Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2020-03-12

Billings Livestock Commission

Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2020-03-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-03-12

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Thu, Mar 12

● Final74 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1777

← Mar 5Mar 12Mar 19 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

2,277 head

▲ 1,661 vs last sale 616▲ 2,277 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

277 head

▲ 72 vs last sale 205▲ 277 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

144 head

▲ 6 vs last sale 138▲ 144 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 sale: Feeder steers weighing less than 750 lbs sold sharply lower, with most sales 15.00-25.00 lower. Steer calves over 750 lbs were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Heifer calves were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Feeder cattle sold on very light to light demand for light to moderate offerings. Demand for all classes of feeder cattle was lower this week as CME positions sold off the limit again today. Cattle were of mixed quality this sale ranging from plain to attractive. Flesh conditions were mostly light for cattle under 700 lbs and mostly moderate to fleshy for cattle over 700 lbs. Market activity this week was mostly slow. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for light to moderate offerings. Packers were much more aggressive this week as they purchased cows exclusively for slaughter. Slaughter cows sold mostly 3.00-6.00 higher on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold steady to 1.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Feeding cows were scarcely tested this week as packers purchased the majority of the cow offering for immediate harvest. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or re-breed sold mostly 5.00 lower. Pressure on the feeding market continues to cause these offerings to sell lower.

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 $138.38/cwt on 1,200 head.

Average price

$138.38

1,200 head · 667 lb average

Value per head Derived

$924

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$122

per head · Medium and Large 2 over Large 1

$34.95/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−5.61

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 2	441	151.95	670	10thin
Medium 1	589	146.28	862	29
Medium and Large 1	669	140.36	939	906
Medium and Large 1-2	681	130.20	886	249
Large 1	677	117.00	792	6thin

One grade step is worth $34.95/cwt here — about −$122 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 sale1,200 hd

138.38

—

MT average3 barns · 2,084 hd

143.99

−5.61

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	1,687	73.21	1,235	14
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,416	60.02	850	74
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,377	56.83	782	87
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,227	54.88	674	84

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 · Steers28 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	360	175.00/cwt	175.00–175.00	630	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	437	172.00/cwt	172.00–172.00	752	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	441	151.95/cwt	150.00–155.00	670	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	445	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	734	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	477	161.00/cwt	160.00–167.00	768	52
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	481	158.50/cwt	158.50–158.50	762	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	514	153.37/cwt	151.00–155.00	788	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	534	161.99/cwt	155.00–166.00	865	55
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	580	153.47/cwt	151.00–160.00	890	195
Steers	—	Medium 1	589	146.28/cwt	146.00–148.00	862	29
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	595	138.72/cwt	131.00–148.00	825	34
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	632	144.61/cwt	142.00–150.50	914	178
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	637	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	895	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	676	140.88/cwt	136.00–143.00	952	35
Steers	—	Large 1	677	117.00/cwt	117.00–117.00	792	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	696	126.19/cwt	126.00–133.00	878	107
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	708	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	988	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	723	123.85/cwt	121.00–128.00	895	11
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	725	131.37/cwt	130.50–132.00	952	53
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	765	125.40/cwt	125.25–127.00	959	171
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	770	119.95/cwt	118.00–121.00	924	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	790	119.41/cwt	119.25–122.00	943	51
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	822	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	945	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Fleshy	824	108.00/cwt	108.00–108.00	890	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	840	120.91/cwt	119.00–124.50	1,016	87
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	882	118.68/cwt	118.00–119.00	1,047	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	924	112.29/cwt	111.00–113.00	1,038	14
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	987	114.50/cwt	114.50–114.50	1,130	3
Feeder Cattle · Heifers23 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	399	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	642	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	413	163.14/cwt	161.00–164.00	674	11
Heifers	—	Medium 1	413	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	624	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	438	146.82/cwt	145.00–152.00	643	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	477	154.22/cwt	152.00–156.00	736	29
Heifers	—	Medium 1	477	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	720	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	488	145.48/cwt	144.00–150.00	710	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	521	148.75/cwt	145.00–152.00	775	66
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	528	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	697	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	570	144.67/cwt	140.00–152.00	825	153
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	574	132.81/cwt	131.00–136.50	762	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	617	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	777	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	620	136.91/cwt	129.00–143.50	849	95
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	675	124.60/cwt	122.50–126.00	841	34
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	697	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	843	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	715	120.64/cwt	119.50–123.00	863	25
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	729	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	846	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Fleshy	764	111.41/cwt	110.50–112.00	851	15
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	786	117.15/cwt	117.00–118.00	921	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	812	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	893	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	815	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	945	31
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	878	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	939	12
Heifers	—	Large 1Fleshy	913	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	977	2
Feeder Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	540	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	761	9
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	625	135.49/cwt	132.00–136.50	847	22
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	667	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	834	8
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	716	121.50/cwt	121.50–121.50	870	23
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,058	90.50/cwt	90.50–90.50	957	7
Feeder Cattle · Dairy Steers1 lot · lightest first
Dairy Steers	—	Large 3-4	617	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	370	5
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,624	70.81/cwt	64.00–75.00	1,150	10
Bulls	—	—	1,846	79.20/cwt	77.00–80.50	1,462	4
Slaughter Cattle · Cows10 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	983	50.50/cwt	50.50–50.50	496	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,214	52.80/cwt	47.00–55.00	641	47
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,254	60.90/cwt	60.00–61.00	764	10
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,255	57.33/cwt	55.00–59.00	719	24
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,321	53.73/cwt	51.50–54.00	710	23
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,396	57.77/cwt	55.00–60.50	806	62
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,398	60.88/cwt	55.50–62.50	851	65
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,420	63.50/cwt	63.50–63.50	902	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,420	42.00/cwt	42.00–42.00	596	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,550	53.83/cwt	53.50–54.00	834	9
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows4 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,017	82.12/cwt	70.00–93.00	835	40
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,128	54.42/cwt	53.00–56.00	614	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,162	65.55/cwt	59.50–83.00	762	29
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,220	57.00/cwt	57.00–57.00	695	1
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows1 lot · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,352	935.00/cwt	935.00–935.00	12,641	21

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 Mar 12, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 2,277Last week 616Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 277Last week 205Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 144Last week 138Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	677	117.00	117.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
53	—	725	130.50–132.00	131.37
52	—	477	160.00–167.00	161.00
35	—	676	136.00–143.00	140.88
7	—	437	172.00	172.00
3	—	987	114.50	114.50
3	—	882	118.00–119.00	118.68
3	—	360	175.00	175.00
195	—	580	151.00–160.00	153.47
178	—	632	142.00–150.50	144.61
171	—	765	125.25–127.00	125.40
87	—	840	119.00–124.50	120.91
55	—	534	155.00–166.00	161.99

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	514	151.00–155.00	153.37
7	—	445	165.00	165.00
10	—	481	158.50	158.50
11	—	723	121.00–128.00	123.85
20	—	637	140.50	140.50
34	—	595	131.00–148.00	138.72
51	—	790	119.25–122.00	119.41
107	—	696	126.00–133.00	126.19

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
25	—	770	118.00–121.00	119.95
14	—	924	111.00–113.00	112.29
5	—	822	115.00	115.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	824	108.00	108.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	708	139.50	139.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
29	—	589	146.00–148.00	146.28

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	441	150.00–155.00	151.95

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	528	132.00	132.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
19	—	574	131.00–136.50	132.81
19	—	488	144.00–150.00	145.48
11	—	438	145.00–152.00	146.82
7	—	617	126.00	126.00
4	—	729	116.00	116.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	413	151.00	151.00
5	—	477	151.00	151.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
25	—	715	119.50–123.00	120.64
20	—	786	117.00–118.00	117.15
11	—	413	161.00–164.00	163.14
7	—	399	161.00	161.00
29	—	477	152.00–156.00	154.22
31	—	815	116.00	116.00
34	—	675	122.50–126.00	124.60
66	—	521	145.00–152.00	148.75
95	—	620	129.00–143.50	136.91
153	—	570	140.00–152.00	144.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	878	107.00	107.00
6	—	697	121.00	121.00
5	—	812	110.00	110.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	913	107.00	107.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	764	110.50–112.00	111.41

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Steers — Large 3-4$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	617	60.00	60.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
23	—	716	121.50	121.50
22	—	625	132.00–136.50	135.49
9	—	540	141.00	141.00
8	—	667	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,058	90.50	90.50

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	983	50.50	50.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
47	—	1,214	47.00–55.00	52.80
10	—	1,254	60.00–61.00	60.90
1	—	1,420	42.00	42.00
24	—	1,255	55.00–59.00	57.33

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
65	—	1,398	55.50–62.50	60.88
9	—	1,550	53.50–54.00	53.83

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
62	—	1,396	55.00–60.50	57.77
23	—	1,321	51.50–54.00	53.73
2	—	1,420	63.50	63.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,846	77.00–80.50	79.20
10	—	1,624	64.00–75.00	70.81

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	—	1,128	53.00–56.00	54.42

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	29	—	1,162	59.50–83.00	65.55
(<2 yrs)	Open	40	—	1,017	70.00–93.00	82.12
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	1	—	1,220	57.00	57.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	21	—	1,352	935.00	935.00

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.