Public Auction Yards Livestock market report — October 23, 2026

Billings, MT · Friday sale · USDA report published 10/23/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

2,601

Last week 2,142 (+459)
Last year 3,400

Unweaned 5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$434.66 /cwt

$2,384 per head · 444 hd
vs last week +3.78

Unweaned 7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

— /cwt

None sold in this weight at the latest sale

Headline prices here are unweaned calves. Over the last 13 weeks USDA reported more unweaned No. 1 and 1–2 calves than weaned regular lots at Public Auction Yards Livestock, so the cards, trends, charts and recent sales use unweaned lots. The weight tables below list regular lots first, with unweaned in its own column.

Compared to last week's sale steer calves under 400 lbs sold 35.00-40.00 lower, 400-499 lbs mostly 10.00 lower. Heavier steer calves 500-699 lbs sold 9.00-13.00 higher. Feeder steers 700-899 lbs not enough to establish a market trend. Feeder heifers 350-499 lbs sold uneven at 5.00 lower to 5.00 higher, 500-699 lb heifers sold 7.00-9.00 lower. Not enough heavier heifers for price comparison. Compared to the Wednesday sale, slaughter and return to feed cows traded 2.00-3.00 lower.
USDA Market News reporter, October 23, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 23

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 16. Last year = sale of Oct 24. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$566.57 (109 hd)	—
400–499 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$493.69 (333 hd)	—
500–599 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$434.66 (444 hd)	—
600–699 lb	91	647 lb	$396.78	$2,568	—	+7.78	$395.23 (216 hd)	$368.00 (2 hd)†
700–799 lb	37	770 lb	$346.43	$2,668	—	−31.57	—	—
800–899 lb	6	851 lb	$317.54	$2,703	—	−40.46	—	—

Feeder heifers — Oct 23

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 16. Last year = sale of Oct 24. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$483.61 (92 hd)	—
400–499 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$447.52 (328 hd)	—
500–599 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$378.06 (289 hd)	—
600–699 lb	40	665 lb	$344.52	$2,292	—	—	$358.91 (83 hd)	—
700–799 lb	15	736 lb	$301.00	$2,214	−24.00	−60.34	—	$255.00 (6 hd)
800–899 lb	13	828 lb	$326.92	$2,706	—	+11.48	—	—
900–999 lb	21	943 lb	$290.49	$2,739	—	−23.93	—	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 23

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	Average	77	1,298 lb	$136.40	$124.00–$152.50
Boner 80-85%	Low	4	1,350 lb	$122.50	$121.00–$123.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	3	1,965 lb	$117.00	$117.00–$117.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	19	1,179 lb	$110.09	$95.00–$120.00
Lean 85-90%	Low	10	1,110 lb	$95.37	$82.50–$110.00
Lean 85-90%	Very Low	3	1,153 lb	$70.06	$60.00–$75.00

Price trends

Unweaned steers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $431.98/cwt
4-week average: $431.81
13-week average: $425.59
4-week vs 13-week: +1.5%

52-wk low $343.75high $475.00

Sales in 6 of the last 13 weeks.

Unweaned steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 12, 2026): $359.68/cwt
4-week average: $365.53
13-week average: $365.53
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $345.00high $376.92

Sales in 3 of the last 13 weeks.

Unweaned heifers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $375.89/cwt
4-week average: $391.80
13-week average: $379.09
4-week vs 13-week: +3.4%

52-wk low $347.78high $400.79

Sales in 9 of the last 13 weeks.

Direction compares the 4-week average with the 13-week average: Rising +1% or more, Steady within ±1%, Easing −1% to −3%, Falling −3% or more. Weekly prices are head-weighted averages of Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 feeder cattle, unweaned lots only.

The label describes recent prices; it is not a forecast. In our backtest of every barn since 2019 (about 35,000 barn-weeks), barns labeled Falling went on to beat other barns' average move over the next 13 weeks 61% of the time, and barns labeled Rising trailed it 56% of the time.

Last 52 weeks

Weekly average $/cwt, unweaned calves4-week average

Price history since 2019

Weekly average $/cwt, unweaned calves

When to sell: the seasonal pattern

The seasonal pattern uses regular (weaned) lots, which have years of history at this barn; unweaned calves sell mostly in the fall.

5-weight steers

For 500–599 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Feb and Apr and lowest in Aug and Oct.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	+3.9%	86%	7
Feb	+7.5%	100%	7
Mar	+5.6%	100%	7
Apr	+6.2%	86%	7
May	+5.5%	100%	7
Jun	−0.2%	43%	7
Jul	—	—	2
Aug	−7.6%	33%	3
Sep	−1.6%	33%	6
Oct	−6.6%	17%	6
Nov	−5.3%	0%	7
Dec	−6.0%	14%	7

7-weight steers

For 700–799 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Aug and Jul and lowest in Dec and Nov.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	−0.1%	57%	7
Feb	+2.8%	71%	7
Mar	−1.0%	43%	7
Apr	+0.3%	57%	7
May	−0.2%	29%	7
Jun	0.0%	43%	7
Jul	+3.9%	83%	6
Aug	+4.1%	62%	8
Sep	+3.8%	71%	7
Oct	+0.1%	43%	7
Nov	−3.6%	0%	7
Dec	−4.6%	14%	7

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Unweaned Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Unweaned Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Unweaned Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Fri Oct 23	2,601	$434.66	—	$378.06
Wed Oct 21	1,905	$396.00	—	$362.56
Fri Oct 16	2,142	$430.88	$359.68	$392.10
Wed Oct 14	975	—	—	—
Fri Oct 9	2,093	$431.23	$370.34	$399.18
Wed Oct 7	1,680	$409.95	$361.29	$390.68
Fri Oct 2	2,149	$434.79	$369.43	$401.87
Wed Sep 30	785	$435.17	$373.00†	$396.49
Wed Sep 23	678	$397.50	—	$367.29
Wed Sep 16	1,082	—	—	—
Wed Sep 9	504	—	—	$347.78
Wed Sep 2	1,164	$428.82	—	$372.32
Wed Aug 19	856	—	—	$395.00†
Wed Aug 5	586	—	—	$362.20
Wed Jul 29	382	—	—	—

Special and graded sales

The last 12 months of this barn's special and graded sales, $/cwt, Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 regular lots (value-added lots where a sale has only those). A sale counts in the weekly trend only when it is a regular feeder sale: a plain special where feeder steers and heifers are most of the head. Graded, replacement, cow-and-pair, preconditioned and Holstein sales stay out.
Sale	Type	Head	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799	Heifers 500–599	In trend
Apr 28, 2026	Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	653	—	—	—	No
Feb 3, 2026	Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	3,004	—	—	—	No
Dec 19, 2025	Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	6,332	—	—	—	No
Dec 9, 2025	Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	8,171	—	—	—	No
Nov 17, 2025	Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	3,463	—	—	—	No

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Montana sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Billings Livestock Commission, Billingsunweaned	0 mi	Oct 22	$438.06	$365.27
Miles City Livestock Commission Auction, Miles Cityunweaned	137 mi	Oct 20	$433.40	—

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Friday	October 23, 2026	2,601	10	AMS_1776
Wednesday	October 21, 2026	1,905	43	AMS_1774
Replacement Cattle Special special	April 28, 2026	653	5	AMS_2257

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Fri)” (AMS_1776); “Public Auction Yards Livestock Cattle Auction - Billings, MT (Wed)” (AMS_1774); “Public Auction Yards Replacement Cattle Special - Billings, MT (Seasonal)” (AMS_2257). See something wrong? Report a correction. Feeder prices are Medium and Large frame No. 1 and 1–2 cattle, $/cwt, grouped into 100-lb bands by average weight and weighted by head count. Value-added, unweaned and No. 2 lots are shown in their own columns; other lot types (fancy, fleshy, thin-fleshed, spayed, replacement) are left out. $/head = $/cwt × average weight ÷ 100.