Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-08-12

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-08-12
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-08-12

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Aug 12

● Final51 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Jul 15Aug 12Aug 26 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,587 head

▲ 1,342 vs last sale 245▲ 1,224 vs year ago 363 · +337.2%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

117 head

▼ 121 vs last sale 238▼ 148 vs year ago 265 · −55.8%

Replacement Cattle receipts

216 head

▼ 327 vs last sale 543▲ 161 vs year ago 55 · +292.7%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last sale(7-15-20): The last reported sale was nearly a month ago. Feeder steers sold 5.00-10.00 higher than the last reported feeder special in July. Feeder heifers sold sharply higher than the July sale with most sale 15.00-20.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Demand was moderate to good for all yearling type cattle. Offerings were mostly moderate. A large crowd of buyers were on hand actively bidding on cattle. Feeder cattle were in mostly light flesh as many were coming out of dry country or where grasshoppers destroyed much of the forage. Cattle selling in load lots sold on mostly good demand while cattle offered in packages sold on mostly moderate demand. Market activity today was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand. Offerings were light. Packers showed light demand for slaughter cows this sale allowing feeding buyers to purchase the majority of the offering. Slaughter and feeding cows and bulls will not be trended today due to the length of time between reported sales. Slaughter bulls sold on mostly light to moderate demand. Feeding bull buyers entered the market this sale and purchased many thinner and lower dressing bulls this sale. Feeding cows sold on mostly moderate demand. Buyers were able to buy almost all of the high quality cows away from packers. Quality this sale was average to attractive. Weigh up conditions were average to below 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 $143.63/cwt on 703 head.

Average price

$143.63

703 head · 811 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,165

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$195

per head · Medium 1 over Large 1

$32.77/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−0.89

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	691	156.03	1,078	114
Medium and Large 1-2	736	147.63	1,087	40
Medium and Large 1	843	142.36	1,200	488
Medium 1-2	753	129.83	978	40
Medium and Large 2	761	129.50	985	4thin
Large 1	1,033	123.26	1,273	17thin

One grade step is worth $32.77/cwt here — about −$195 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 sale703 hd

143.63

—

MT average3 barns · 1,404 hd

144.52

−0.89

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	1,908	85.51	1,631	68
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,363	62.51	852	21
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,315	60.82	800	17

Every lot

51 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 · Steers20 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	543	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	869	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	558	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	843	14
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	665	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	991	6
Steers	—	Medium 1	675	160.28/cwt	160.00–161.00	1,082	98
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	695	153.00/cwt	153.00–153.00	1,063	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	701	144.14/cwt	143.00–145.00	1,010	7
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	706	129.50/cwt	129.50–129.50	914	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	723	153.28/cwt	147.00–159.00	1,108	25
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	761	129.50/cwt	129.50–129.50	985	4
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	788	125.50/cwt	125.50–125.50	989	26
Steers	—	Medium 1	789	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,026	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	791	147.29/cwt	146.00–147.50	1,165	35
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	809	145.76/cwt	140.00–146.50	1,179	165
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	818	141.24/cwt	140.00–142.00	1,155	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	889	139.16/cwt	135.50–139.50	1,237	130
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	906	138.34/cwt	132.00–139.50	1,253	69
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	939	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,221	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	991	130.06/cwt	129.00–130.50	1,289	34
Steers	—	Large 1	1,012	125.56/cwt	124.00–129.50	1,271	14
Steers	—	Large 1	1,132	112.50/cwt	112.50–112.50	1,274	3
Feeder Cattle · Heifers14 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	482	157.50/cwt	157.50–157.50	759	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	533	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	800	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	684	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	930	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	692	143.63/cwt	142.50–144.50	994	16
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	707	143.62/cwt	140.00–144.00	1,015	115
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	744	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	1,001	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	786	137.28/cwt	136.00–138.50	1,079	174
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	792	132.00/cwt	132.00–132.00	1,045	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	804	136.45/cwt	128.50–137.50	1,097	118
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	815	126.00/cwt	126.00–126.00	1,027	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	858	123.50/cwt	123.00–125.00	1,060	16
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	894	127.28/cwt	126.50–128.50	1,138	27
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	922	123.55/cwt	122.00–125.50	1,139	67
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	986	122.04/cwt	121.00–124.00	1,203	10
Feeder Cattle · Bulls2 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,042	95.50/cwt	95.50–95.50	995	8
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,087	93.40/cwt	93.00–93.50	1,015	5
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Light Weight	1,315	73.00/cwt	73.00–73.00	960	3
Bulls	—	—	1,776	79.28/cwt	78.00–81.00	1,408	7
Bulls	—	—	1,911	85.89/cwt	80.00–90.50	1,641	47
Bulls	—	—	2,083	92.88/cwt	90.00–99.00	1,935	10
Bulls	—	—Heavy Weight	2,705	75.00/cwt	75.00–75.00	2,029	1
Slaughter Cattle · Cows4 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,192	62.69/cwt	62.00–63.00	747	3
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,341	60.68/cwt	60.00–61.50	814	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,341	60.42/cwt	58.00–61.50	810	14
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,374	63.42/cwt	62.00–64.50	871	14
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows6 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	940	58.00/cwt	58.00–58.00	545	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,113	73.75/cwt	71.00–75.50	821	13
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,306	58.82/cwt	55.00–60.00	768	36
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,354	62.29/cwt	60.00–63.00	843	26
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,392	70.66/cwt	67.00–76.00	984	22
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,515	67.69/cwt	58.00–68.75	1,026	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 Aug 12, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,587Last week 245Year ago 363

Slaughter CattleReceipts 117Last week 238Year ago 265

Replacement CattleReceipts 216Last week 543Year ago 55

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
165	—	809	140.00–146.50	145.76
14	—	558	151.00	151.00
69	—	906	132.00–139.50	138.34
34	—	991	129.00–130.50	130.06
35	—	791	146.00–147.50	147.29
25	—	723	147.00–159.00	153.28
130	—	889	135.50–139.50	139.16

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	543	160.00	160.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	939	130.00	130.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	818	140.00–142.00	141.24
7	—	701	143.00–145.00	144.14
20	—	695	153.00	153.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	761	129.50	129.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
26	—	788	125.50	125.50
6	—	665	149.00	149.00
8	—	706	129.50	129.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	789	130.00	130.00
98	—	675	160.00–161.00	160.28

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	1,012	124.00–129.50	125.56
3	—	1,132	112.50	112.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
118	—	804	128.50–137.50	136.45
174	—	786	136.00–138.50	137.28
10	—	986	121.00–124.00	122.04
115	—	707	140.00–144.00	143.62
27	—	894	126.50–128.50	127.28
16	—	692	142.50–144.50	143.63
67	—	922	122.00–125.50	123.55

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	482	157.50	157.50
3	—	533	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	792	132.00	132.00
12	—	744	134.50	134.50
3	—	815	126.00	126.00
10	—	684	136.00	136.00
16	—	858	123.00–125.00	123.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,087	93.00–93.50	93.40
8	—	1,042	95.50	95.50

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
14	—	1,341	58.00–61.50	60.42
3	—	1,192	62.00–63.00	62.69

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,341	60.00–61.50	60.68
14	—	1,374	62.00–64.50	63.42

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,315	73.00	73.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
47	—	1,911	80.00–90.50	85.89
10	—	2,083	90.00–99.00	92.88
7	—	1,776	78.00–81.00	79.28

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,705	75.00	75.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

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	26	—	1,354	60.00–63.00	62.29
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	34	—	1,515	58.00–68.75	67.69
(<2 yrs)	Open	13	—	1,113	71.00–75.50	73.75
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	22	—	1,392	67.00–76.00	70.66

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	36	—	1,306	55.00–60.00	58.82
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	—	940	58.00	58.00

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.