Sale reports / Montana / Public Auction Yards / 2023-05-03

Public Auction Yards

Name: Public Auction Yards livestock auction prices — 2023-05-03
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-05-03

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Billings, Montana · Wed, May 3

● Final62 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1774

← Apr 26May 3May 10 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

199 head

▼ 59 vs last sale 258▼ 163 vs year ago 362 · −45.0%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

435 head

▼ 202 vs last sale 637▲ 36 vs year ago 399 · +9.0%

Replacement Cattle receipts

201 head

▼ 84 vs last sale 285▼ 414 vs year ago 615 · −67.3%

Also sold hereRegular saleFri Oct 30, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were too lightly tested today or last week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on steers and heifers. Demand for feeders was mostly very good for light offerings. Local ranchers looking for small quantities of feeders to run on grass helped push feeder cattle prices higher as they bid aggressively against order-buyers. Quality this sale was plain to average and most feeders were offered in very small packages or as singles. Market activity was mostly active this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00 higher on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. Feeding cow demand was very good as packers opted to put most high quality cows away on feed. Feeding cows sold steady to firm. Slaughter cow prices slipped slightly this week as heavier supplies have been available to the packer due to seasonal culling at branding time. Additionally, pockets of drought across the country continues to push cows to market. Many ranchers are not holding on to cows that lost calves or come up open. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Weigh up conditions were mixed. Slaughter bulls sold generally steady. A few buyers purchased bulls to feed which helped create competition over lightweight and low dressing bulls. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on mostly good demand. Buyers showed the best demand for high quality cows which had lost calves. Young offerings sold generally steady.

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 $239.20/cwt on 69 head.

Average price

$239.20

69 head · 493 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,178

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

−$205

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

$27.64/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+4.85

vs MT average

Price by quality 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium 1	387	250.00	968	9thin
Medium and Large 1	503	242.20	1,217	46
Medium and Large 1-2	527	222.36	1,172	14thin

One grade step is worth $27.64/cwt here — about −$205 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 sale69 hd

239.20

—

MT average3 barns · 2,021 hd

234.34

+4.85

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	1,698	117.92	2,002	121
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	High	1,680	98.19	1,650	33
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,411	94.11	1,328	125
Cows	Lean 85-90%	High	1,192	84.28	1,005	83

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Bred Cows	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	Young (2-4 yrs)	1,311	$2,150	4thin
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1,596	$1,900	7
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1,503	$1,850	3thin

Every lot

62 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	555	282.00/cwt	282.00–282.00	1,565	1
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	555	250.00/cwt	250.00–250.00	1,388	1
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	610	257.67/cwt	255.00–260.00	1,572	15
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	722	234.00/cwt	234.00–234.00	1,689	17
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	729	207.75/cwt	207.00–210.00	1,514	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 2	742	168.00/cwt	168.00–168.00	1,247	11
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	753	213.00/cwt	213.00–213.00	1,604	2
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	869	189.00/cwt	189.00–189.00	1,642	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	884	175.50/cwt	175.50–175.50	1,551	5
Feeder Cattle · Heifers10 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	382	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	917	5
Heifers	—	Medium 1	387	250.00/cwt	250.00–250.00	968	9
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	449	257.50/cwt	257.50–257.50	1,156	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	456	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,049	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	490	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,127	1
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	515	242.58/cwt	240.00–247.50	1,249	30
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	523	225.48/cwt	225.00–226.00	1,179	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	543	218.00/cwt	218.00–218.00	1,184	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	585	224.00/cwt	224.00–224.00	1,310	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	656	205.35/cwt	200.00–208.00	1,347	6
Feeder Cattle · Bulls6 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	500	252.50/cwt	252.50–252.50	1,263	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	547	285.00/cwt	285.00–285.00	1,559	8
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	562	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	1,433	3
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1-2	603	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,387	2
Bulls	—	Medium and Large 1	661	224.85/cwt	220.00–228.00	1,486	5
Bulls	—	Large 1	1,155	144.00/cwt	144.00–144.00	1,663	2
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls9 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,361	106.48/cwt	102.00–109.00	1,449	14
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,433	116.90/cwt	112.00–123.00	1,675	7
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,445	137.89/cwt	130.00–141.00	1,993	3
Bulls	—	—	1,524	101.47/cwt	73.00–111.00	1,546	15
Bulls	—	—Natural	1,588	100.60/cwt	96.00–108.00	1,598	3
Bulls	—	—Natural	1,667	114.38/cwt	112.00–118.00	1,907	11
Bulls	—	—	1,799	115.67/cwt	112.00–121.00	2,081	24
Bulls	—	—	1,873	129.57/cwt	121.00–133.00	2,427	41
Bulls	—	—Natural	2,032	125.00/cwt	125.00–125.00	2,540	3
Slaughter Cattle · Cows20 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,114	90.15/cwt	84.00–94.50	1,004	9
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,118	83.85/cwt	83.00–84.00	937	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,195	81.01/cwt	72.00–84.00	968	45
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,210	95.00/cwt	95.00–95.00	1,150	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,235	54.00/cwt	54.00–54.00	667	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,236	89.18/cwt	84.00–93.00	1,102	19
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,290	97.00/cwt	97.00–97.00	1,251	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,374	94.85/cwt	87.00–100.00	1,303	47
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,397	91.21/cwt	87.00–97.00	1,274	32
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,440	84.12/cwt	75.00–86.00	1,211	18
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,458	99.50/cwt	99.00–100.00	1,451	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,469	103.42/cwt	100.50–105.00	1,519	25
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,500	88.00/cwt	88.00–88.00	1,320	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,531	96.77/cwt	95.00–99.00	1,482	9
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,538	88.00/cwt	88.00–88.00	1,353	3
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,595	101.00/cwt	101.00–101.00	1,611	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Return to Feed	1,645	92.00/cwt	92.00–92.00	1,513	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,700	97.67/cwt	94.00–101.00	1,660	11
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,749	104.00/cwt	103.00–107.00	1,819	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%Heavy Weight	2,030	105.49/cwt	104.00–106.00	2,141	4
Replacement Cattle · Cow-Calf Pairs2 lots · lightest first
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,503	1,850.00/head	1,850.00–1,850.00	1,850	3
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Medium and Large 1-2	1,596	1,900.00/head	1,900.00–1,900.00	1,900	7
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows5 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Medium 1Thin Fleshed	725	120.00/cwt	120.00–120.00	870	1
Stock Cows	—	Medium 1	758	152.50/cwt	152.50–152.50	1,156	2
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,014	161.97/cwt	140.00–180.00	1,642	67
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,171	109.17/cwt	91.00–143.00	1,278	48
Stock Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,184	92.65/cwt	85.00–100.00	1,097	7
Replacement Cattle · Bred Cows1 lot · lightest first
Bred Cows	—	Medium and Large 1	1,311	2,150.00/head	2,150.00–2,150.00	2,150	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 May 3, 2023

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 199Last week 258Year ago 362

Slaughter CattleReceipts 435Last week 637Year ago 399

Replacement CattleReceipts 201Last week 285Year ago 615

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Medium and Large 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	3	—	1,503	1,850.00	1,850.00
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	7	—	1,596	1,900.00	1,900.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	2	—	758	152.50	152.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	67	—	1,014	140.00–180.00	161.97
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	48	—	1,171	91.00–143.00	109.17
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	7	—	1,184	85.00–100.00	92.65

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Medium 1 · Thin Fleshed$ per cwt · actual wt
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	725	120.00	120.00

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bred Cows — Medium and Large 1$ per head · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	4	—	1,311	2,150.00	2,150.00

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	543	218.00	218.00
4	—	456	230.00	230.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	382	240.00	240.00
2	—	523	225.00–226.00	225.48
1	—	490	230.00	230.00
6	—	656	200.00–208.00	205.35

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	449	257.50	257.50
2	—	585	224.00	224.00
30	—	515	240.00–247.50	242.58

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	387	250.00	250.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	610	255.00–260.00	257.67
5	—	869	189.00	189.00
17	—	722	234.00	234.00
1	—	555	282.00	282.00
2	—	753	213.00	213.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	555	250.00	250.00
4	—	729	207.00–210.00	207.75
5	—	884	175.50	175.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	742	168.00	168.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	603	230.00	230.00
2	—	500	252.50	252.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,155	144.00	144.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	562	255.00	255.00
5	—	661	220.00–228.00	224.85

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
8	—	547	285.00	285.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,290	97.00	97.00
1	—	1,235	54.00	54.00
19	—	1,236	84.00–93.00	89.18
45	—	1,195	72.00–84.00	81.01

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,500	88.00	88.00
47	—	1,374	87.00–100.00	94.85
25	—	1,469	100.50–105.00	103.42

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,595	101.00	101.00
9	—	1,531	95.00–99.00	96.77
1	—	1,645	92.00	92.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	1,114	84.00–94.50	90.15
6	—	1,118	83.00–84.00	83.85
2	—	1,210	95.00	95.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
18	—	1,440	75.00–86.00	84.12
2	—	1,458	99.00–100.00	99.50
32	—	1,397	87.00–97.00	91.21

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,749	103.00–107.00	104.00
3	—	1,538	88.00	88.00
11	—	1,700	94.00–101.00	97.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80% · Heavy Weight$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	2,030	104.00–106.00	105.49

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Natural$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	2,032	125.00	125.00
11	—	1,667	112.00–118.00	114.38
3	—	1,588	96.00–108.00	100.60

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
15	—	1,524	73.00–111.00	101.47
41	—	1,873	121.00–133.00	129.57
24	—	1,799	112.00–121.00	115.67

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,433	112.00–123.00	116.90
14	—	1,361	102.00–109.00	106.48
3	—	1,445	130.00–141.00	137.89

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.