Gross Margins for Livestock Enterprises (2022)

The 2022 Gross Margin and Enterprise Planning Guide will be a valuable tool, given the large increase in crop and pasture input costs and current prices of different commodities.

Hard copies will be available from selected PIRSA offices in early February, while the electronic versions are available now to be downloaded from either the PIRSA, SAGIT or GRDC websites.

Livestock enterprises for high rainfall, cereal/livestock and pastoral zones include:

• Prime Lambs (Maternal, First cross and merino ewes)
• Self-replacing Merinos
• Merino Wethers
• Lamb trading
• Cleanskin sheep
• Beef Cattle
• Beef trading and
• Beef feedlot.

The Guide can be either used to look at the relative profitability of individual enterprises or whole farm profitability, using the electronic version.

In mixed enterprises, comparing different the profitability and risk options of both the “Livestock” and “Cropping” versions will need to be downloaded. Using the “Livestock” version, the profitability of different livestock enterprises can be calculated as gross margin per Dry Sheep Equivalent (DSE) by inserting your own figures. The “Cropping” version is then used to produce “Pasture gross margins” (sown, re-generating, lucerne or Phalaris/sub-clover). Insert the appropriate livestock gross margin as the income and adjust the input costs for the pasture. The area of each pasture and carrying capacity can be changed to compare different options.

In the “Summary” sheet ‘overhead costs’ can be inserted to produce a farm business profit/loss budget for two different farm enterprise options.

Michael Wurst, Department of Primary Industries and Regions