Cow-calf profit per head in Nebraska

Nebraska cow-calf producers entered 2025 with the strongest calf market in history. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data cited by UNL extension showed 500-600 lb feeder steers averaging $340-$360/cwt, pushing gross revenue per exposed cow to roughly $1,385 when multiplied by a typical 90% weaned calf crop at 560 lb average weaning weight.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln cow-calf budgets peg total cash costs near $1,220 per cow for a Sandhills range operation, with feed (grazed forage, hay, and corn residue) making up roughly 55-60% of that total. Non-cash charges for unpaid operator labor and depreciation on cows, bulls, and equipment add another $125, per UNL's 2025 budget template.

Subtracting costs from revenue leaves about $165 per cow in net cash income and roughly $40 per cow in total economic profit once unpaid labor and depreciation are charged, consistent with USDA ERS Commodity Costs and Returns regional estimates for the Northern Plains. Nebraska's structural advantages, cheap corn residue grazing, Sandhills native range, and short haul to local feedlots, are what keep the state's per-cow cost structure $150-$200 below the US average reported by ERS.