Crop farming · Economics
Crop break-even price and yield.
Add up your costs per acre and get the break-even price, the break-even yield and the profit per acre and for the field at your expected yield and price.
Inputs
Break-even and profit
Enter the values.
How to work out a crop's break-even price and yield
Break-even price = (total cost per acre − government payments per acre) ÷ expected yield per acre. The University of Illinois farmdoc daily describes the same calculation: add total variable cost to total overhead cost, subtract government payments, and divide by expected yield. Break-even yield turns it around: (total cost − payments) ÷ expected price, which is plain algebra on the same formula.
Worked example. Costs of $110 seed, $150 fertilizer, $60 crop protection, $90 machinery, $25 labour, $200 land and $45 other add to $680 per acre. At 190 bu/ac the break-even price is 680 ÷ 190 = $3.58 per bushel. At an expected $4.60 per bushel the break-even yield is 680 ÷ 4.60 = 147.8 bu/ac. Revenue is 190 × 4.60 = $874, a profit of $194 per acre ($31,040 over 160 acres), and yield could fall about 22 percent before the crop stops covering its costs.
What to include. The farmdoc budget counts economic costs, which means cash costs and depreciation, plus an opportunity cost for owned land, owned machinery and unpaid family labour. If you leave those out, the result is a cash break-even, which is lower. Enter whichever you want, and know which one you did. The units are your own: bushels, tonnes or pounds work as long as yield and price use the same unit.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate break-even price per bushel?
Add all costs per acre, subtract any government payments per acre, and divide by expected yield in bushels per acre. $680 per acre at 190 bu/ac is $3.58 per bushel.
How do I calculate break-even yield?
Divide the net cost per acre by the expected price. $680 per acre at $4.60 per bushel is 147.8 bu/ac.
Should owned land and machinery be in the costs?
For a full economic break-even, yes: farmdoc daily includes opportunity costs for owned land, machinery and unpaid labour. For a cash break-even, include only what you actually pay out.
Can I use it for hay or other crops?
Yes. Use tons per acre and price per ton. The tool only divides cost by yield and price.
Sources
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Not professional advice
Planning arithmetic only. Prices, yields and costs are your own estimates. This is not financial advice, and it does not model risk, insurance or taxes.