Cow-calf profit per head in New Mexico
New Mexico cow-calf operations averaged roughly $165 in net cash income per bred cow in 2024, though total economic profit remained near breakeven once unpaid labor, depreciation, and opportunity costs on land and capital were charged against the enterprise.
$165 net cash income per cow (2024 average)
Key figures
| Gross revenue per cow (calf + cull) | $1,140 |
| Cash costs (feed, vet, fuel, repairs) | $975 |
| Non-cash costs (labor, depreciation, land charge) | $315 |
| Net cash income per cow | $165 |
| Total economic profit per cow | -$150 |
Calf prices reached historic highs in 2024, with 500-weight feeder steers trading above $2.60 per pound at Clovis and Roswell auction markets, driving gross revenue per bred cow to roughly $1,140 when combined with cull cow receipts. This represents a sharp recovery from the 2015-2020 period when USDA ERS reported Basin and Range cow-calf operations averaging negative net cash income in several years.
New Mexico State University extension budgets assume an 85 percent weaning rate on 475-525 lb steer calves, slightly below the national average due to the state's arid rangeland conditions and drought-stressed breeding herds. The Basin and Range production region tracked by USDA ERS covers NM, AZ, and NV, and consistently shows the highest land and feed costs per cow of any US region because of stocking rates as low as one animal unit per 40-80 acres.
The state's cost structure is dominated by non-cash charges: NMSU budgets allocate over $300 per cow to unpaid operator labor, depreciation on bulls and equipment, and imputed land rent. While 2024 net cash income of roughly $165 per cow finally turned positive thanks to calf price strength, total economic profit charged with these non-cash items remained negative by approximately $150 per cow, meaning most NM ranches still failed to cover full opportunity costs even in a record price year.
Frequently asked questions
- Why are New Mexico cow-calf margins thinner than Great Plains states?
- Arid rangeland in NM requires 40-80 acres per animal unit versus 5-15 acres in the Southern Plains, which inflates land charges and supplemental feed costs during drought years.
- What weaning percentage do NM budgets assume?
- NMSU extension budgets typically assume an 85 percent weaning rate with 475-525 lb steer calves, below the US average of 87-88 percent due to drought stress and longer breeding pasture distances.
- How did 2024 record calf prices affect NM ranchers?
- Feeder steer prices above $2.60/lb for 500-weight calves lifted gross revenue roughly 20 percent year-over-year, pushing many NM operations into positive net cash income for the first time since 2015.
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Sources
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