Cattle Feedlot Calculator: Feed Costs, Weight Gain and Profit

Estimate cattle feed intake, days on feed, average daily gain, feed conversion, cost per kilogram gained and projected feedlot profit.

Enter your animal weights, feed prices, expected growth and selling price to compare different feeding periods before buying or finishing cattle.

Results are estimates for planning purposes. Actual performance will vary according to animal health, breed, feed quality, weather, management and market prices.

1 Choose animal type

2 Choose feeding system

3 Enter animal and market details

Number of animals

Starting weight per animal (kg)

Target weight per animal (kg)

Average daily gain (kg per animal per day)

Current market value per kg liveweight (R/kg) Use the current market value of the animal at feedlot entry, whether the animal was purchased or is from your own herd.

Selling price (R/kg carcass weight)

Dressing percentage (%)

Mortality allowance (%)

Other costs per animal (R) Veterinary, labour, yard costs and similar per-animal expenses.

4 Enter feed details

Feed cost (R/ton)

Estimated daily feed intake (% of body weight) This is a simple planning estimate. For silage or wet feeds, actual as-fed tons may differ depending on dry matter percentage.

Feed wastage allowance (%)

Transport/feed handling cost per animal (R)

Days on feed override (optional) Override the calculated feeding period if you already know how long animals will be on feed.

5 Results

Profit / loss per animal —

Total profit / loss —

Break-even carcass price —

Total feed required —

Days on feed

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Expected average daily gain

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Weight gain per animal

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Feed conversion ratio (FCR)

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Feed required per animal

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Feed cost per animal

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Total feed cost

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Opening livestock value per animal

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Expected carcass weight

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Expected sale value per animal

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Other costs per animal

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Cost per kg gained

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Breakeven analysis

Breakeven carcass price

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Breakeven cost per kg gained

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Total cost per animal

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Sensitivity scenarios

See how profit changes if feed price, selling price or growth rate moves.

Scenario	Profit/loss per animal	Total profit/loss	Break-even carcass price

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How to Use the Feedlot Calculator

Enter the number of cattle, starting weight, target weight, expected average daily gain, feed intake, feed price and expected selling price.

The calculator then estimates:

Days on feed
Total feed required
Feed cost per animal
Feed conversion ratio
Cost per kilogram gained
Projected selling value
Estimated profit or loss per animal
Total projected profit or loss

Use realistic figures based on your own cattle, feed supplier, past performance and local market prices. Small changes in feed price, growth rate or selling price can have a large effect on projected profit.

Understanding the Results

Days on feed shows how long the cattle may need to reach the target weight at the expected average daily gain.

Feed cost per animal estimates the total feed expense for one animal over the full feeding period.

Feed conversion ratio shows how many kilograms of feed are required for each kilogram of live weight gained. A lower figure generally means better feed efficiency.

Cost per kilogram gained helps compare the feeding cost against the expected value of the added weight.

Projected profit or loss compares the estimated selling value with the purchase and feeding costs entered in the calculator.

These figures are estimates only. Actual results may differ because of animal health, breed, weather, feed quality, mortality, market prices and management.

Planning winter feed as well as finishing cattle? Use the Hay Bale Cost Calculator to estimate bale requirements and feeding costs.

For cattle, sheep or goats on veld, use the Livestock Supplement and Lick Calculator to calculate intake, bags required and total supplement cost.