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.
- Missouri Beef On-Farm Finishing Budget for Fall Calving (XLSX)
- Missouri Beef On-Farm-Finishing Budget for Spring Calving (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.