Sale reports / Montana / Billings Livestock Commission / 2021-05-20

Billings Livestock Commission

Name: Billings Livestock Commission livestock auction prices — 2021-05-20
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2021-05-20

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Thu, May 20

● Final70 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1777

← May 13May 20May 27 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

314 head

▼ 196 vs last sale 510▲ 122 vs year ago 192 · +63.5%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

559 head

▼ 247 vs last sale 806▲ 427 vs year ago 132 · +323.5%

Replacement Cattle receipts

505 head

▲ 161 vs last sale 344▼ 215 vs year ago 720 · −29.9%

Also sold here(Mon)Mon Nov 2, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on steers and steady to higher undertones on heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good. Good demand was seen for high quality, light fleshed offerings. Demand for plain or crossbred offerings was not as robust, however demand was better than last week. Corn prices have fallen sharply over the couple few weeks which has helped improve demand for feeder cattle. Quality was mostly plain to average this week. CME positions traded mostly lower today with the nearby May contract closing 0.825 lower at 135.75, while the August closed 1.80 lower at 151.075. Market activity this week was mostly moderate. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for heavy offerings. Packers opted to put the majority of the cow offering on feed this week. Heavy supplies of cows continue to be marketed as drought conditions continue across the Dakotas and western Minnesota. The cutter cow cutout continues to increase in value as retailers continue to buy ground beef for the upcoming Memorial day holiday. Packers opted only to send cows not suitable to feed to slaughter this sale. Most of these cows are destined for short term feed or a holding ration until packers can find shackle space for these cows. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows sold fully steady as very few of this class of cow is being offered across the Northern Plains due to drought. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady on a lower quality offering than was seen last week. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady to 5.00 lower. A heavy offering of thin or plain offerings was seen this week. While steady prices were seen on high quality cows suitable to rebreed. Feeding quality cows sold mostly lower.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Heifers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb heifers averaged $138.19/cwt on 110 head.

Average price

$138.19

110 head · 598 lb average

Value per head Derived

$826

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$124

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

$19.93/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+1.01

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1-2	520	143.93	749	31
Medium and Large 1	655	138.72	909	61
Medium and Large 2	553	127.42	704	13thin
Medium 1	504	124.00	625	5thin

One grade step is worth $19.93/cwt here — about $124 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 sale110 hd

138.19

—

MT average3 barns · 254 hd

137.18

+1.01

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	1,879	90.23	1,695	34
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,404	66.32	931	224
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,598	66.03	1,055	41
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,190	57.93	689	198

Every lot

70 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 · Steers10 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	484	168.99/cwt	167.50–171.00	818	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	523	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	863	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	609	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	1,005	10
Steers	—	Medium 1	613	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	809	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	651	138.88/cwt	137.00–140.00	904	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	700	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	938	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	747	151.73/cwt	144.00–153.00	1,133	14
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	769	139.50/cwt	139.00–140.00	1,073	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	962	119.50/cwt	119.50–119.50	1,150	16
Steers	—	Large 1	1,255	117.00/cwt	117.00–117.00	1,468	2
Feeder Cattle · Heifers13 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	394	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	583	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	482	147.00/cwt	147.00–147.00	709	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	485	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	650	4
Heifers	—	Medium 1	504	124.00/cwt	124.00–124.00	625	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	523	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	758	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	567	148.79/cwt	146.00–150.00	844	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	583	124.50/cwt	124.50–124.50	726	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	587	141.69/cwt	140.00–142.00	832	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	657	142.50/cwt	142.50–142.50	936	23
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	706	128.53/cwt	126.00–129.50	907	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	745	119.00/cwt	119.00–119.00	887	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	760	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	927	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	815	116.00/cwt	116.00–116.00	945	3
Feeder Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	548	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	671	5
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	635	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	775	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	814	113.23/cwt	110.50–114.50	922	13
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	898	106.00/cwt	106.00–106.00	952	2
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,205	94.00/cwt	94.00–94.00	1,133	1
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,500	91.00/cwt	91.00–91.00	1,365	1
Bulls	—	—	1,622	78.10/cwt	72.00–82.00	1,267	6
Bulls	—	—	1,847	86.90/cwt	84.00–91.00	1,605	12
Bulls	—	—	2,032	97.69/cwt	93.00–104.50	1,985	15
Slaughter Cattle · Cows17 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	920	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	580	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	924	50.77/cwt	48.00–55.00	469	4
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,050	42.67/cwt	41.00–43.00	448	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,160	54.06/cwt	47.00–59.00	627	66
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,202	56.84/cwt	55.50–58.00	683	21
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,208	61.82/cwt	57.50–66.00	747	52
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,227	71.32/cwt	69.50–73.50	875	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,254	60.31/cwt	58.00–64.50	756	41
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,373	65.58/cwt	59.00–69.00	900	76
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,414	72.75/cwt	68.50–74.50	1,029	82
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,417	54.98/cwt	51.00–58.00	779	16
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,425	62.24/cwt	60.00–65.50	887	22
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,434	58.76/cwt	53.50–62.00	843	27
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,460	71.00/cwt	71.00–71.00	1,037	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,539	61.70/cwt	60.00–63.00	950	19
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,590	68.41/cwt	65.00–70.50	1,088	14
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,753	72.17/cwt	71.50–74.50	1,265	8
Replacement Cattle · Cow-Calf Pairs5 lots · lightest first
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,228	1,275.00/cwt	1,275.00–1,275.00	15,657	4
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	1,239	1,150.00/cwt	1,150.00–1,150.00	14,249	5
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,321	1,216.80/cwt	1,200.00–1,225.00	16,074	9
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,329	1,100.00/cwt	1,100.00–1,100.00	14,619	7
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,376	1,350.00/cwt	1,350.00–1,350.00	18,576	10
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows7 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,109	972.04/cwt	900.00–975.00	10,780	33
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,114	750.00/cwt	750.00–750.00	8,355	4
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,147	800.00/cwt	800.00–800.00	9,176	7
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,155	600.00/cwt	600.00–600.00	6,930	6
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,188	1,081.15/cwt	1,050.00–1,085.00	12,844	18
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,286	800.00/cwt	800.00–800.00	10,288	7
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,362	1,050.00/cwt	1,050.00–1,050.00	14,301	3
Replacement Cattle · Bred Heifers1 lot · lightest first
Bred Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	925	950.00/cwt	950.00–950.00	8,788	16
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows8 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	855	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	616	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	880	65.00/cwt	65.00–65.00	572	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	910	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	655	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	964	89.10/cwt	63.00–103.00	859	195
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	978	65.40/cwt	62.00–75.00	640	7
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,026	57.54/cwt	51.00–70.00	590	17
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	1,036	52.00/cwt	52.00–52.00	539	7
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,054	68.45/cwt	58.00–90.00	721	76

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 May 20, 2021

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 314Last week 510Year ago 192

Slaughter CattleReceipts 559Last week 806Year ago 132

Replacement CattleReceipts 505Last week 344Year ago 720

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
23	—	657	142.50	142.50
3	—	815	116.00	116.00
1	—	760	122.00	122.00
17	—	567	146.00–150.00	148.79
17	—	706	126.00–129.50	128.53

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	583	124.50	124.50
4	—	485	134.00	134.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	587	140.00–142.00	141.69
9	—	482	147.00	147.00
2	—	523	145.00	145.00
1	—	745	119.00	119.00
6	—	394	148.00	148.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	504	124.00	124.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	523	165.00	165.00
25	—	651	137.00–140.00	138.88
12	—	484	167.50–171.00	168.99
2	—	700	134.00	134.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	609	165.00	165.00
16	—	962	119.50	119.50
4	—	769	139.00–140.00	139.50
14	—	747	144.00–153.00	151.73

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	613	132.00	132.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,255	117.00	117.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	814	110.50–114.50	113.23
2	—	898	106.00	106.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,205	94.00	94.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	548	122.50	122.50
2	—	635	122.00	122.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	7	—	1,329	1,100.00	1,100.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	10	—	1,376	1,350.00	1,350.00
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	9	—	1,321	1,200.00–1,225.00	1,216.80

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,239	1,150.00	1,150.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,228	1,275.00	1,275.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	7	—	1,286	800.00	800.00
Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	6	—	1,155	600.00	600.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	7	—	1,147	800.00	800.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	18	—	1,188	1,050.00–1,085.00	1,081.15
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	—	1,362	1,050.00	1,050.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	33	—	1,109	900.00–975.00	972.04

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	—	1,114	750.00	750.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	16	—	925	950.00	950.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	7	—	978	62.00–75.00	65.40
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	—	855	72.00	72.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	7	—	1,036	52.00	52.00
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	880	65.00	65.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	195	—	964	63.00–103.00	89.10
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	76	—	1,054	58.00–90.00	68.45

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	1	—	910	72.00	72.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	17	—	1,026	51.00–70.00	57.54

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,622	72.00–82.00	78.10
15	—	2,032	93.00–104.50	97.69
12	—	1,847	84.00–91.00	86.90

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,500	91.00	91.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,753	71.50–74.50	72.17
19	—	1,539	60.00–63.00	61.70
14	—	1,590	65.00–70.50	68.41

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
76	—	1,373	59.00–69.00	65.58
82	—	1,414	68.50–74.50	72.75
27	—	1,434	53.50–62.00	58.76

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
52	—	1,208	57.50–66.00	61.82
21	—	1,202	55.50–58.00	56.84
7	—	1,227	69.50–73.50	71.32

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	924	48.00–55.00	50.77
1	—	920	63.00	63.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
66	—	1,160	47.00–59.00	54.06
41	—	1,254	58.00–64.50	60.31
6	—	1,050	41.00–43.00	42.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,460	71.00	71.00
22	—	1,425	60.00–65.50	62.24
16	—	1,417	51.00–58.00	54.98

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.