Should you sell cull cows now, or keep feeding them to upgrade?
Enter today's cull-cow sale terms and the retained-ownership alternative (extra days on feed, target out-weight, gain, and price): the tool compares selling now against keeping the cows to add weight and grade, then shows the marketing margin, feeding margin, ROA/ROE, and the price needed to hit your target margin — just like the D1 spreadsheet, but recalculating live.
Cull cow sale — today
What you'd get if you sold these cull cows right now, at the sale barn.
Retained ownership — keep & feed
Instead of selling, you put the cows in the feed pen (or on grass) to add weight and grade, then sell later. Set your target out-weight and daily gain — the tool figures the days on feed from those. To force a specific number of days instead, put it in "Manual days override" (leave at 0 to let the tool calculate).
Days on feed: calculating…
Feeding & direct costs
What it costs, per head, to hold and feed the cows through the retained-ownership period.
Overhead & management
General and administrative cost, and owner/hired management time, charged per head marketed.
Target margin & financing
The net margin you want per head, and how the retained-ownership costs are financed (percent borrowed, and the interest rate charged on that borrowed capital).
Result
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Price sensitivity — necessary sale price
If your buy-in price or your realized cost of gain turns out different than planned, here's the sale price ($/cwt) you'd need to still hit your target margin. Rows step the cull cow's effective buy-in price; columns step the cost of gain — both centered on today's numbers.
| In-price \ Cost of gain |
|---|
Center column and row (bold) are today's actual cost of gain and buy-in price. All values are the sale price ($/cwt of the upgraded animal) needed to hit your target margin under that combination.
Should you sell your stockers now, or keep adding weight?
Three retained-ownership paths, side by side: graze calves to about 700 lb and sell by March 1, graze on to about 800 lb and sell in May, or continue either one into a feedyard finishing phase. A fourth view checks whether the extra weeks of grazing from 700 to 800 lb pay for themselves. Shared assumptions (herd size, calf price, grazing calendar) feed all four — change them once and every path updates.
Shared assumptions
These feed all four paths below, exactly like the "Assumptions" sheet in the original workbook — change a value once here and every path, result and grid recalculates.
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700 lb path — budget line items
Graze the calf from the shared purchase weight through the early phase only, then sell around March 1 at roughly 700 lb. These per-head cost line items are specific to this path.
Result — 700 lb path
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Returns sensitivity — 700 lb
Rows step the calf purchase price ±10%/±5%; columns step the 700 lb sale price ±20%/±10% — the spreadsheet's own fixed steps. Values are $/head above variable + other costs (before management fee).
| Purchase \ Sale price |
|---|
800 lb path — budget line items
Graze the calf through both the early and late grazing phases, then sell around May 1 at roughly 800 lb.
Result — 800 lb path
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Returns sensitivity — 800 lb
Rows step the calf purchase price ±10%/±5%; columns step the 800 lb sale price ±20%/±10% — the spreadsheet's own fixed steps. Values are $/head above variable + other costs (before management fee).
| Purchase \ Sale price |
|---|
Feedyard, starting from the 800 lb stocker
Instead of selling the ~800 lb stocker in May, ship it to a feedyard to finish. Weight in comes from the 800 lb path above; weight out is derived from days on feed × ADG.
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Result — Feedyard from 800 lb
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Sensitivity — cost of gain
Rows step cost of gain ±10%/±5%; columns step sale price ±10%/±5%. $/head, at the weight-out derived from days on feed × ADG.
| Cost of gain \ Sale price |
|---|
Sensitivity — sale weight w/ shrink
Rows step sale weight from 80% to 100% of the full weight out (the spreadsheet's own steps — it never checks weights above); columns step sale price ±10%/±5%. Cost of gain held at its base value.
| Sale weight \ Sale price |
|---|
Feedyard, starting from the 700 lb stocker
Instead of selling the ~700 lb stocker in March, ship it straight to a feedyard to finish — skipping the 800 lb grazing phase. Weight in comes from the 700 lb path above; more days on feed than the 800 lb-start version since the animal enters lighter.
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Result — Feedyard from 700 lb
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Sensitivity — cost of gain
Rows step cost of gain ±10%/±5%; columns step sale price ±10%/±5%. $/head, at the weight-out derived from days on feed × ADG.
| Cost of gain \ Sale price |
|---|
Sensitivity — sale weight w/ shrink
Rows step sale weight from 80% to 100% of the full weight out; columns step sale price ±10%/±5%. Cost of gain held at its base value.
| Sale weight \ Sale price |
|---|
Retaining to May — the marginal decision
This isn't a 4th path — it's the marginal question of whether the extra weeks of wheat grazing from ~700 lb to ~800 lb are worth it, holding the calf itself fixed. It nets the 800 lb path's revenue and costs against the 700 lb path's, minus a two-month carrying cost on the wheat-grazing rate below.
Result — retain to May
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Sensitivity — retaining to May
Rows step the wheat grazing cost rate ±10%/±5%; columns step the 800 lb sale price ±10%/±5%. $/head, marginal value of retaining vs. selling at 700 lb.
| Cost rate \ Sale price (800lb) |
|---|