Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2019-10-31

Billings Livestock Commission

Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2019-10-31
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-10-31

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Thu, Oct 31

● Final74 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1777

← Oct 24Oct 31Nov 7 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

4,118 head

▼ 707 vs last sale 4,825▲ 4,118 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

108 head

▼ 52 vs last sale 160▲ 108 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

417 head

▲ 7 vs last sale 410▲ 417 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold here(Mon)Mon Nov 2, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were scarcely tested thus no trend is available. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady undertones were noticed. Steer calves under 400 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Steer calves 400-549 lbs sold mostly 6.00-12.00 higher, steer calves over 550 lbs sold generally steady. Heifer calves weighing less than 400 lbs sold mostly 8.00-12.00 higher, heifer calves 400 lbs and heavier sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher. Quality this week was average to very attractive. Many long strings of very attractive calves were seen this week. Calves with fall preconditioning shots continue to sell with the best demand. These calves sold with a premium to calves with no shots or only spring shots. Demand overall was mostly moderate to good on heavy offerings. A mix of order buyers and farmer feeders were seen again this week. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand for mostly moderate offerings. Packer buyers purchased slaughter cows on mostly light demand this week, however demand was stronger than last week. The best demand for slaughter cows was for fleshy breaking cows. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows sold exclusively to feed last week thus no trend is available. Packers continue to put the majority of cows on feed. Feeding cows sold generally steady on a lower quality offering. Slaughter bulls sold unevenly steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to re-breed were too lightly tested to trend, however higher undertones were noticed.

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 $164.54/cwt on 2,049 head.

Average price

$164.54

2,049 head · 537 lb average

Value per head Derived

$883

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$162

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

$8.92/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+6.84

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	539	164.94	889	1,914
Medium 1	486	162.00	787	14thin
Medium and Large 1-2	525	159.05	835	98
Medium 1-2	466	156.02	727	23

One grade step is worth $8.92/cwt here — about $162 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 sale2,049 hd

164.54

—

MT average5 barns · 5,276 hd

157.70

+6.84

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	1,871	71.66	1,341	11
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,755	63.50	1,114	2thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,456	48.06	700	13
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Very Low	1,300	44.25	575	35

Every lot

74 lots · USDA AMS · Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Thu)

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 · Steers22 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	265	215.00/cwt	215.00–215.00	570	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	337	214.03/cwt	207.00–220.00	721	34
Steers	—	Medium 1-2Unweaned	361	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	614	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	377	208.90/cwt	196.00–211.00	788	27
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	388	188.34/cwt	181.00–193.50	731	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	416	192.87/cwt	178.00–202.00	802	159
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	466	165.41/cwt	155.00–169.00	771	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	480	175.97/cwt	166.00–181.50	845	436
Steers	—	Medium 1-2Unweaned	483	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	681	6
Steers	—	Medium 1Unweaned	486	162.00/cwt	162.00–162.00	787	14
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	531	151.43/cwt	150.00–156.00	804	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	534	161.16/cwt	157.50–166.50	861	550
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	582	153.90/cwt	150.00–159.00	896	301
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	594	146.12/cwt	141.00–148.00	868	11
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	629	139.54/cwt	133.00–142.00	878	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	632	149.66/cwt	143.00–153.50	946	216
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	666	147.46/cwt	145.00–152.50	982	171
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	673	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	935	4
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	696	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	978	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	707	147.35/cwt	144.00–150.50	1,042	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	786	139.48/cwt	139.00–141.00	1,096	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	813	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	1,163	3
Feeder Cattle · Heifers26 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	288	173.00/cwt	173.00–173.00	498	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	328	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	541	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	348	168.16/cwt	168.00–169.00	585	12
Heifers	—	Medium 2	368	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	442	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	387	167.76/cwt	167.50–171.00	649	63
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	391	156.66/cwt	156.00–157.00	613	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	415	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	633	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	416	160.55/cwt	156.50–163.50	668	91
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	428	152.08/cwt	148.00–156.00	651	42
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	471	156.36/cwt	145.00–161.00	736	315
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	491	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	707	15
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	513	131.19/cwt	130.00–133.50	673	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	531	141.60/cwt	137.00–148.00	752	292
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	539	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	658	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	573	137.76/cwt	135.00–139.50	789	110
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	605	130.87/cwt	125.00–132.00	792	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	621	138.05/cwt	134.00–140.50	857	186
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	670	137.33/cwt	136.00–138.00	920	25
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	682	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	887	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	814	133.50/cwt	133.50–133.50	1,087	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	893	133.00/cwt	133.00–133.00	1,188	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	908	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,180	4
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,020	120.70/cwt	119.00–121.50	1,231	20
Heifers	—	Large 1Full	1,037	114.50/cwt	114.50–114.50	1,187	15
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,060	119.50/cwt	119.50–119.50	1,267	11
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,104	116.50/cwt	116.50–116.50	1,286	8
Feeder Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	428	183.50/cwt	183.50–183.50	785	21
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	479	169.50/cwt	169.50–169.50	812	5
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	541	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	795	5
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	646	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	866	8
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	700	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	973	3
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,643	68.00/cwt	68.00–68.00	1,117	2
Bulls	—	—	1,922	72.47/cwt	68.50–74.00	1,393	9
Slaughter Cattle · Cows8 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	810	33.00/cwt	33.00–33.00	267	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,177	35.92/cwt	33.50–37.00	423	5
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,291	43.65/cwt	40.00–45.50	564	16
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,397	49.07/cwt	49.00–50.00	686	13
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,427	46.46/cwt	43.50–48.50	663	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,489	49.92/cwt	48.00–56.00	743	6
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,600	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	1,040	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	1,910	62.00/cwt	62.00–62.00	1,184	1
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows10 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,012	75.62/cwt	67.00–92.00	765	10
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,113	69.01/cwt	58.00–75.00	768	29
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,170	47.09/cwt	46.00–51.00	551	5
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,216	45.25/cwt	44.00–46.00	550	16
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,223	45.50/cwt	45.50–45.50	556	8
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,241	44.06/cwt	41.00–47.00	547	36
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,295	45.00/cwt	45.00–45.00	583	4
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,399	62.41/cwt	59.00–69.00	873	22
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,400	57.06/cwt	50.00–59.00	799	39
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,415	59.72/cwt	51.00–69.00	845	57
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows1 lot · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,235	1,110.00/cwt	1,110.00–1,110.00	13,709	4

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 →

Billings Livestock Commission Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Thu)

Thu Oct 31, 2019

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 4,118Last week 4,825Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 108Last week 160Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 417Last week 410Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	479	169.50	169.50
5	—	541	147.00	147.00
8	—	646	134.00	134.00
21	—	428	183.50	183.50
3	—	700	139.00	139.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	1,037	114.50	114.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,104	116.50	116.50
20	—	1,020	119.00–121.50	120.70
11	—	1,060	119.50	119.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	391	156.00–157.00	156.66
6	—	328	165.00	165.00
9	—	288	173.00	173.00
12	—	513	130.00–133.50	131.19
13	—	605	125.00–132.00	130.87
15	—	491	144.00	144.00
42	—	428	148.00–156.00	152.08

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	682	130.00	130.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	368	120.00	120.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	908	130.00	130.00
17	—	893	133.00	133.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	348	168.00–169.00	168.16
25	—	670	136.00–138.00	137.33
63	—	387	167.50–171.00	167.76
91	—	416	156.50–163.50	160.55
110	—	573	135.00–139.50	137.76
186	—	621	134.00–140.50	138.05
292	—	531	137.00–148.00	141.60
315	—	471	145.00–161.00	156.36

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	814	133.50	133.50
12	—	415	152.50	152.50
7	—	539	122.00	122.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	594	141.00–148.00	146.12
12	—	388	181.00–193.50	188.34
20	—	629	133.00–142.00	139.54
21	—	466	155.00–169.00	165.41
21	—	531	150.00–156.00	151.43
4	—	673	139.00	139.00
6	—	265	215.00	215.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
27	—	377	196.00–211.00	208.90
8	—	786	139.00–141.00	139.48
12	—	707	144.00–150.50	147.35
34	—	337	207.00–220.00	214.03
159	—	416	178.00–202.00	192.87
171	—	666	145.00–152.50	147.46
216	—	632	143.00–153.50	149.66
301	—	582	150.00–159.00	153.90
436	—	480	166.00–181.50	175.97
550	—	534	157.50–166.50	161.16

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	486	162.00	162.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	696	140.50	140.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	483	141.00	141.00
12	—	361	170.00	170.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	813	143.00	143.00

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
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	57	—	1,415	51.00–69.00	59.72
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	39	—	1,400	50.00–59.00	57.06
(<2 yrs)	Open	10	—	1,012	67.00–92.00	75.62
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	29	—	1,113	58.00–75.00	69.01
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	22	—	1,399	59.00–69.00	62.41

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,295	45.00	45.00
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	36	—	1,241	41.00–47.00	44.06
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	16	—	1,216	44.00–46.00	45.25
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,170	46.00–51.00	47.09
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,223	45.50	45.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	—	1,235	1,110.00	1,110.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,643	68.00	68.00
9	—	1,922	68.50–74.00	72.47

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,489	48.00–56.00	49.92
7	—	1,427	43.50–48.50	46.46

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,600	65.00	65.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,910	62.00	62.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,177	33.50–37.00	35.92
16	—	1,291	40.00–45.50	43.65
13	—	1,397	49.00–50.00	49.07

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	810	33.00	33.00

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.