostly plain.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $459.67/cwt on 244 head. That ranks 6 of 6 comparable sales and sits +29.32 against this barn's trailing median of $430.35.

Average price

$459.67

244 head · 544 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,501

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$142

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

$50.63/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+8.92

vs MT average

+37.02 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	540	465.90	2,517	214
Medium and Large 1-2	572	415.26	2,375	30

One grade step is worth $50.63/cwt here — about $142 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 400–500 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale244 hd

459.67

—

MT average4 barns · 409 hd

450.75

+8.92

National average177 barns · 15,324 hd

422.65

+37.02

This barn, trailing median6 sales

430.35

+29.32

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

6 sales

Steers 500–600 lb: high $503.89, low $428.05, median $430.35 across 6 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

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	1,955	186.33	3,643	3thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,385	149.96	2,077	24
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,222	131.14	1,603	13

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Bred Cows	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,358	$3,100	2thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1,505	$2,500	1thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,287	$2,500	3thin
Bred Cows	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	Aged (>8 yrs)	1,468	$2,454	2thin

Every lot, as filed

67 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 · Steers23 lots · lightest first
Steers	200–250	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	248	640.00/cwt	640.00–640.00	1,587	3
Steers	250–300	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	287	635.00/cwt	635.00–635.00	1,822	11
Steers	300–350	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	314	572.84/cwt	555.00–585.00	1,799	14
Steers	350–400	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	359	525.00/cwt	525.00–525.00	1,885	12
Steers	350–400	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	366	586.39/cwt	565.00–640.00	2,146	65
Steers	400–450	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	427	503.94/cwt	480.00–525.00	2,152	14
Steers	400–450	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	430	536.39/cwt	528.00–550.00	2,306	64
Steers	450–500	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	456	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	1,847	7
Steers	450–500	Large 1Unweaned	463	482.00/cwt	482.00–482.00	2,232	14
Steers	450–500	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	464	497.99/cwt	485.00–520.00	2,311	31
Steers	500–550	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	527	445.00/cwt	445.00–445.00	2,345	3
Steers	500–550	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	530	474.08/cwt	457.00–480.00	2,513	163
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1	555	422.50/cwt	422.50–422.50	2,345	5
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	575	441.61/cwt	420.00–455.00	2,539	46
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	577	411.96/cwt	410.00–417.00	2,377	27
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	633	423.02/cwt	403.00–439.50	2,678	112
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	645	381.50/cwt	365.00–398.00	2,461	10
Steers	650–700	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	676	418.74/cwt	395.00–429.00	2,831	87
Steers	650–700	Medium and Large 1	689	397.50/cwt	397.50–397.50	2,739	34
Steers	700–750	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	706	404.06/cwt	381.00–415.00	2,853	16
Steers	750–800	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	753	409.00/cwt	409.00–409.00	3,080	10
Steers	750–800	Medium and Large 2	763	358.00/cwt	358.00–358.00	2,732	4
Steers	850–900	Medium and Large 1	858	354.00/cwt	354.00–354.00	3,037	4
Feeder Cattle · Heifers25 lots · lightest first
Heifers	250–300	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	275	480.00/cwt	480.00–480.00	1,320	2
Heifers	300–350	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	303	495.10/cwt	465.00–520.00	1,500	24
Heifers	300–350	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	317	542.46/cwt	535.00–548.00	1,720	27
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	366	531.56/cwt	515.00–540.00	1,946	33
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	381	497.50/cwt	497.50–497.50	1,895	9
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	410	499.54/cwt	487.50–502.50	2,048	51
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	474	439.42/cwt	423.00–470.00	2,083	73
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	534	404.29/cwt	392.50–414.00	2,159	29
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	558	393.00/cwt	393.00–393.00	2,193	7
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	568	388.05/cwt	381.00–402.00	2,204	72
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	621	387.80/cwt	379.00–390.00	2,408	64
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	648	369.00/cwt	369.00–369.00	2,391	4
Heifers	650–700	Medium and Large 2	659	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	2,092	4
Heifers	650–700	Medium and Large 1	665	375.00/cwt	375.00–375.00	2,494	22
Heifers	700–750	Medium and Large 1	705	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,573	9
Heifers	750–800	Medium and Large 1Full	767	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	2,569	3
Heifers	750–800	Medium and Large 1	792	350.25/cwt	348.50–357.50	2,774	38
Heifers	800–850	Medium and Large 1	829	341.64/cwt	338.00–345.00	2,832	34
Heifers	800–850	Medium and Large 1-2	839	318.50/cwt	318.50–318.50	2,672	4
Heifers	850–900	Medium and Large 1	871	329.12/cwt	326.00–336.00	2,867	48
Heifers	850–900	Medium and Large 1-2	896	322.00/cwt	322.00–322.00	2,885	9
Heifers	900–950	Medium and Large 1Full	922	312.00/cwt	312.00–312.00	2,877	22
Heifers	900–950	Medium and Large 1-2	922	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	2,858	3
Heifers	900–950	Medium and Large 1	948	314.00/cwt	314.00–314.00	2,977	12
Heifers	950–1000	Medium and Large 1-2	955	295.00/cwt	295.00–295.00	2,817	3
Feeder Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	400–450	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	401	520.00/cwt	520.00–520.00	2,085	5
Bulls	450–500	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	490	462.50/cwt	462.50–462.50	2,266	20
Bulls	500–550	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	548	422.50/cwt	422.50–422.50	2,315	9
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,900	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	3,515	2
Bulls	—	—	2,065	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	3,903	1
Slaughter Cattle · Cows7 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	840	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	1,058	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,231	142.09/cwt	132.00–150.00	1,749	4
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,264	120.78/cwt	113.00–133.00	1,527	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,280	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	2,112	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,358	136.79/cwt	135.00–139.00	1,858	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,377	152.04/cwt	150.00–154.00	2,094	10
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,423	160.15/cwt	160.00–161.00	2,279	7
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows4 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,287	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	3
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,358	3,100.00/head	3,100.00–3,100.00	3,100	2
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Broken Mouth	1,468	2,453.83/head	2,400.00–2,500.00	2,454	2
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,505	2,500.00/head	2,500.00–2,500.00	2,500	1
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows3 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	850	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	2,593	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,113	212.50/cwt	212.50–212.50	2,365	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,113	199.23/cwt	179.00–222.50	2,217	2

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 Oct 3, 2025

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,663Last week 3,346Year ago 1,529

Slaughter CattleReceipts 46Last week 35Year ago 28

Replacement CattleReceipts 23Last week 45Year ago 18

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
65	350–400	366	565.00–640.00	586.39
64	400–450	430	528.00–550.00	536.39
31	450–500	464	485.00–520.00	497.99
163	500–550	530	457.00–480.00	474.08
46	550–600	575	420.00–455.00	441.61
112	600–650	633	403.00–439.50	423.02
87	650–700	676	395.00–429.00	418.74
16	700–750	706	381.00–415.00	404.06
10	750–800	753	409.00	409.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	550–600	555	422.50	422.50
34	650–700	689	397.50	397.50
4	850–900	858	354.00	354.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
14	450–500	463	482.00	482.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
7	450–500	456	405.00	405.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	200–250	248	640.00	640.00
11	250–300	287	635.00	635.00
14	300–350	314	555.00–585.00	572.84
12	350–400	359	525.00	525.00
14	400–450	427	480.00–525.00	503.94
3	500–550	527	445.00	445.00
27	550–600	577	410.00–417.00	411.96
10	600–650	645	365.00–398.00	381.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	750–800	763	358.00	358.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	800–850	839	318.50	318.50
9	850–900	896	322.00	322.00
3	900–950	922	310.00	310.00
3	950–1000	955	295.00	295.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
27	300–350	317	535.00–548.00	542.46
33	350–400	366	515.00–540.00	531.56
51	400–450	410	487.50–502.50	499.54
73	450–500	474	423.00–470.00	439.42
29	500–550	534	392.50–414.00	404.29
72	550–600	568	381.00–402.00	388.05
64	600–650	621	379.00–390.00	387.80

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
22	650–700	665	375.00	375.00
9	700–750	705	365.00	365.00
38	750–800	792	348.50–357.50	350.25
34	800–850	829	338.00–345.00	341.64
48	850–900	871	326.00–336.00	329.12
12	900–950	948	314.00	314.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
3	750–800	767	335.00	335.00
22	900–950	922	312.00	312.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	650–700	659	317.50	317.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	250–300	275	480.00	480.00
24	300–350	303	465.00–520.00	495.10
9	350–400	381	497.50	497.50
7	550–600	558	393.00	393.00
4	600–650	648	369.00	369.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	400–450	401	520.00	520.00
20	450–500	490	462.50	462.50
9	500–550	548	422.50	422.50

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	1	—	1,505	2,500.00	2,500.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	3	—	1,287	2,500.00	2,500.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Broken Mouth$ per head · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	2	—	1,468	2,400.00–2,500.00	2,453.83

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	—	1,358	3,100.00	3,100.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	850	305.00	305.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,113	212.50	212.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,113	179.00–222.50	199.23

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,280	165.00	165.00
4	—	1,231	132.00–150.00	142.09

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	840	126.00	126.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,264	113.00–133.00	120.78

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	1,377	150.00–154.00	152.04
7	—	1,423	160.00–161.00	160.15

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,358	135.00–139.00	136.79

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,065	189.00	189.00
2	—	1,900	185.00	185.00

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.