Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2020-10-22

Billings Livestock Commission

Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2020-10-22
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-10-22

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Thu, Oct 22

● Final79 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1777

← Oct 15Oct 22Oct 29 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

2,274 head

▼ 2,716 vs last sale 4,990▼ 2,551 vs year ago 4,825 · −52.9%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

140 head

▲ 140 vs last sale 0▼ 20 vs year ago 160 · −12.5%

Replacement Cattle receipts

76 head

▲ 76 vs last sale 0▼ 334 vs year ago 410 · −81.5%

Also sold here(Mon)Mon Nov 2, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling feeder steers sold mostly 5.00-9.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Unweaned steer calves weighing less than 400 lbs sold fully steady; 400-599 lbs sold mostly 5.00 to 10.00 lower; 600-699 lbs steers sold 3.00-5.00 lower. Yearling heifers sold mostly 3.00-8.00 lower. Unweaned heifer calves under 400 lbs sold steady to weak; 400-649 lbs sold mostly 3.00-7.00 lower, other weights of heifers were too lightly tested to trend. Quality this week was average to attractive. Many calves continue to be in mostly light flesh. CME positions shifted lower over the past week and feedlot buyers have been gun shy to take calves. This coupled with a cold and very snowy weather pattern has many buyers reserved as they bid on calves. Market activity was slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for very light offerings. Not enough cows or bulls to develop any market test. Quality this week was mostly average. Weigh up conditions were average.

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 $143.71/cwt on 1,032 head.

Average price

$143.71

1,032 head · 622 lb average

Value per head Derived

$893

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$354

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Large 1

$36.74/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−10.48

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	619	144.93	897	864
Medium and Large 1-2	571	141.52	808	145
Medium 2	480	128.00	614	4thin
Large 1	1,157	108.18	1,252	19thin

One grade step is worth $36.74/cwt here — about −$354 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 sale1,032 hd

143.71

—

MT average5 barns · 3,831 hd

154.19

−10.48

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	—	High	1,764	81.50	1,438	4thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,521	66.88	1,017	4thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,456	56.71	826	47
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,203	50.15	603	71

Every lot

79 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 · Steers30 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	341	206.42/cwt	202.00–212.50	704	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	381	188.71/cwt	184.00–207.00	719	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	387	180.33/cwt	177.50–182.50	698	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	424	174.45/cwt	163.50–185.00	740	63
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	424	165.87/cwt	165.00–167.00	703	7
Steers	—	Medium 2	480	128.00/cwt	128.00–128.00	614	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	483	155.04/cwt	151.00–164.00	749	89
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	489	148.07/cwt	147.00–153.00	724	51
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	534	147.92/cwt	145.00–154.00	790	153
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	536	135.73/cwt	134.50–139.00	728	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	581	131.95/cwt	124.00–136.00	767	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	588	139.68/cwt	138.00–140.50	821	84
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	607	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	771	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	618	140.01/cwt	136.00–142.25	865	209
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	635	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	826	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	678	136.83/cwt	130.00–140.00	928	71
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	701	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	967	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	718	131.42/cwt	129.75–134.50	944	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	722	135.38/cwt	130.50–137.00	977	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	753	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	934	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	765	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	1,002	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	775	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,062	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	783	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	979	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	828	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,035	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	839	131.75/cwt	131.75–131.75	1,105	41
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	877	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	1,131	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	879	130.50/cwt	130.50–130.50	1,147	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	908	129.60/cwt	127.00–130.00	1,177	86
Steers	—	Large 1Fleshy	1,050	111.50/cwt	111.50–111.50	1,171	5
Steers	—	Large 1Fleshy	1,195	107.00/cwt	107.00–107.00	1,279	14
Feeder Cattle · Heifers28 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	328	163.49/cwt	160.00–167.00	536	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	343	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	511	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	375	158.15/cwt	152.00–163.00	593	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	393	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	570	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	413	148.05/cwt	144.50–150.50	611	47
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	427	141.09/cwt	139.00–143.00	602	42
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2Unweaned	466	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	610	16
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	467	134.40/cwt	133.00–137.00	628	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	473	139.90/cwt	138.00–143.00	662	78
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	523	139.01/cwt	131.00–143.50	727	140
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	534	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	689	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	577	132.16/cwt	127.00–137.00	763	107
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	587	126.95/cwt	125.00–128.00	745	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	634	129.65/cwt	127.50–132.00	822	40
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	640	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	813	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	659	127.09/cwt	123.50–129.00	838	29
Heifers	—	Medium 1	674	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	856	4
Heifers	—	Medium 1	724	125.17/cwt	123.75–127.50	906	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	774	129.73/cwt	127.50–132.50	1,004	97
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	778	125.49/cwt	124.00–126.50	976	17
Heifers	—	Medium 1	779	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	974	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	823	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	1,021	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	849	125.50/cwt	125.50–125.50	1,065	58
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	851	123.29/cwt	123.00–123.75	1,049	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	878	126.75/cwt	126.75–126.75	1,113	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	916	122.97/cwt	122.00–124.75	1,126	64
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	972	119.00/cwt	119.00–119.00	1,157	9
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,098	116.75/cwt	116.75–116.75	1,282	17
Feeder Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	390	179.00/cwt	179.00–179.00	698	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	445	153.00/cwt	153.00–153.00	681	4
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	510	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	658	7
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	633	128.00/cwt	128.00–128.00	810	7
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,480	77.99/cwt	75.00–80.00	1,154	2
Bulls	—	—	2,048	85.00/cwt	85.00–85.00	1,741	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows11 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,085	35.00/cwt	35.00–35.00	380	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,148	48.57/cwt	44.00–50.00	558	24
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,174	54.81/cwt	52.00–56.00	643	11
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,182	47.10/cwt	46.50–49.50	557	5
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,198	64.00/cwt	64.00–64.00	767	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,270	49.78/cwt	49.00–51.50	632	28
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,399	51.00/cwt	51.00–51.00	713	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,443	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	938	3
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,448	57.46/cwt	57.00–58.00	832	40
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,643	54.39/cwt	53.00–55.00	894	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,755	72.50/cwt	72.50–72.50	1,272	1
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows4 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	840	69.96/cwt	67.00–74.00	588	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	991	77.51/cwt	70.00–94.50	768	49
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,055	58.00/cwt	58.00–58.00	612	4
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,065	64.82/cwt	62.00–69.00	690	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 22, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 2,274Last week 4,990Year ago 4,825

Slaughter CattleReceipts 140Last week 0Year ago 160

Replacement CattleReceipts 76Last week 0Year ago 410

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
41	—	839	131.75	131.75
5	—	775	137.00	137.00
86	—	908	127.00–130.00	129.60
4	—	701	138.00	138.00
21	—	879	130.50	130.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	722	130.50–137.00	135.38
18	—	381	184.00–207.00	188.71
209	—	618	136.00–142.25	140.01
63	—	424	163.50–185.00	174.45
71	—	678	130.00–140.00	136.83
84	—	588	138.00–140.50	139.68
2	—	783	125.00	125.00
153	—	534	145.00–154.00	147.92
7	—	341	202.00–212.50	206.42
89	—	483	151.00–164.00	155.04

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	718	129.75–134.50	131.42
3	—	765	131.00	131.00
5	—	607	127.00	127.00
7	—	828	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	753	124.00	124.00
7	—	536	134.50–139.00	135.73
51	—	489	147.00–153.00	148.07
9	—	387	177.50–182.50	180.33
16	—	635	130.00	130.00
18	—	581	124.00–136.00	131.95
7	—	424	165.00–167.00	165.87

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	877	129.00	129.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	480	128.00	128.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,050	111.50	111.50
14	—	1,195	107.00	107.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
29	—	659	123.50–129.00	127.09
140	—	523	131.00–143.50	139.01
107	—	577	127.00–137.00	132.16
6	—	375	152.00–163.00	158.15
40	—	634	127.50–132.00	129.65
6	—	328	160.00–167.00	163.49
47	—	413	144.50–150.50	148.05
78	—	473	138.00–143.00	139.90

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
64	—	916	122.00–124.75	122.97
97	—	774	127.50–132.50	129.73
58	—	849	125.50	125.50
9	—	972	119.00	119.00
21	—	878	126.75	126.75

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	343	149.00	149.00
42	—	427	139.00–143.00	141.09
3	—	393	145.00	145.00
8	—	534	129.00	129.00
13	—	467	133.00–137.00	134.40
14	—	587	125.00–128.00	126.95

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	823	124.00	124.00
17	—	778	124.00–126.50	125.49

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	466	131.00	131.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	640	127.00	127.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
18	—	851	123.00–123.75	123.29

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	724	123.75–127.50	125.17
4	—	674	127.00	127.00
7	—	779	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	1,098	116.75	116.75

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	390	179.00	179.00
7	—	633	128.00	128.00
7	—	510	129.00	129.00
4	—	445	153.00	153.00

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
(<2 yrs)	Open	2	—	840	67.00–74.00	69.96
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,055	58.00	58.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	49	—	991	70.00–94.50	77.51
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,065	62.00–69.00	64.82

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	1,174	52.00–56.00	54.81
2	—	1,198	64.00	64.00
24	—	1,148	44.00–50.00	48.57

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,399	51.00	51.00
40	—	1,448	57.00–58.00	57.46

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,182	46.50–49.50	47.10
1	—	1,085	35.00	35.00
28	—	1,270	49.00–51.50	49.78

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,755	72.50	72.50
3	—	1,443	65.00	65.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,643	53.00–55.00	54.39

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	2,048	85.00	85.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,480	75.00–80.00	77.99

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.