Revised

Drew Kientzy
Research Analyst, Agricultural Business and Policy Extension

Jennifer Lutes
Field Specialist, Agricultural Business and Policy Extension

Jake Hefley
Field Specialist, Agricultural Business and Policy Extension

Beef cattle producers raising calves from birth to finish may use this planning budget to estimate their costs and returns in 2025. Table 1 presents estimates for the costs and returns associated with raising and finishing calves born in spring- and fall-calving herds, based on price forecasts as of October 2024. Detailed assumptions and feed requirements for systems starting with each calving season are summarized in Tables 2 through 5.

The production practices used to develop these estimates assume a 50-cow herd with purchased replacements, drylot backgrounding for spring calves and pasture backgrounding for fall calves, and grain-based finishing using self feeders. Finishing weight is roughly 1,400 pounds and animals are sold by live weight. Animals are 520 days of age at slaughter.

Table 1. Missouri on-farm beef finishing planning budget for 2025.

  Fall calving Spring calving
  Dollars per animal sold1 Dollars per live pound Dollars per animal sold1 Dollars per live pound
Income
Live cattle sales 2,580.60   2,594.40  
Culled breeding stock 213.88   244.55  
Total income 2,794.48 2.02 2,838.95 2.01
Operating costs
Cow herd feed 678.53 0.49 688.90 0.49
Backgrounding feed 90.07 0.07 149.05 0.11
Finishing feed 413.97 0.30 408.01 0.29
Labor 250.00 0.18 276.35 0.20
Veterinary and drugs 57.01 0.04 60.03 0.04
Machinery and utilities 321.88 0.23 365.60 0.26
Livestock facility repairs 16.22 0.01 25.15 0.02
Cow and bull replacement 481.40 0.35 571.09 0.40
Marketing and professional fees 73.02 0.06 74.17 0.06
Miscellaneous 11.00 0.01 11.00 0.01
Operating interest 132.11 0.10 145.15 0.10
Total operating costs 2,525.20 1.83 2,774.50 1.97
Ownership costs
Depreciation on facilities and equipment 14.52 0.01 18.64 0.01
Interest on capital assets 228.91 0.17 233.86 0.17
Insurance and taxes on capital assets 57.79 0.04 61.04 0.04
Total ownership costs 301.22 0.22 313.55 0.22
Total costs 2,826.42 2.05 3,088.05 2.19
Income over operating costs 269.27 0.20 64.45 0.05
Income over total costs –31.95 –0.02 –249.10 –0.18
1. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Table 2. Assumptions in Missouri on-farm beef finishing planning budget (fall calving, pasture backgrounding, grain-finishing).

Description Value Description Value
Live cattle price, dollars per hundredweight 187.00 Cows in herd 50
Cull cow price, dollars per hundredweight 123.00 Bulls in herd 2
Days to weaning 210 Weaning weight, pounds 590
Days backgrounded 120 Backgrounded weight, pounds 810
Days on feed 190 Finished weight, pounds 1,380
Replacement heifer value, dollars per head 3,000 Marketing fee, percent of sales 2.5
Replacement rate, percent of cow herd 13.0 Operating interest, percent APR 7.75
Labor, hours per head 11.5 Labor cost, dollars per hour 19.8

Table 3. Assumptions in Missouri on-farm beef finishing planning budget (spring calving, drylot backgrounding, grain-finishing).

Description Value Description Value
Live cattle price, dollars per hundredweight 184.00 Cows in herd 50
Cull cow price, dollars per hundredweight 123.00 Bulls in herd 2
Days to weaning 210 Weaning weight, pounds 570
Days backgrounded 120 Backgrounded weight, pounds 840
Days on feed 190 Finished weight, pounds 1,410
Replacement heifer value, dollars per head 3,000 Marketing fee, percent of sales 2.5
Replacement rate, percent of cow herd 15.0 Operating interest, percent APR 7.75
Labor, hours 12.5 Labor cost, dollars per hour 19.80

Table 4. Feed assumptions per animal sold in Missouri on-farm finishing planning budget (fall calving, pasture backgrounding, grain-finishing system).

Feed description Stages used Pricing unit Price per unit Total pounds Feed cost, dollars1
Pasture Cow-calf, backgrounding AUM 20.00   269.04
Mixed hay Cow-calf, finishing tons 115.00 6,556 376.97
Shelled corn Finishing bushels 4.70 3,230 271.09
Dried distillers grain All stages tons 180.00 1,678 151.04
Salt and mineral All stages tons 1,200.00 180 107.99
Limestone Backgrounding, finishing tons 200.00 64 6.44
Total       11,7092 1,182.56
1. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Weight of grazed forage is not included. Consumption of 13.5 AUM totaling roughly 10,530 pounds of dry matter is assumed in this system.

Table 5. Feed assumptions per animal sold in Missouri on-farm finishing planning budget (spring calving, drylot backgrounding, grain-finishing).

Feed description Stages used Pricing unit Price per unit Total pounds Feed cost, dollars1
Pasture Cow-calf AUM 20.00   309.35
Mixed hay All stages tons 115.00 7,016 403.40
Shelled corn Backgrounding, finishing bushels 4.70 3,729 313.00
Dried distillers grain All stages tons 180.00 1,279 115.13
Salt and mineral All stages tons 1,200.00 166 99.32
Limestone Backgrounding, finishing tons 200.00 58 5.75
Total       12,2482 1,245.95
1. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Weight of grazed forage is not included. Consumption of 15.5 AUM totalling roughly 12,090 pounds of dry matter is assumed in this system.

Returns to on-farm finishing

Producers considering finishing beef strictly for direct-to-consumer freezer beef should understand how production scale affects their decisions. The finishing costs in this model reflect a small-scale feedlot that buys, mixes, and processes raw feed inputs into an incomplete ration fed through self feeders. The balance of the ration (roughage) is fed through free-choice hay. This business model depends on the cost of gain being lower than the opportunity cost of selling the calves at weaning. For example, a 550-pound calf selling for $250 per hundredweight is more profitable than a 1,400-pound steer selling for $180 per hundredweight when the cost of gain is more than $1.35 per pound.

Economies of scale are important in the cattle finishing business. Small operators may be better suited to buying feed pre-mixed rather than mixing it on the farm. Similarly, larger operations than the one described will have the scale to justify the equipment and facilities necessary to handle wet feed ingredients that can sometimes be produced or obtained at a lower cost. The costs and returns experienced on an individual operation can vary widely from what is described in this budget.

Other resources

Use the resources below to customize on-farm finishing budgets for your operation, explore marketing opportunities or see other beef cattle budgets from University of Missouri Extension.