Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2021-10-27

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2021-10-27
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2021-10-27

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, Oct 27

● Final59 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Oct 20Oct 27Nov 3 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

477 head

▼ 386 vs last sale 863▲ 274 vs year ago 203 · +135.0%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

1,614 head

▼ 190 vs last sale 1,804▲ 780 vs year ago 834 · +93.5%

Replacement Cattle receipts

639 head

▼ 131 vs last sale 770▲ 404 vs year ago 235 · +171.9%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Feeder cattle today were of mostly plain to average quality this sale. Most cattle were offered in very small packages or as singles. Trucking remains very tight and most buyers passed on calves, waiting until tomorrow as Billings livestock commission's sale will feature feeder cattle. Light offerings sold on mostly light demand. Market activity was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand for heavy offerings. Todays sale was mostly comprised of weigh up and bred cows. The additional packer seen last week was not at the sale this week. Most cows returned to feed again this week. Feeding cows sold steady to 4.00 lower on all classes. Feeding buyers were more active in purchasing very thin cows this week as these offerings offered lots of compensatory gain and could be turned out on corn stalks for cheap gain. With less buying power seen this week packers were able to purchase cows lower as supplies are heavy. Cows were pushing heavy amounts of fill again this week. Many cows tanked up on fresh, clean water when they hit the yards. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 lower on all classes. Cow quality this week was average to attractive, however quality was not as attractive as last week. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, steady to weak undertones were noticed. Young age cows sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Most of these offerings are being purchased for southern fall breeding programs.

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 $143.44/cwt on 208 head.

Average price

$143.44

208 head · 540 lb average

Value per head Derived

$775

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$105

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

$7.18/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−9.07

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	393	147.18	578	45
Medium and Large 1	613	142.66	874	143
Medium 1-2	361	141.00	509	12thin
Medium and Large 2	338	140.00	473	8thin

One grade step is worth $7.18/cwt here — about $105 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 sale208 hd

143.44

—

MT average4 barns · 5,211 hd

152.51

−9.07

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	1,847	77.57	1,433	30
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,584	64.24	1,017	33
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,412	55.15	779	207
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,187	45.14	536	495

Every lot

59 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 · Steers9 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	324	172.91/cwt	167.50–180.00	560	22
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	372	175.15/cwt	173.00–177.50	652	20
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	373	167.50/cwt	167.50–167.50	625	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	376	190.00/cwt	190.00–190.00	714	21
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	442	149.00/cwt	149.00–149.00	659	13
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	457	175.00/cwt	175.00–175.00	800	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	537	156.16/cwt	155.00–158.00	839	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	586	160.67/cwt	154.00–161.00	942	20
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	613	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	883	6
Feeder Cattle · Heifers15 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	335	149.35/cwt	149.00–150.00	500	22
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 2	338	140.00/cwt	140.00–140.00	473	8
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	361	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	509	12
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	363	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	545	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	374	147.50/cwt	147.50–147.50	552	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	422	151.35/cwt	150.00–152.00	639	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	474	143.29/cwt	141.00–144.50	679	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	498	144.40/cwt	142.00–145.00	719	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	508	141.68/cwt	140.00–142.00	720	19
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	584	131.31/cwt	129.50–135.00	767	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	716	146.00/cwt	146.00–146.00	1,045	24
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	771	144.50/cwt	144.50–144.50	1,114	18
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	828	127.50/cwt	127.50–127.50	1,056	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	884	131.00/cwt	131.00–131.00	1,158	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	957	128.25/cwt	128.25–128.25	1,227	12
Feeder Cattle · Bulls1 lot · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	725	123.33/cwt	120.00–130.00	894	3
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls5 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,680	81.00/cwt	81.00–81.00	1,361	5
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,734	70.54/cwt	64.00–73.50	1,223	4
Bulls	—	—	1,889	72.64/cwt	62.00–78.00	1,372	11
Bulls	—	—	1,918	83.54/cwt	82.00–85.00	1,602	9
Bulls	—	—	2,040	89.00/cwt	89.00–89.00	1,816	1
Slaughter Cattle · Cows19 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Light Weight	900	28.15/cwt	22.00–31.00	253	4
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,114	34.49/cwt	32.00–38.50	384	14
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,123	34.53/cwt	31.00–37.00	388	22
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,174	44.00/cwt	38.00–46.50	517	206
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,193	41.97/cwt	38.00–45.00	501	53
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,213	49.52/cwt	46.00–55.50	601	182
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,230	62.50/cwt	62.50–62.50	769	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,272	48.12/cwt	46.00–53.00	612	13
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,356	53.30/cwt	52.00–57.00	723	4
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,372	64.66/cwt	64.00–68.50	887	55
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,417	58.29/cwt	52.00–62.00	826	65
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,423	48.37/cwt	45.00–52.00	688	22
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,443	45.80/cwt	42.00–50.00	661	61
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,545	65.50/cwt	64.50–66.00	1,012	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,546	65.83/cwt	63.00–68.00	1,018	19
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,568	53.00/cwt	53.00–53.00	831	2
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,618	58.24/cwt	52.00–62.00	942	5
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,667	71.00/cwt	71.00–71.00	1,184	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	2,030	62.50/cwt	62.50–62.50	1,269	1
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows2 lots · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,063	1,118.51/cwt	1,000.00–1,175.00	11,890	35
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,098	1,089.67/cwt	1,025.00–1,200.00	11,965	29
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows8 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	913	97.08/cwt	64.00–113.00	886	160
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	983	48.20/cwt	41.00–58.00	474	13
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	983	44.00/cwt	44.00–44.00	433	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1-2Thin Fleshed	990	47.00/cwt	47.00–47.00	465	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,014	77.78/cwt	52.00–93.00	789	129
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1Thin Fleshed	1,036	40.70/cwt	38.00–45.00	422	12
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,288	51.25/cwt	48.00–54.00	660	37
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,391	46.00/cwt	46.00–46.00	640	4

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 27, 2021

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 477Last week 863Year ago 203

Slaughter CattleReceipts 1,614Last week 1,804Year ago 834

Replacement CattleReceipts 639Last week 770Year ago 235

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	884	131.00	131.00
24	—	716	146.00	146.00
12	—	957	128.25	128.25
18	—	771	144.50	144.50
21	—	474	141.00–144.50	143.29

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	828	127.50	127.50
9	—	374	147.50	147.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	584	129.50–135.00	131.31
19	—	508	140.00–142.00	141.68
20	—	498	142.00–145.00	144.40
18	—	422	150.00–152.00	151.35

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	338	140.00	140.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
12	—	361	141.00	141.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
22	—	335	149.00–150.00	149.35
10	—	363	150.00	150.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	725	120.00–130.00	123.33

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
13	—	442	149.00	149.00
22	—	324	167.50–180.00	172.91
20	—	372	173.00–177.50	175.15

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
21	—	373	167.50	167.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	586	154.00–161.00	160.67
21	—	376	190.00	190.00
6	—	613	144.00	144.00
5	—	457	175.00	175.00
10	—	537	155.00–158.00	156.16

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
19	—	1,546	63.00–68.00	65.83
3	—	1,667	71.00	71.00
5	—	1,618	52.00–62.00	58.24

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
22	—	1,423	45.00–52.00	48.37
55	—	1,372	64.00–68.50	64.66
65	—	1,417	52.00–62.00	58.29

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,230	62.50	62.50
14	—	1,114	32.00–38.50	34.49
206	—	1,174	38.00–46.50	44.00
182	—	1,213	46.00–55.50	49.52

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,568	53.00	53.00
3	—	1,545	64.50–66.00	65.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
53	—	1,193	38.00–45.00	41.97
13	—	1,272	46.00–53.00	48.12
22	—	1,123	31.00–37.00	34.53

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,356	52.00–57.00	53.30
61	—	1,443	42.00–50.00	45.80

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Light Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	900	22.00–31.00	28.15

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	2,030	62.50	62.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,680	81.00	81.00
4	—	1,734	64.00–73.50	70.54

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	1,918	82.00–85.00	83.54
1	—	2,040	89.00	89.00
11	—	1,889	62.00–78.00	72.64

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 Stage (1-3 mo)	35	—	1,063	1,000.00–1,175.00	1,118.51
Young (2-4 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	29	—	1,098	1,025.00–1,200.00	1,089.67

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	2	—	983	44.00	44.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	13	—	983	41.00–58.00	48.20
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	12	—	1,036	38.00–45.00	40.70

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	160	—	913	64.00–113.00	97.08
Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	4	—	1,391	46.00	46.00
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	129	—	1,014	52.00–93.00	77.78
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	37	—	1,288	48.00–54.00	51.25

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1-2 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	—	990	47.00	47.00

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.