Beef cattle producers in Missouri raising calves from birth to finish may use this planning budget to estimate their costs and returns in 2027. 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 2026. 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 1,450 pounds, and animals are sold by live weight. Animals are 540 days of age at slaughter.
Table 1. Missouri beef cow-calf planning budget for 2027.
| Category | Fall calving (dollars per animal sold) |
Spring calving (dollars per animal sold) |
Your estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Live cattle sales | 3,456.00 | 3,431.00 | |
| Culled breeding stock | 268.33 | 283.92 | |
| Total income | 3,724.33 | 3,714.92 | |
| Operating costs | |||
| Pasture cost | 486.52 | 425.71 | |
| Cow/calf feed | 413.57 | 346.07 | |
| Backgrounding feed | 67.10 | 146.63 | |
| Finishing feed | 491.50 | 519.87 | |
| Labor | 296.72 | 315.71 | |
| Veterinary, drugs and supplies | 64.65 | 63.64 | |
| Machinery, utilities and repair | 417.33 | 453.40 | |
| Cow and bull replacement | 651.16 | 696.59 | |
| Marketing and professional fees | 118.87 | 118.33 | |
| Miscellaneous | 20.00 | 20.00 | |
| Operating interest | 249.43 | 344.63 | |
| Total operating costs | 3,276.85 | 3,450.57 | |
| Ownership costs | |||
| Farm business overhead | 111.73 | 111.45 | |
| Depreciation on facilities and equipment | 22.57 | 24.72 | |
| Interest on capital assets | 273.83 | 294.34 | |
| Insurance and taxes on capital assets | 71.30 | 75.23 | |
| Total ownership costs | 479.43 | 505.73 | |
| Total costs | 3,756.28 | 3,956.30 | |
| Income over operating costs | 447.49 | 264.35 | |
| Income over total costs | –31.94 | –241.38 | |
| Note: 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 | 240.00 | Cows in herd | 50 |
| Cull cow price, dollars per hundredweight | 170.00 | Bulls in herd | 2 |
| Days to weaning | 210 | Weaning weight, pounds | 570 |
| Days backgrounded | 120 | Backgrounded weight, pounds | 760 |
| Days on feed | 210 | Finished weight, pounds | 1,440 |
| Replacement heifer value, dollars per head | 4,500 | Marketing fee, percent of sales | 2.5 |
| Replacement rate, percent of cow herd | 12.0 | Operating interest, percent APR | 7.5 |
| Labor, hours per head | 11.5 | Labor cost, dollars per hour | 23.50 |
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 | 235.00 | Cows in herd | 50 |
| Cull cow price, dollars per hundredweight | 155.00 | Bulls in herd | 2 |
| Days to weaning | 210 | Weaning weight, pounds | 570 |
| Days backgrounded | 120 | Backgrounded weight, pounds | 785 |
| Days on feed | 210 | Finished weight, pounds | 1,460 |
| Replacement heifer value, dollars per head | 4,250 | Marketing fee, percent of sales | 2.5 |
| Replacement rate, percent of cow herd | 14.0 | Operating interest, percent APR | 7.5 |
| Labor, hours per head | 12.5 | Labor cost, dollars per hour | 23.50 |
Table 4. Feed assumptions per animal sold in Missouri on-farm finishing planning budget — fall calving, pasture backgrounding, grain finishing.
| Feed description | Stages used | Pricing unit | Dollars per unit | Total amount | Total dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasture | Cow-calf, backgrounding | acres | 121.63 | 4 acres | 486.52 |
| Mixed hay | Cow-calf, finishing | tons | 110.00 | 6,625 pounds | 364.37 |
| Raised corn | Finishing | bushels | 5.05 | 3,620 pounds | 326.43 |
| Dried distillers grain | All stages | tons | 190.00 | 1,768 pounds | 167.98 |
| Salt and mineral | All stages | pounds | 0.60 | 175 pounds | 105.20 |
| Limestone | Backgrounding, finishing | hundredweight | 14.00 | 59 pounds | 8.20 |
| Total | 12,247 pounds | 1,458.70 | |||
| Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. | |||||
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 | Dollars per unit | Total amount | Total dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasture | Cow-calf | acres | 121.63 | 3.5 acres | 425.71 |
| Mixed hay | All stages | tons | 110.00 | 6,594 pounds | 362.67 |
| Raised corn | Backgrounding, finishing | bushels | 5.05 | 4,384 pounds | 395.38 |
| Dried distillers grain | All stages | tons | 190.00 | 1,455 pounds | 138.18 |
| Salt and mineral | All stages | pounds | 0.60 | 179 pounds | 107.15 |
| Limestone | Backgrounding, finishing | hundredweight | 14.00 | 66 pounds | 9.18 |
| Total | 12,678 pounds | 1,438.27 | |||
| Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding. | |||||
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 $400 per hundredweight is more profitable than a 1,400-pound steer selling for $230 per hundredweight when the cost of gain is more than $1.20 per pound.
Economies of scale are important in the cattle finishing business. Small operators may be better suited to buying feed premixed 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 discounted feed ingredients that can sometimes be produced or obtained at a lower cost. Many undervalued feed ingredients may have minimum purchase quantities, excluding small operations from using them in their rations. As a result, 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 locate other beef cattle budgets from University of Missouri Extension.
- Missouri Beef On-Farm Finishing Budget for Fall Calving Herds (XLSX)
- Missouri Beef On-Farm-Finishing Budget for Spring Calving Herds (XLSX)
- Evaluating Marketing Opportunities for Local Beef in Missouri showcases opportunities to market beef raised and finished on-farm directly to consumers as either freezer beef (wholes, halves and quarters) or as retail cuts.
- Other beef cattle budgets and related information can be found on the Beef Extension publications page.