Oyster Farm Growout Planner — Net Per Crop and Break-Even Price

You are about to plant a crop that pays in 18 months. Will it pay?

Enter your seed, survival, gear, lease and prices by grade. You get net for the crop, net per 1,000 oysters sold, the break-even price and survival, and the cash you need before the first sale.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The tool contains no market data, and the example numbers are made up.

1. The crop

Seed oysters planted

Seed cost per 1,000 ($)

Mortality to harvest (%)

Growout (months)

Oysters per bag at final size

Bag or cage cost, each ($)

Rack/line/float cost per bag ($)

Gear life (years)

Premium grade (% of survivors)

Standard grade (%)

Premium price per oyster ($)

Standard price per oyster ($)

Cull price per oyster ($)

Distributor or market cut (%)

Labour hours per bag per month

Labour rate ($/hour)

Boat and fuel per month ($)

Lease and licence per year ($)

Insurance, permits per year ($)

Tags and packaging per oyster ($)

Interest on seed and gear (% a year)

Change the numbers or load the example, then click Plan the crop.

How the numbers work, and what they leave out

Survivors = seed × (1 − mortality). Sales = survivors × grade mix × price per grade. Culls are whatever is left after premium and standard.
Gear wear charges this crop its share of bag and rack cost: growout years ÷ gear life, never more than the full cost. Bags = survivors ÷ oysters per bag, rounded up.
Labour = bags × hours × months × rate. Interest is charged on seed plus all gear for the growout.
Cash out before the first sale = seed, full gear cost, labour, boat, lease, other costs and interest. It is a planning figure, not a loan quote.
Break-even price is the blended price per oyster sold at which net is zero; break-even survival is found by search holding everything else.
Not modelled: seed upsizing between gear types, red-tide or harvest-closure days, price changes during growout, taxes, grants, and regulations.

Common questions

How much does it cost to start an oyster farm?

It depends on the water, the permits and the gear. The numbers that decide whether a crop pays are the same everywhere: seed cost, how many seed survive, how long growout takes, the price by grade, and the labour to tumble and sort the bags. Enter yours and the tool shows the cash you need before the first sale and the net per 1,000 oysters sold.

How long until an oyster farm makes money?

Not until the first harvest. Growout is often 12 to 24 months, during which seed, gear, lease, labour and boat costs go out and no sales come in. The tool adds those up as cash out before the first sale so you can see the gap a loan or savings has to cover.

What survival rate do I need to break even?

The tool finds it for you: the survival percentage at which net is zero, holding your prices, grade mix and costs. Compare it with what you actually see after siltation, predators, heat and disease.

Why does grade mix matter?

Premium oysters sell at a higher price, and culls sell for little or nothing. Moving ten points from standard to premium changes revenue on every oyster you sell, so small changes in sorting and tumbling can matter more than a lower seed price.

Where do the numbers come from?

From you. The tool contains no seed prices, market prices or lease rates. The example values are made up.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.

Is this business, legal or financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic on numbers you enter. Leases, shellfish licences, food-safety rules and taxes need your state shellfish programme, an extension agent or a qualified professional.