Stocker Cattle Margin Calculator — Break-Even and Cost of Gain

Will this pen of calves make money?

Enter what you will pay for the calves, how long you will carry them and what it costs. You get margin per head and for the pen, the break-even sale price and purchase price, and the cost of gain against what the market pays for that gain after the price slide, with price and death-loss scenarios, before you bid at the sale barn.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example is made up. Arithmetic on your estimates, not financial advice.

1. The pen

Head purchased

Purchase weight (lb per head)

Purchase price ($ per cwt)

Days on grass or feed

Average daily gain (lb per head)

Death loss (%)

Sale shrink (%)

Sale price quote ($ per cwt)

Quote is for cattle at (lb)

Price slide ($ per cwt per 100 lb heavier)

Hauling in ($ per head)

Processing and health ($ per head)

Feed ($ per head per day)

Pasture rent or yardage ($ per head per day)

Labor and other fixed ($ for the pen)

Interest rate (% a year)

Share financed (%)

Selling commission (%)

Hauling out ($ per head)

Interest is charged on the purchase for the whole period and on half of feed, pasture and health. Leave a cost at zero if you do not pay it.

Enter your numbers, or load the example, then click Calculate margin.

Result

Where the money goes

Item	Amount

Margin per head if the sale price moves

Sale price ($/cwt)	Margin per head

Margin per head if death loss changes

Death loss	Margin per head

What this applies, and what it leaves out

Sale price is your quote at the base weight, reduced by the price slide for every 100 lb the cattle gain over it, paid on weight after shrink.
Break-even sale price is the price per cwt at which margin is zero with your costs and death loss; break-even purchase price is what the calves could cost for the pen to break even at your sale price.
Not modelled: futures hedging or basis, weather and gain variability, taxes, insurance, shrink on purchase, cattle sold at different times, or the value of manure and grazing rights. Prices and gains are your estimates.

Common questions

What is a stocker margin?

The sale revenue of the cattle minus what you paid for the calves and every cost of carrying them: feed, pasture or yardage, health, hauling, interest, death loss and selling cost. This tool shows it per head and for the pen.

What is a price slide?

Buyers pay less per hundredweight for heavier feeder cattle. A slide of 8 means the price drops $8 per cwt for each 100 lb of extra weight. Enter the quote at your base weight and the slide, and the tool adjusts the sale price to the weight you expect to sell.

What is cost of gain?

The cost of everything except buying and selling the calves, divided by the pounds you put on them. If it is above the value of that gain at your price and slide, adding weight loses money.

How is interest calculated?

On the purchase of the calves for the whole period, plus half of feed, pasture and health (spent evenly over the period), at the rate and financed share you enter.

Is my data uploaded?

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

Is this financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you type. Prices, gains and death loss are your estimates; actual results vary. Talk to your lender or an extension specialist before committing capital.