Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2019-10-23

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2019-10-23
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-10-23

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Oct 23

● Final58 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Oct 16Oct 23Oct 30 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

916 head

▲ 3 vs last sale 913▲ 916 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

576 head

▲ 21 vs last sale 555▲ 576 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

1,000 head

▲ 275 vs last sale 725▲ 1,000 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Steer calves sold mostly 4.00-5.00 lower in a narrow comparison. Heifer calves were too too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on calves under 450 lbs and steady to higher undertones were noticed on heifers over 450 lbs. Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly traded tested to develop any market trend. Quality was mostly plain today. Demand for all feeder cattle was light to moderate on mostly light offerings. Market activity was moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for heavy offerings. Packers showed very light to light demand for all offerings not suitable to feed. Seasonably heavy slaughter cow numbers have packers shackle space full. This continues to pressure the slaughter cow market. Slaughter cows sold mostly 8.00-12.00 lower on lean and boning cows. All breaking cows sold as feeding cows again this week. Feeding cows saw vast differences in quality and flesh this week. Packers and feeding cows buyers both showed good demand for large frame, fleshy cows. These offerings sold higher than last week, however these offerings were limited. Despite higher fleshy cows the bulk of cow sales were lower. Feeding cows unevenly steady from 1.00 higher to 5.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold on uneven demand. Bulls were pushing heavy amounts of fill early in the morning and offered better weigh up conditions in the afternoon. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to re-breed sold with lower undertones. Quality this week was mostly average and lower overall than last week.

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 $156.85/cwt on 342 head.

Average price

$156.85

342 head · 510 lb average

Value per head Derived

$800

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$64

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

$3.36/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+3.90

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	518	157.76	818	249
Medium and Large 1-2	488	154.40	754	93

One grade step is worth $3.36/cwt here — about $64 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 sale342 hd

156.85

—

MT average5 barns · 6,483 hd

152.94

+3.90

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	1,874	69.26	1,298	48
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,456	43.94	640	23
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,202	40.29	484	232

Every lot

58 lots · USDA AMS · Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)

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 · Steers13 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	331	186.57/cwt	185.00–187.50	618	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	386	190.62/cwt	189.00–196.00	736	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	422	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	717	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	465	162.64/cwt	157.00–168.00	756	61
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	478	151.66/cwt	151.00–154.00	725	40
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	534	153.09/cwt	151.50–163.00	818	119
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	537	148.00/cwt	148.00–148.00	795	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	561	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	813	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	585	146.59/cwt	146.00–147.00	858	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	607	137.50/cwt	137.50–137.50	835	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	630	145.02/cwt	144.00–145.50	914	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	654	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	935	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	733	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	1,019	2
Feeder Cattle · Heifers16 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	349	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	503	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	395	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	596	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	397	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	576	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	441	151.48/cwt	145.00–153.00	668	38
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	465	147.63/cwt	146.00–149.00	686	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	511	137.43/cwt	132.00–140.00	702	43
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	559	132.64/cwt	130.00–134.00	741	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	618	129.70/cwt	129.00–130.00	802	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	694	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	895	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	773	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	935	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	899	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,124	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	910	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	1,156	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	970	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,213	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	1,006	122.50/cwt	122.50–122.50	1,232	6
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,037	119.88/cwt	119.75–121.00	1,243	35
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,225	103.50/cwt	103.50–103.50	1,268	4
Feeder Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	385	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	712	15
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	522	135.00/cwt	135.00–135.00	705	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	708	114.00/cwt	114.00–114.00	807	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	773	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	935	3
Bulls	—	Large 1-2	1,148	91.00/cwt	91.00–91.00	1,045	3
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,812	63.31/cwt	57.00–69.00	1,147	24
Bulls	—	—	1,816	71.58/cwt	69.50–74.50	1,300	15
Bulls	—	—	2,137	81.28/cwt	76.00–90.50	1,737	9
Slaughter Cattle · Cows8 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	983	36.09/cwt	31.00–38.00	355	11
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,169	33.39/cwt	24.00–37.00	390	51
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,206	41.56/cwt	37.00–46.00	501	142
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,235	54.00/cwt	54.00–54.00	667	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,328	47.85/cwt	46.00–50.00	635	27
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,430	35.00/cwt	35.00–35.00	501	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,440	47.29/cwt	46.00–49.00	681	6
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,463	43.24/cwt	41.00–46.00	633	16
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows10 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,033	81.70/cwt	71.00–86.50	844	60
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,086	51.46/cwt	47.00–53.00	559	9
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,132	43.95/cwt	42.50–49.50	498	27
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,156	68.65/cwt	58.00–85.00	794	117
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,161	56.00/cwt	56.00–56.00	650	6
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,334	63.07/cwt	54.00–68.00	841	102
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,344	45.51/cwt	43.00–47.50	612	48
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,417	54.14/cwt	42.50–69.00	767	174
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,421	58.64/cwt	50.00–69.50	833	201
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,569	62.00/cwt	62.00–62.00	973	5
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows3 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,090	1,010.00/cwt	1,010.00–1,010.00	11,009	3
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,230	1,000.25/cwt	950.00–1,050.00	12,303	20
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,424	875.00/cwt	875.00–875.00	12,460	6

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 →

Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)

Wed Oct 23, 2019

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 916Last week 913Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 576Last week 555Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 1,000Last week 725Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	773	121.00	121.00
17	—	618	129.00–130.00	129.70
43	—	511	132.00–140.00	137.43
38	—	441	145.00–153.00	151.48
21	—	395	151.00	151.00
6	—	694	129.00	129.00
8	—	465	146.00–149.00	147.63
14	—	559	130.00–134.00	132.64

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,006	122.50	122.50
2	—	970	125.00	125.00
2	—	910	127.00	127.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	899	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,225	103.50	103.50
35	—	1,037	119.75–121.00	119.88

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	349	144.00	144.00
3	—	397	145.00	145.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,148	91.00	91.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	708	114.00	114.00
3	—	773	121.00	121.00
15	—	385	185.00	185.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	522	135.00	135.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
40	—	478	151.00–154.00	151.66
15	—	561	145.00	145.00
13	—	331	185.00–187.50	186.57
7	—	607	137.50	137.50
3	—	422	170.00	170.00
15	—	537	148.00	148.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
119	—	534	151.50–163.00	153.09
61	—	465	157.00–168.00	162.64
25	—	630	144.00–145.50	145.02
25	—	386	189.00–196.00	190.62
5	—	654	143.00	143.00
2	—	733	139.00	139.00
12	—	585	146.00–147.00	146.59

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	1,463	41.00–46.00	43.24
6	—	1,440	46.00–49.00	47.29
1	—	1,430	35.00	35.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
27	—	1,328	46.00–50.00	47.85
1	—	1,235	54.00	54.00
51	—	1,169	24.00–37.00	33.39
142	—	1,206	37.00–46.00	41.56

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	983	31.00–38.00	36.09

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
24	—	1,812	57.00–69.00	63.31
15	—	1,816	69.50–74.50	71.58
9	—	2,137	76.00–90.50	81.28

Replacement Cattle

As reported

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	6	—	1,161	56.00	56.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	9	—	1,086	47.00–53.00	51.46
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	48	—	1,344	43.00–47.50	45.51
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	27	—	1,132	42.50–49.50	43.95

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	174	—	1,417	42.50–69.00	54.14
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	201	—	1,421	50.00–69.50	58.64
(<2 yrs)	Open	60	—	1,033	71.00–86.50	81.70
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	117	—	1,156	58.00–85.00	68.65
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	102	—	1,334	54.00–68.00	63.07
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,569	62.00	62.00

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)	6	—	1,424	875.00	875.00

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)	20	—	1,230	950.00–1,050.00	1,000.25
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	3	—	1,090	1,010.00	1,010.00

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.