Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2020-11-18

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2020-11-18
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2020-11-18

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

● Final77 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Nov 11Nov 18Nov 25 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

502 head

▼ 67 vs last sale 569▼ 130 vs year ago 632 · −20.6%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

1,988 head

▲ 435 vs last sale 1,553▲ 1,787 vs year ago 201 · +889.1%

Replacement Cattle receipts

672 head

▲ 250 vs last sale 422▼ 1,028 vs year ago 1,700 · −60.5%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Demand for yearlings was mostly moderate to good. Unweaned steer calves under 550 lbs sold mostly 10.00-20.00 higher in a narrow comparison; unweaned steers over 550 lbs sold steady to 3.00 higher. Unweaned heifer calves under 550 lbs sold mostly 8.00-9.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Demand this week was mostly moderate to good. Quality overall was better this week compared to last. Calves were fresher in appearance with most coming fresh off the cow. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate demand for heavy offerings. Cow quality this week was average to attractive. Many long strings of cows were seen this week and buyers had the opportunity to buy one iron home raised cows. Packers opted to send most cows to feed this sale. Packers purchased cows for both short term, holiday feed, as well as, high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Demand started the sale mostly light but improved to light to moderate as buyers competed over high quality offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower. Feeding cows started out mostly 2.00 lower but improved to near steady as the sale progressed. Buyers looking for exposed cows also helped improve demand to some degree as they purchased cows to feed. Some will calve these cows out, while others will ship these cows before calving. Slaughter bulls sold frim as packers pushed feeding buyers in order to buy some bulls away from feeding buyers. Two year old to young age cows sold on mostly good demand this sale. Quality was average to very attractive. Buyers showed good demand for one iron home raised cows. Several load lots of this class of cows were seen this week. These cows sold 15.00-18.00 higher than last week.

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 $136.00/cwt on 265 head.

Average price

$136.00

265 head · 676 lb average

Value per head Derived

$920

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$15

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

$8.63/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−10.70

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	670	137.56	922	217
Medium and Large 1-2	704	128.93	907	48

One grade step is worth $8.63/cwt here — about $15 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 sale265 hd

136.00

—

MT average5 barns · 5,316 hd

146.70

−10.70

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	1,823	76.28	1,391	29
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,631	61.74	1,007	14
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,403	52.41	735	198
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Very Low	1,194	46.86	560	604

Every lot

77 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 · Steers18 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	382	182.00/cwt	182.00–182.00	695	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	396	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	748	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	419	188.23/cwt	186.00–189.00	789	14
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	434	145.00/cwt	145.00–145.00	629	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	487	170.65/cwt	170.00–176.00	831	27
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	504	164.00/cwt	164.00–164.00	827	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	539	151.71/cwt	145.00–155.00	818	8
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	569	139.62/cwt	132.00–148.00	794	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	572	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	858	22
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	613	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	797	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	630	139.49/cwt	137.00–141.50	879	12
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	656	137.00/cwt	137.00–137.00	899	7
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	661	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	925	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	712	138.50/cwt	138.50–138.50	986	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	773	133.34/cwt	129.00–137.50	1,031	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	774	134.00/cwt	134.00–134.00	1,037	18
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	879	135.50/cwt	135.50–135.50	1,191	16
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	922	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,153	3
Feeder Cattle · Heifers18 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	414	152.87/cwt	152.00–153.00	633	25
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	457	148.23/cwt	148.00–149.00	677	13
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	474	138.01/cwt	137.00–139.00	654	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	500	136.00/cwt	136.00–136.00	680	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	508	143.70/cwt	143.00–145.50	730	25
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	562	127.31/cwt	127.00–128.00	715	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	611	127.83/cwt	125.00–130.00	781	17
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	635	129.00/cwt	129.00–129.00	819	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	667	139.00/cwt	139.00–139.00	927	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	740	139.50/cwt	139.50–139.50	1,032	49
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	748	132.50/cwt	132.50–132.50	991	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	775	122.00/cwt	122.00–122.00	946	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Full	803	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	1,004	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	813	131.89/cwt	126.00–135.00	1,072	40
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	894	124.50/cwt	124.50–124.50	1,113	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	895	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	1,074	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	918	125.32/cwt	124.00–126.00	1,150	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	918	117.00/cwt	117.00–117.00	1,074	2
Feeder Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	480	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	804	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	573	138.00/cwt	138.00–138.00	791	3
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,145	83.00/cwt	83.00–83.00	950	2
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls7 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,438	81.24/cwt	80.50–82.00	1,168	2
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,690	74.44/cwt	74.00–75.00	1,258	2
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,755	79.52/cwt	77.00–81.00	1,396	3
Bulls	—	—	1,775	74.51/cwt	72.00–75.00	1,323	8
Bulls	—	—	1,900	80.20/cwt	77.00–83.00	1,524	4
Bulls	—	—	1,949	72.35/cwt	71.00–75.50	1,410	8
Bulls	—	—	1,978	83.26/cwt	83.00–83.50	1,647	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows19 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	840	30.38/cwt	29.00–32.00	255	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	895	40.51/cwt	40.00–41.00	363	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	910	37.00/cwt	37.00–37.00	337	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,081	60.28/cwt	57.00–63.00	652	40
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,150	33.70/cwt	26.00–38.50	388	64
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,169	43.39/cwt	37.00–47.00	507	163
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,199	42.27/cwt	37.00–46.50	507	51
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,239	51.03/cwt	46.00–56.00	632	278
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,320	46.99/cwt	46.00–48.00	620	3
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,373	53.26/cwt	47.00–59.50	731	132
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,402	46.97/cwt	45.00–48.50	659	12
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,405	70.00/cwt	70.00–70.00	984	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,470	44.61/cwt	42.00–46.75	656	25
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,472	48.67/cwt	47.00–50.00	716	9
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,486	62.39/cwt	59.00–66.50	927	18
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,525	36.00/cwt	36.00–36.00	549	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,567	63.10/cwt	60.00–65.50	989	7
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,640	47.00/cwt	47.00–47.00	771	2
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,716	65.74/cwt	64.50–68.00	1,128	5
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows6 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,068	935.00/cwt	935.00–935.00	9,986	12
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,131	985.00/cwt	985.00–985.00	11,140	7
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,148	810.00/cwt	810.00–810.00	9,299	12
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,150	700.00/cwt	700.00–700.00	8,050	14
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,161	1,079.51/cwt	1,050.00–1,125.00	12,533	34
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Broken Mouth	1,207	666.68/cwt	635.00–700.00	8,047	24
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows6 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	865	72.61/cwt	71.00–77.00	628	7
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	900	60.00/cwt	60.00–60.00	540	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	910	94.60/cwt	67.00–110.00	861	229
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,004	77.73/cwt	52.00–100.00	780	103
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,043	57.03/cwt	52.50–62.00	595	6
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,086	71.00/cwt	71.00–71.00	771	11

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 Nov 18, 2020

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 502Last week 569Year ago 632

Slaughter CattleReceipts 1,988Last week 1,553Year ago 201

Replacement CattleReceipts 672Last week 422Year ago 1,700

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,145	83.00	83.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	480	167.50	167.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	573	138.00	138.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
17	—	611	125.00–130.00	127.83
13	—	457	148.00–149.00	148.23
25	—	508	143.00–145.50	143.70
25	—	414	152.00–153.00	152.87

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	894	124.50	124.50
14	—	667	139.00	139.00
49	—	740	139.50	139.50
40	—	813	126.00–135.00	131.89
9	—	918	124.00–126.00	125.32
8	—	635	129.00	129.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	803	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	500	136.00	136.00
10	—	562	127.00–128.00	127.31
4	—	474	137.00–139.00	138.01

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
19	—	748	132.50	132.50
8	—	895	120.00	120.00
2	—	918	117.00	117.00
2	—	775	122.00	122.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
16	—	879	135.50	135.50
18	—	774	134.00	134.00
4	—	661	140.00	140.00
3	—	922	125.00	125.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	630	137.00–141.50	139.49
7	—	656	137.00	137.00
10	—	504	164.00	164.00
14	—	419	186.00–189.00	188.23
27	—	487	170.00–176.00	170.65
6	—	773	129.00–137.50	133.34
3	—	712	138.50	138.50
16	—	396	189.00	189.00
22	—	572	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	382	182.00	182.00
2	—	613	130.00	130.00
4	—	434	145.00	145.00
8	—	539	145.00–155.00	151.71
18	—	569	132.00–148.00	139.62

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
Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	12	—	1,148	810.00	810.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	12	—	1,068	935.00	935.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	34	—	1,161	1,050.00–1,125.00	1,079.51
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	7	—	1,131	985.00	985.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	14	—	1,150	700.00	700.00

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)	24	—	1,207	635.00–700.00	666.68

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	—	900	60.00	60.00

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	—	865	71.00–77.00	72.61
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	—	1,043	52.50–62.00	57.03

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	11	—	1,086	71.00	71.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	103	—	1,004	52.00–100.00	77.73
(<2 yrs)	Open	229	—	910	67.00–110.00	94.60

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	1,402	45.00–48.50	46.97
132	—	1,373	47.00–59.50	53.26
18	—	1,486	59.00–66.50	62.39

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	840	29.00–32.00	30.38
2	—	895	40.00–41.00	40.51

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
64	—	1,150	26.00–38.50	33.70
51	—	1,199	37.00–46.50	42.27
3	—	1,320	46.00–48.00	46.99

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,525	36.00	36.00
25	—	1,470	42.00–46.75	44.61
1	—	1,405	70.00	70.00
9	—	1,472	47.00–50.00	48.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	910	37.00	37.00
163	—	1,169	37.00–47.00	43.39
40	—	1,081	57.00–63.00	60.28
278	—	1,239	46.00–56.00	51.03

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,716	64.50–68.00	65.74
2	—	1,640	47.00	47.00
7	—	1,567	60.00–65.50	63.10

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	1,949	71.00–75.50	72.35
2	—	1,978	83.00–83.50	83.26
8	—	1,775	72.00–75.00	74.51
4	—	1,900	77.00–83.00	80.20

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,690	74.00–75.00	74.44
2	—	1,438	80.50–82.00	81.24
3	—	1,755	77.00–81.00	79.52

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.