Crop break-even calculator
What price and what yield does this crop need just to cover its costs? Enter your own costs per acre to see your break-even price per bushel, your break-even yield, what you make or lose per acre and across the field - and how that moves if yield or price shifts.
Your break-even
At $4.50/bu and 180 bu/ac you make about $5.00 per acre.
- Cost per bushel grown
- $4.47
- Break-even price in metric
- $176.06/t
- Price you need for your profit
- $4.75/bu
- Crop to sell
- 90,000 bushels
- Field: income
- $405,000
- Field: costs
- $402,500
- Field: net
- $2,500
What if yield or price moves?
Net per acre when yield (down the side) and price (across the top) move from your numbers. Green makes money, red loses it.
| Yield \ Price | -20%$3.60 | -10%$4.05 | Now$4.50 | +10%$4.95 | +20%$5.40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -20%144 bu/ac | -$287 | -$222 | -$157 | -$92.20 | -$27.40 |
| -10%162 bu/ac | -$222 | -$149 | -$76.00 | -$3.10 | $69.80 |
| Now180 bu/ac | -$157 | -$76.00 | $5.00 | $86.00 | $167 |
| +10%198 bu/ac | -$92.20 | -$3.10 | $86.00 | $175 | $264 |
| +20%216 bu/ac | -$27.40 | $69.80 | $167 | $264 | $361 |
How we work it out
- Break-even price: (total cost per acre − other income) ÷ expected yield. Below this price the crop doesn’t pay its way.
- Break-even yield: (total cost per acre − other income) ÷ expected price - the bushels each acre has to make.
- Net per acre: yield × price + other income − costs; the field figures multiply by your acres. Metric uses 1 bu = 56 lb (corn, sorghum), 60 lb (soybeans, wheat), 48 lb (barley) or 32 lb (oats).
Where to get real numbers
- Estimated Costs of Crop Production in Iowa - Iowa State University Extension, updated each year.
- Commodity Costs and Returns - USDA Economic Research Service, by crop and region.
- Your state land-grant university and county Extension office publish crop budgets for your area - see the America regional guide for your state.
A planning guide from your own numbers, not financial advice - we don’t show market prices or costs of our own. Remember costs you don’t write a check for (your own land, labor and machinery) if you want the full picture. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. For other units use the farm unit converter; to plan grain storage use the grain bin calculator.
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