Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-09-30

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-09-30
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-09-30

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Sep 30

● Final68 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Sep 23Sep 30Oct 7 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

440 head

▼ 906 vs last sale 1,346▲ 211 vs year ago 229 · +92.1%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

424 head

▲ 24 vs last sale 400▲ 269 vs year ago 155 · +173.5%

Replacement Cattle receipts

301 head

▲ 261 vs last sale 40▲ 128 vs year ago 173 · +74.0%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Unweaned calves were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand for yearlings and calves was moderate. Quality this week was plain to average on yearlings and average to attractive on calves. Yearling quality overall was lower than last week. Yearlings were offered in mostly mostly small packages with no load lots seen this week. All feeders on offer were in light flesh. Limited yearlings made it difficult for buyers to put together loads which slightly hindered demand. Yearling weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average this week. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light to moderate demand and offerings. Packer buyers showed light demand for all cows on offer. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00 to 3.00 lower on lean and boning cows. Breaking cows sold with steady undertones in a narrow comparison. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00-4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00 lower. Cow quality this week was mostly average. Many cows were coming out of dry country and were in thin flesh. Young age 2-3 year old cows suitable to re-breed sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive. More buyers showed interest in purchasing this class of cow compared to the last few weeks. Demand was moderate to good as a result.

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 $133.33/cwt on 147 head.

Average price

$133.33

147 head · 750 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,001

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$179

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

$0.34/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−4.47

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	627	133.64	838	14thin
Medium and Large 1	763	133.30	1,018	133

One grade step is worth $0.34/cwt here — about −$179 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 sale147 hd

133.33

—

MT average3 barns · 1,096 hd

137.81

−4.47

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	—	Average	1,822	75.58	1,377	45
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,575	63.55	1,001	25
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,393	56.91	793	119
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Average	1,217	52.45	638	141

Every lot

68 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 1Unweaned	349	196.00/cwt	196.00–196.00	684	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	433	175.00/cwt	175.00–175.00	758	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	483	166.90/cwt	165.00–169.50	806	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	525	158.44/cwt	153.00–161.00	832	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	595	142.75/cwt	142.75–142.75	849	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	597	148.26/cwt	146.00–149.00	885	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	612	141.70/cwt	139.50–145.00	867	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	648	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	888	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	661	126.50/cwt	126.50–126.50	836	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	666	139.71/cwt	131.00–142.50	930	21
Steers	—	Medium 1	747	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	964	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	773	126.15/cwt	125.00–127.00	975	7
Steers	—	Medium 1	796	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	1,083	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	826	142.75/cwt	142.00–143.50	1,179	4
Steers	—	Large 1Full	1,140	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,311	7
Feeder Cattle · Heifers15 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	370	151.00/cwt	151.00–151.00	559	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	443	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	673	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	445	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	621	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	477	146.74/cwt	144.00–147.50	700	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	533	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	730	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	588	133.09/cwt	130.00–134.50	783	23
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	609	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	786	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	758	127.99/cwt	127.00–129.00	970	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	788	134.50/cwt	134.50–134.50	1,060	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	812	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	1,112	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	859	130.50/cwt	130.50–130.50	1,121	15
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	878	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,119	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	933	127.17/cwt	126.00–128.00	1,186	28
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	972	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,166	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	975	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,243	6
Feeder Cattle · Bulls9 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	532	143.00/cwt	143.00–143.00	761	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	625	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	813	6
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	625	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	781	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	975	100.00/cwt	100.00–100.00	975	1
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,013	95.00/cwt	95.00–95.00	962	2
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,145	92.00/cwt	92.00–92.00	1,053	1
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,160	92.00/cwt	92.00–92.00	1,067	1
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,227	85.00/cwt	85.00–85.00	1,043	7
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,271	81.00/cwt	81.00–81.00	1,030	4
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,423	72.09/cwt	68.00–75.00	1,026	3
Bulls	—	—	1,718	71.42/cwt	64.50–74.50	1,227	16
Bulls	—	—	1,908	77.91/cwt	75.00–80.50	1,487	22
Bulls	—	—	2,067	81.97/cwt	81.50–82.50	1,694	4
Slaughter Cattle · Cows19 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Light Weight	935	51.00/cwt	51.00–51.00	477	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	997	49.00/cwt	49.00–49.00	489	3
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,100	55.00/cwt	55.00–55.00	605	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,102	43.99/cwt	42.00–46.00	485	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,200	57.11/cwt	55.50–65.00	685	36
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,202	52.68/cwt	48.00–54.00	633	30
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,259	50.77/cwt	46.00–54.00	639	64
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,278	64.50/cwt	64.50–64.50	824	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,333	58.46/cwt	56.25–65.00	779	55
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,387	64.86/cwt	64.00–68.00	900	5
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,393	54.85/cwt	52.50–55.50	764	24
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,409	58.24/cwt	55.00–62.00	821	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,483	65.78/cwt	64.00–66.50	976	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,491	66.71/cwt	66.00–67.50	995	8
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,533	53.68/cwt	50.00–55.50	823	28
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,572	63.00/cwt	63.00–63.00	990	5
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,658	53.47/cwt	51.00–58.50	887	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,722	68.65/cwt	67.50–69.50	1,182	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,860	57.00/cwt	57.00–57.00	1,060	1
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows4 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	893	81.00/cwt	81.00–81.00	723	4
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,007	84.31/cwt	71.00–95.00	849	123
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,073	68.29/cwt	59.00–77.00	733	58
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,203	57.50/cwt	57.50–57.50	692	26
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows1 lot · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,171	1,075.00/cwt	1,075.00–1,075.00	12,588	21
Replacement Cattle · Cow-Calf Pairs1 lot · lightest first
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1	1,321	1,385.00/cwt	1,385.00–1,385.00	18,296	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 Sep 30, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 440Last week 1,346Year ago 229

Slaughter CattleReceipts 424Last week 400Year ago 155

Replacement CattleReceipts 301Last week 40Year ago 173

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	666	131.00–142.50	139.71
7	—	773	125.00–127.00	126.15
10	—	433	175.00	175.00
6	—	349	196.00	196.00
7	—	483	165.00–169.50	166.90
5	—	612	139.50–145.00	141.70
16	—	525	153.00–161.00	158.44
8	—	597	146.00–149.00	148.26

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	661	126.50	126.50
5	—	595	142.75	142.75
2	—	648	137.00	137.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	796	136.00	136.00
18	—	747	129.00	129.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,140	115.00	115.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	826	142.00–143.50	142.75

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	533	137.00	137.00
9	—	477	144.00–147.50	146.74
2	—	370	151.00	151.00
4	—	609	129.00	129.00
23	—	588	130.00–134.50	133.09

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	758	127.00–129.00	127.99
3	—	878	127.50	127.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	975	127.50	127.50
28	—	933	126.00–128.00	127.17
18	—	812	137.00	137.00
3	—	443	152.00	152.00
15	—	859	130.50	130.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	445	139.50	139.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	788	134.50	134.50
3	—	972	120.00	120.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	532	143.00	143.00
6	—	625	130.00	130.00
1	—	975	100.00	100.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,145	92.00	92.00
4	—	1,271	81.00	81.00
2	—	1,013	95.00	95.00
1	—	1,160	92.00	92.00
7	—	1,227	85.00	85.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	625	125.00	125.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,409	55.00–62.00	58.24
2	—	1,278	64.50	64.50
28	—	1,533	50.00–55.50	53.68

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,572	63.00	63.00
3	—	1,722	67.50–69.50	68.65
4	—	1,658	51.00–58.50	53.47

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,483	64.00–66.50	65.78
8	—	1,491	66.00–67.50	66.71
1	—	1,860	57.00	57.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
36	—	1,200	55.50–65.00	57.11
30	—	1,202	48.00–54.00	52.68

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	935	51.00	51.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,100	55.00	55.00
64	—	1,259	46.00–54.00	50.77
7	—	1,102	42.00–46.00	43.99

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
55	—	1,333	56.25–65.00	58.46
5	—	1,387	64.00–68.00	64.86
24	—	1,393	52.50–55.50	54.85

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	997	49.00	49.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
22	—	1,908	75.00–80.50	77.91
4	—	2,067	81.50–82.50	81.97
16	—	1,718	64.50–74.50	71.42

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,423	68.00–75.00	72.09

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
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	26	—	1,203	57.50	57.50
(<2 yrs)	Open	123	—	1,007	71.00–95.00	84.31
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	58	—	1,073	59.00–77.00	68.29

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	4	—	893	81.00	81.00

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)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	21	—	1,171	1,075.00	1,075.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	—	1,321	1,385.00	1,385.00

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.