Cow-Calf Costs and Returns Update

By Will Secor

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you had some time for some true recreation to close 2025 and begin 2026.

Between late-November and mid-December, the USDA was releasing a flurry of data after the government shutdown this fall. Many important reports received most of the headlines (e.g., Cattle on Feed). However, the USDA also updated its Commodity Cost of Production and Return information.

The USDA estimates that cow-calf operations brought in $1,130 per cow in revenue and incurred $691 in operating expenses in 2024. This revenue figure includes sales of calves, stockers, and cull cattle. Operating costs include expenses for feed, purchased cattle for backgrounding, veterinary services, fuel, equipment repairs, and interest on borrowed funds. The difference between these provides a net return (above operating costs) of around $439 per cow in 2024. This would be the highest nominal figure since their data begins in the mid-90s. Adjusted for inflation, this would be around $70 per cow below the high of 2014 and around $17 per cow below 2015’s estimates.

These estimates vary widely across the U.S. In 2024, the USDA estimates that the Northern Great Plains received the highest revenue per cow at $1,392, followed by the Eastern Uplands ($1,221 per cow) and Basin and Range regions ($1,130 per cow). The lowest revenue region was the Fruitful Rim ($936 per cow). The regions with the lowest operating costs per cow were the Fruitful Rim ($384 per cow), Southern Seaboard ($527 per cow), and Mississippi Portal ($587 per cow). The region that was estimated to have the highest operating expenses was the Northern Great Plains at $952 per cow.