Breakeven sale price
$183.33per cwt
- $1.83a pound
- $1,375a head sold
- –type a sale price to see
- Each calf costs $998, and with feed and the rest, $1,348 for each one you buy.
- With 2% death loss, you sell about 68.6 of every 70. So each one sold must bring $1,375.
- At 750 lb, that is $183.33 per cwt ($1.83 a pound). Sell above this to make money.
- K-State counts death loss another way, as 2% of the price paid. That gives $182.33 per cwt.
How we work it out
- Price of one calf = weight × price per cwt ÷ 100.
- Cost for each calf bought = the calf + feed + the other costs.
- Head sold = head bought, less the death loss.
- Breakeven per head sold = all the costs ÷ head sold.
- Breakeven per cwt = breakeven per head ÷ sale weight × 100.
This is UF's breakeven, with the dead counted the way Texas A&M does: only the cattle you sell bring money.
An example from UF
A farmer buys 70 steers at 350 lb for $2.85 a pound. That is $69,825.
Feed and other costs come to $350 a head, or $24,500. So the total is $94,325.
One steer dies, and 69 are sold at 750 lb. Each must bring $1,367. That is about $182 per cwt.
Questions
What is a breakeven price?
It is the sale price that pays back every cost: the calf, the feed, the vet, the trucking and the ones that die. Add it all up, then divide by the pounds you sell. Sell above it and you make money.
How do I count death loss?
The ones that die cost money but bring nothing. So spread their cost over the ones you sell. That is how Texas A&M and UF do it. K-State adds the death loss as a share of the price paid instead. The two answers land close together.
What death loss should I plan for?
Many budgets plan for 1% to 2%. Kansas feedlots lost 1.80% of steers and 2.07% of heifers in the August 2026 closeouts.
What is a cwt?
A cwt is 100 pounds. Cattle prices are given per cwt. So $182 per cwt is $1.82 a pound.
What were breakevens for finished cattle lately?
In Kansas, the breakeven to finish cattle averaged $205 per cwt in 2025, says Purdue. Early in 2026 it was about $248.
Sources
- University of Florida IFAS, Should I Buy Stocker Calves This Fall or a Fishing License?Sep 2016Breakeven price: all costs over the sale weight; the worked example
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, User Manual: Finished Cattle CloseoutSep 2019Death loss counted by selling fewer head; profit per head sold
- K-State AgManager, KSU Beef Stocker BudgetundatedThe other way to count death loss: a share of the price paid
- University of Kentucky, Stocker Outlook for 20252025A 2% death loss, and the most you can pay for a calf
- K-State, Kansas Feedlot Performance and Feed Cost Summary (August 2026 closeouts)Sep 2026Death loss in Kansas feedlots: 1.80% for steers, 2.07% for heifers
- Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, Trends in Cattle Finishing Breakeven Prices and Net ReturnsJul 2026Kansas finishing breakeven: $205 per cwt in 2025, about $248 early in 2026