A range of new beef business support tools intended to assist beef producers assess production options, plan ahead, and make more informed business decisions have been launched.

The tools have been designed by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).

CAFRE business technologist, Allen Hall said: “These calculators are designed as practical decision support tools to compare potential margins based on information they enter on purchase cost, expected feed costs, performance and sales value.

“In periods of strong input prices, these calculators can assist farmers to plan, budget and model different scenarios.”

Calculators

There are four calculators available, covering a range of beef production options:

‘Short Keep Finishing Calculator’ estimates the potential margin from purchasing cattle for a short keep finishing period, using purchase price, expected animal performance, feed costs and carcass value to calculate margin per head and margin per day;

‘Weanling/Store to Beef Calculator’ estimates the potential margin from purchasing a weanling or store animal through to finish, accounting for animal performance and feeding costs across the store, grazing and finishing periods, along with purchase price and carcass value, to calculate margin per head and margin per day;

‘Bull Beef Calculator’ estimates the potential financial performance of purchasing a weanling for intensive bull beef production, comparing a range of daily liveweight gain scenarios to show how animal performance affects final liveweight, carcass value and margin per head.

‘Keep or Sell Calculator’ compares the financial return from selling a store animal now or keeping it for further finishing, considering expected liveweight gain, additional feed, other sundry costs, and projected carcass value to identify which option gives the higher calculated return.

Figures pre-entered in the calculators are only sample values and producers should enter values based on their own farm business.

The beef business support calculators can be found on the CAFRE website.