2016 Costs and Returns Estimate. Cow-Calf Budget: 500-head Southcentral Idaho Summer on Federal, Private & State Range Winter Feeding Necessary Ben Eborn, Carmen Willmore, Joel Packham and Neil Rimbey Background and Assumptions University of Idaho costs and returns estimates use economic costs all resources are valued based on market price or opportunity cost. This budget presents typical costs and returns per cow for a 500- head cow-calf operation in southcentral Idaho plus total costs and returns for the ranch. The forage source is federal, state and private range. Feeding is necessary in the winter. Livestock Investment The livestock investment consists of 500 cows, 20 bulls, and 10 horses. Cows have a useful life of 7 years after they enter the breeding herd. The culling rate is 14 percent and the cow herd has a 3 percent death loss. The ranch buys yearling bulls and replaces them every 4 years. The weaned calf crop is 88 percent of the number of cows wintered. Of the 95 weaned heifer calves selected from the calf crop as replacements, 10 are culled because of non-breeding or poor quality, leaving an annual net replacement of 85 head. Machinery and Equipment The cow/calf enterprise uses a 1/2-ton pickup, a 3/4-ton pickup (4x4), a 1-ton pickup (4x4), two 80 HP tractors (one with a loader), a feed wagon, a stock trailer, and a gooseneck trailer (see Table 4). This equipment complement is minimal but considered adequate. Values on these investments are calculated at 50 percent of new replacement cost to reflect typically aged but functional ranch equipment. Haying equipment is not included in this budget as hay production is treated as a separate enterprise. See EBB2-AH-15 for costs and returns associated with hay production in southeastern Idaho. Hay and other feeds used as inputs in this cow-calf budget are valued at the market price received by growers FOB the farm. Buildings and Improvements The ranch has 37 miles of 4-wire fence, one barn, a calving shed, a hay shed, one set of corrals with working alleys, a squeeze chute, a calf table and an assortment of veterinary equipment. Water is supplied from natural sources. Buildings and improvements are valued at 80 percent of new replacement cost. Management Practices The cows calve between February 1 and April 30. In the winter months, cattle are fed alfalfa and grass hay. Replacement heifers receive some supplemental protein. Cattle are moved from the ranch to private range around May 10 then they are hauled to federal or state range around June 10 and graze there until September 30. Some state range is grazed within the federal allotments. On October 1, cattle are moved to private pastures for grazing through the
end of October. After cattle have been gathered and worked, they are moved to previously harvested hay ground until winter-feeding begins around December 1. Calves are weaned and loaded on trucks the same day. The top 85 heifer calves are kept as replacements, while the remaining 125 heifers and 220 steer calves are sold in October and November. The costs of selling cattle include checkoff/brand inspection, freight/trucking, and sales commissions. Checkoff/brand inspection costs pertain to all cattle sold in the enterprise including cull animals. Sales commission and freight costs pertain to cull animals only since they are sold through the sale yard. All steer and heifer calves are sold direct. Veterinary Care Veterinary care for calves includes viral treatments and 8-way vaccinations (given twice during the year), implants and selenium supplements. Heifer calves are also vaccinated for brucellosis. Cows, bulls, and replacement heifers receive vaccinations for viral infections, including BVD and bacterial infections such as vibriosis and leptospirosis. The herd is treated annually for parasites and the cows are pregnancy checked in the fall. Bulls also receive a breeding soundness evaluation, fertility and trichomoniasis test in late winter/early spring. three tables presenting a variety of costs and returns information. Table 1 shows both expected revenue and expenses. Expenses are broken into two main categories: operating and ownership. Operating expenses are those that typically vary with the level of production and involve inputs that are used in a single production cycle. Ownership expenses include a systematic cost recovery over the useful life for inputs used in the production process that have a useful life of more than one year. Table 2 is a monthly summary of the cash flow of revenues and expenses based on when the operation occurs and when inputs are purchased. Table 3 is a monthly summary of feed requirements for the different classes of livestock. Daily feed quantities per animal are summarized below. Table 4 lists the purchase price and salvage value of equipment used in this operation, as well as annual capital recovery and interest on retained livestock. Labor Costs Labor provided by the operator is valued at $22.60 per hour, based on average wages for agricultural supervisors. Regular livestock labor is valued at $13.82 per hour. These hourly rates includes all applicable payroll taxes and benefits. Budget Format In addition to the Background and Assumptions pages, this publication has
Table 1: Cow-Calf Budget, 500 Cow - 2016 Summer on Federal & State Range, Winter Feeding Necessary No. of Cows: 500 Total Number Weight of Head Price or Total Value or Each Unit or Units Cost/Unit Value Cost/Head Your Value GROSS RETURNS Steer Calves 475 lbs 220 1.90 198,550 397.10 Heifer Calves 450 lbs 125 1.80 101,250 202.50 Cull Cows 1100 lbs 75 0.70 57,750 115.50 Cull Bulls 1800 lbs 6 0.90 9,720 19.44 Cull Replacement Heifers 850 lbs 10 1.15 9,775 19.55 TOTAL GROSS RETURNS $377,045 $754.09 OPERATING COSTS Alfalfa Hay ton 350 100.00 35,000 70.00 Grass Hay ton 700 75.00 52,500 105.00 Protein Supplement cwt 460 16.25 7,475 14.95 Federal Range AUM 2,592 2.11 5,469 10.94 State Range AUM 379 8.09 3,066 6.13 Private Range AUM 1,030 20.00 20,600 41.20 Crop Aftermath AUM 924 17.00 15,708 31.42 Salt/Mineral cwt 108 25.00 2,700 5.40 Veterinary/Medicine $ 1 10,764.13 10,764 21.53 Freight/Trucking head 176 10.00 1,760 3.52 Machinery (Fuel, Oil, Repair) $ 1 2,700.00 2,700 5.40 Vehicles (Fuel, Repair) $ 1 8,600.00 8,600 17.20 Equipment (Repair) $ 1 925.00 925 1.85 Hired Labor hour 2,730 13.82 37,729 75.46 Owner Labor hour 1,540 22.60 34,804 69.61 Commission head 91 21.22 1,931 3.86 Checkoff/Brand Inspection head 438 2.71 1,187 2.37 Buildings & Improvements (repair) $ 1 6,200.00 6,200 12.40 Interest on Operating Capital $ 62,280 5.75% 3,581 7.16 TOTAL OPERATING COSTS $252,699 $505.40 NET RETURNS ABOVE OPERATING COSTS $124,346 $248.69 OWNERSHIP COSTS Capital Recovery: Purchased Livestock $ 1 17,804 17,804 35.61 Housing & Improvements S 1 20,278 20,278 40.56 Machinery $ 1 3, 3, 6.24 Equipment $ 1 1,886 1,886 3.77 Vehicles $ 1 7,164 7,164 14.33 Interest on Retained Livestock $ 864,000 5.00% 43,200 86.40 Taxes & Insurance $ 1 1,558 1,558 3.12 General Overhead $ 1 7,000 7,000 14.00 TOTAL OWNERSHIP COSTS $102,010 $204.02 TOTAL COSTS $354,709 $709.42 NET RETURNS ABOVE TOTAL COSTS $22,336 $44.67
Table 2: Monthly Summary of Returns and Expenses. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Value Production: Steer Calves 198,550 198,550 Heifer Calves 101,250 101,250 Cull Cows 57,750 57,750 Cull Bulls 9,720 9,720 Cull Replacement Heifers 9,775 9,775 9,775 Total Receipts 67,525 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110,970 208,325 0 377,045 Operating Inputs: Alfalfa Hay 9,100 8,400 9,100 4,200 4,200 35,000 Grass Hay 13,650 14,175 12,600 6,300 5,775 52,500 Protein Supplement 7,475 Federal Range 656 1,203 1,203 1,203 1,203 5,469 State Range 123 245 245 245 245 981 981 3,066 Private Range 206 206 206 206 9,888 9,888 20,600 Crop Aftermath 10,472 5,236 15,708 Salt/Mineral 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 2,700 Veterinary/Medicine 2,153 2,153 6,458 10,764 Freight/Trucking 845 915 1,760 Machinery (Fuel, Oil, Repair) 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 147 2,700 Vehicles (Fuel, Repair) 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 225 8,600 Equipment (Repair) 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 717 925 Hired Labor 3,773 6,791 6,791 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 2,264 37,729 Commission 1,796 135 1,931 Checkoff/Brand Inspection 237 950 1,187 Housing & Improvements (repair) 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 517 6,200 Taxes & Insurance 1,558 1,558 Total Costs 31,231 34,005 33,677 15,920 5,748 5,748 4,545 4,545 14,963 15,912 21,939 19,440 214,314 Net Returns 36,294-34,005-33,677-15,920-5,748-5,748-4,545-4,545-14,963 95,058 186,386-19,440 162,731 Table 3: Monthly Feed Requirements. Feed Units Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Alfalfa Hay Replacement Heifers ton 22 22 22 11 11 Grass Hay Cows ton 225 225 225 113 113 Bulls ton 11 11 11 6 6 Horses ton 4 4 4 2 2 Protein Supplement Heifers cwt 77 77 77 77 77 77 Federal Range Cows AUM 235 470 470 470 470 Replacement Heifers AUM 38 76 76 76 76 Bulls AUM 15 30 30 30 30 Horses AUM State Range Cows AUM 15 30 30 30 30 100 100 Replacement Heifers AUM 15 15 Bulls AUM 6 6 Private Range Cows AUM 400 400 Replacement Heifers AUM 61 61 Bulls AUM 24 24 Horses AUM 10 10 10 10 10 10 Crop Aftermath Cows AUM 500 250 Replacement Heifers AUM 76 38 Bulls AUM 30 15 Horses AUM 10 5 Salt/Mineral cwt 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Daily Feed Requirements by Livestock Category (lb fed/head/day) Livestock Category Protein Alfalfa or Grass No. of Supplement Hay (lb) Days (lb) Replacement Heifers 20 105 Replacement Heifers 3 180 Cows 30 Bulls 36 Horses 25
Table 4: Investment Summary. Total Value Salvage/Cull Value Livestock Share Useful Life Annual Taxes & Insurance Annual Capital Recovery 1 Buildings, Improvements and Equipment Fencing 74,000 0 100 25 259.00 $5,250.48 Working Corrals & Pens 20,000 3,000 100 30 70.00 $1,255.87 Barn 20,000 3,000 100 30 70.00 $1,255.87 Hay Shed 30,000 5,000 100 40 105.00 $1,706.95 Calving Shed 35,000 4,000 100 30 122.50 $2,216.59 Water Developments 45,000 0 100 25 157.50 $3,192.86 Range Improvements 40,000 0 100 10 140.00 $5,180.18 Feed Wagon 2,000 500 100 10 7.00 $219.26 Calf Table 1,500 500 100 10 5.25 $154.50 Squeeze Chute 3,500 1,000 100 10 12.25 $373.76 Vet Equipment 1,500 0 100 15 5.25 $144.51 Stock Trailer 5,000 1,000 100 20 17.50 $370.97 Gooseneck Trailer 12,000 4,000 100 20 42.00 $841.94 Total $289,500 $1,013.25 $22,163.77 Purchased Livestock Horses 25,000 6,000 100 10 $2,760.59 2 Bulls 80,000 32,400 100 4 $15,043.76 2 Total $105,000 $17,804.35 Retained Livestock Beef Replacement Heifers 114,000 92,863 100 $5,700.00 Beef Cows 750,000 385,000 100 $37,500.00 Total $864,000 $43,200.00 Machinery and Vehicles Tractor Loader 40,000 8,500 100 18 140.00 $3,119.71 Tractor 80 hp 35,000 7,000 100 18 Pickup 1/2 ton 12,000 2,500 100 6 Pickup 4X4 3/4 ton 20,000 5,000 100 5 180.00 $3,714.62 Pickup 4X4 1 ton 25,000 4,000 100 8 225.00 $3,449.16 Total $132,000 $545.00 $10,283.49 1 Annual capital recovery is the method of calculating depreciation and interest recommended by the National Task Force on Commodity Costs and Returns Measurement Methods. 2 Interest on average investment. The Authors Ben Eborn is an Extension Ag Economist in Bear Lake County, Montpelier. Carmen Willmore is an Extension Educator in Lincoln County, Shoshone. Joel Packham is an Extension Educator in Cassia County, Burley. Neil R. Rimbey is an Extension Range Economist in the UI Southwest Idaho Research and Extension Center, Caldwell. Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Barbara Petty, Interim Director of University of Idaho Extension, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83843. The University of Idaho provides equal opportunity in education and employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran, as required by state and federal laws. 4-16 (revised) www.uidaho.edu/cals/idaho-agbiz