Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2019-12-18

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2019-12-18
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2019-12-18

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Dec 18

● Final60 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Dec 11Dec 18Jan 8 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

425 head

▲ 425 vs last sale 0▲ 425 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

254 head

▲ 214 vs last sale 40▲ 254 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Replacement Cattle receipts

1,001 head

▼ 6,299 vs last sale 7,300▲ 1,001 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to two weeks ago: The blue ribbon sale was held last week so all comparisons are to two weeks ago. All feeder cattle were too lightly tested two weeks ago to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on all feeders on offer. Quality this week was average to attractive and higher quality than two weeks ago. Cattle were offered in mostly small packages. Demand overall was mostly moderate for light offerings. Market activity was moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand for light offerings. Quality this sale was average to attractive. Packers showed lighter demand for slaughter cows this week. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on all classes. Feeding cow demand was lighter this week as well. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower on all ages of feeding cows. Packers have filled feedlots throughout the fall and most are near capacity. This further decreased cow demand as packers were mostly out of the feeding cow market. Slaughter bulls sold mostly unevenly steady from 1.00 lower to 1.00 higher on a lower quality offering overall. Young age cows suitable to re-breed sold mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Quality was mostly average.

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 $142.46/cwt on 132 head.

Average price

$142.46

132 head · 557 lb average

Value per head Derived

$793

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$807

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

$21.34/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+0.72

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	332	150.00	498	3thin
Medium and Large 1	533	143.77	767	107
Medium 1-2	482	139.56	673	13thin
Large 1	1,014	128.66	1,305	9thin

One grade step is worth $21.34/cwt here — about −$807 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 sale132 hd

142.46

—

MT average4 barns · 4,390 hd

141.74

+0.72

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	1,808	74.53	1,348	44
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,635	60.52	990	7thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	High	1,463	48.53	710	79
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Very Low	1,206	41.43	499	75

Every lot

60 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 · Steers15 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	377	185.00/cwt	185.00–185.00	697	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	414	185.92/cwt	180.00–192.00	770	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	420	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	760	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	471	171.50/cwt	171.50–171.50	808	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	478	165.34/cwt	165.00–167.50	790	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	506	170.00/cwt	170.00–170.00	860	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	513	169.17/cwt	162.00–173.00	868	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	587	150.50/cwt	150.50–150.50	883	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	603	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	862	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	615	146.50/cwt	146.50–146.50	901	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	675	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	938	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	715	143.50/cwt	143.50–143.50	1,026	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	883	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	1,223	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	917	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	1,279	3
Steers	—	Large 1-2	1,040	121.00/cwt	121.00–121.00	1,258	6
Feeder Cattle · Heifers11 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	332	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	498	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	429	156.23/cwt	155.50–157.00	670	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	463	151.97/cwt	145.00–157.00	704	19
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2Unweaned	482	139.56/cwt	139.00–140.00	673	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	485	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	689	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	524	142.69/cwt	140.00–144.50	748	50
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	553	140.50/cwt	140.50–140.50	777	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	643	128.50/cwt	128.50–128.50	826	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	690	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	890	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	899	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,124	4
Heifers	—	Large 1	1,014	128.66/cwt	128.00–129.50	1,305	9
Feeder Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	565	142.00/cwt	142.00–142.00	802	8
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	643	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	829	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Light Weight	1,190	72.00/cwt	72.00–72.00	857	3
Bulls	—	—	1,764	69.88/cwt	65.00–75.00	1,233	20
Bulls	—	—	1,919	78.39/cwt	74.00–84.00	1,504	19
Bulls	—	—	2,130	88.08/cwt	86.00–90.00	1,876	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows11 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	918	33.56/cwt	32.00–35.00	308	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	975	30.50/cwt	30.00–31.00	297	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,132	33.16/cwt	32.00–35.00	375	11
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,213	56.00/cwt	56.00–56.00	679	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,230	42.39/cwt	37.00–46.50	521	51
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,289	48.60/cwt	47.50–51.00	626	7
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,452	46.01/cwt	38.00–48.50	668	34
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,458	49.68/cwt	48.00–53.50	724	42
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,513	52.00/cwt	52.00–52.00	787	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,662	61.01/cwt	57.00–64.50	1,014	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,684	63.93/cwt	62.00–68.00	1,077	5
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows7 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,081	1,116.77/cwt	1,050.00–1,225.00	12,072	43
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,103	1,075.00/cwt	1,075.00–1,075.00	11,857	3
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,180	1,200.00/cwt	1,200.00–1,200.00	14,160	37
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	1,250	735.00/cwt	735.00–735.00	9,188	15
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,362	850.00/cwt	850.00–850.00	11,577	7
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,642	56.50/cwt	56.50–56.50	928	8
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,648	1,000.00/cwt	1,000.00–1,000.00	16,480	9
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows9 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	991	74.60/cwt	62.00–90.00	739	121
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,151	66.57/cwt	56.00–78.00	766	115
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,176	47.08/cwt	42.00–55.00	554	15
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,210	46.08/cwt	44.00–50.00	558	14
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,265	41.86/cwt	36.50–44.00	530	52
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,291	47.61/cwt	44.50–52.50	615	5
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,336	55.37/cwt	50.50–64.00	740	104
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,396	63.56/cwt	63.00–65.00	887	8
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,460	51.95/cwt	45.00–61.00	758	58
Replacement Cattle · Bred Heifers1 lot · lightest first
Bred Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	898	1,244.38/cwt	1,200.00–1,400.00	11,175	34

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 Dec 18, 2019

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 425Last week 0Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 254Last week 40Year ago 0

Replacement CattleReceipts 1,001Last week 7,300Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	917	139.50	139.50
5	—	471	171.50	171.50
7	—	587	150.50	150.50
8	—	615	146.50	146.50
9	—	506	170.00	170.00
3	—	420	181.00	181.00
2	—	715	143.50	143.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	414	180.00–192.00	185.92
16	—	513	162.00–173.00	169.17

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	675	139.00	139.00
2	—	883	138.50	138.50
7	—	478	165.00–167.50	165.34

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	377	185.00	185.00
3	—	603	143.00	143.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,040	121.00	121.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	332	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	553	140.50	140.50
2	—	485	142.00	142.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	690	129.00	129.00
2	—	643	128.50	128.50
50	—	524	140.00–144.50	142.69
19	—	463	145.00–157.00	151.97
14	—	429	155.50–157.00	156.23

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	899	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	482	139.00–140.00	139.56

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	1,014	128.00–129.50	128.66

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	565	142.00	142.00
4	—	643	129.00	129.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	1,132	32.00–35.00	33.16
51	—	1,230	37.00–46.50	42.39
7	—	1,289	47.50–51.00	48.60
2	—	1,213	56.00	56.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	918	32.00–35.00	33.56
2	—	975	30.00–31.00	30.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,662	57.00–64.50	61.01
34	—	1,452	38.00–48.50	46.01
42	—	1,458	48.00–53.50	49.68

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,684	62.00–68.00	63.93
2	—	1,513	52.00	52.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	2,130	86.00–90.00	88.08
19	—	1,919	74.00–84.00	78.39
20	—	1,764	65.00–75.00	69.88

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,190	72.00	72.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

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)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	3	—	1,103	1,075.00	1,075.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	9	—	1,648	1,000.00	1,000.00
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	37	—	1,180	1,200.00	1,200.00
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	8	—	1,642	56.50	56.50
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	7	—	1,362	850.00	850.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	43	—	1,081	1,050.00–1,225.00	1,116.77

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Broken Mouth$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	15	—	1,250	735.00	735.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	15	—	1,176	42.00–55.00	47.08
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	5	—	1,291	44.50–52.50	47.61
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	14	—	1,210	44.00–50.00	46.08
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	52	—	1,265	36.50–44.00	41.86

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	8	—	1,396	63.00–65.00	63.56
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	115	—	1,151	56.00–78.00	66.57
(<2 yrs)	Open	121	—	991	62.00–90.00	74.60
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	104	—	1,336	50.50–64.00	55.37
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	58	—	1,460	45.00–61.00	51.95

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	34	—	898	1,200.00–1,400.00	1,244.38

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.