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Feed Cost per Cow & Breakeven Calculator

Estimate your winter hay cost per cow, your total cost per cow, and the calf price you need to break even. Free, runs in your browser, no signup.

Feed

Number of cowsAverage cow weight (lb)Days of hay feedingHay price ($ per ton, as fed)Hay dry matter (%)Dry hay is usually 85–90%.Storage and feeding waste (%)Waste runs higher for bales stored outside and fed without a ring.Supplement, mineral and other purchased feed ($ per cow per year)

Other costs and calves

All other annual costs ($ per cow): pasture or lease, vet, bull, fuel, labor, interestCalf crop weaned (% of cows exposed)Average weaning weight (lb)Expected calf price ($ per cwt, optional)

How the math works

Hay intake. A cow eats roughly 2.5% of her body weight in dry matter a day, the Extension rule of thumb our hay calculator uses. Dry matter is converted to as-fed hay by dividing by the hay's dry matter, then grossed up for waste.
Total cost per cow = hay + supplement + everything else it takes to keep a cow a year.
Breakeven. Texas A&M AgriLife defines breakeven as annual cost per cow divided by (calf crop × average weaning weight). Calf crop is calves weaned divided by females exposed, so open cows and lost calves raise your breakeven.

The defaults are examples only, not Texas averages. Use your own records; cull cow and bull sales would lower the breakeven shown here. Your county Extension agent can help with a full cow-calf budget.

Sources

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Break-even Costs for Cow/Calf Producers (breakeven formula, calf crop definition)
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Beef: Calf Crop Percentage (calves weaned per female exposed; breakeven = cost ÷ weaning weight × calf crop)
Illinois Extension: budgeting feed needs for the winter (intake and waste)
University of Wisconsin Extension: determining winter feed needs

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