Cow-calf profit per head in Montana

Montana cow-calf producers are seeing the strongest calf prices in a decade, with 550-lb feeder steers trading above $2.80/lb through 2024, pushing gross revenue per bred cow to roughly $1,150 on an 87-90% weaning rate assumption used in MSU Extension budgets. That revenue level is about 25% higher than the 2022 baseline, and it explains why net cash income per cow swung back to a positive $165 after several near-breakeven years.

The state's cost structure is dominated by feed. USDA ERS Commodity Costs and Returns data for the Northern Great Plains region show total cash costs near $985 per cow, with harvested forage and purchased hay alone accounting for more than $450 of that figure. Montana's longer winter feeding window - typically 150-180 days - drives feed costs above the national cow-calf average and leaves little room for error when hay markets tighten.

Despite the positive cash margin, total economic profit stays negative at roughly -$120 per cow once non-cash charges are included. MSU Extension budgets allocate about $285 per cow across depreciation on the cow herd, unpaid operator and family labor, and a capital charge on land and breeding stock. Montana Stockgrowers Association industry data confirm that the median ranch continues to rely on land appreciation and off-ranch income rather than accounting profit, which is the central economic reality of cow-calf production in the state.