Trends in Cattle Finishing Breakeven Prices and Net Returns

By Michael Langemeier

Cattle finishing is a tight margin business where profitability relies on feeder cattle prices relative to fed cattle prices and feed costs.

This means that relatively high fed cattle prices, like we are experiencing in 2026, or relatively low feed costs do not necessarily translate into strong net returns.

This article examines trends in feeding cost of gain, breakeven prices, and net returns for the last ten years. Several data sources were used to compute net returns.

The year 2015 was just before a national election – which have major influences on policy paths, administration goals, and how farmers feel about their future.