Crop Profit per Hectare: How to Find Your Break-Even Yield and Price
Before planting, two questions decide whether a crop makes sense: how much yield do I need to cover costs at today's price, and what price do I need at my expected yield? Both come from a simple budget per hectare.
List the costs per hectare
- Seeds
- Fertilizer and lime
- Crop protection
- Machinery, fuel and labor
- Land rent (or the rent you could earn on your own land)
- Other: insurance, interest, freight, drying
Worked example: corn
Costs per hectare: seed $280, fertilizer $350, crop protection $120, machinery and labor $300, rent $500, other $150 — $1,700/ha. Expected yield 11 t/ha at $180/t.
- Revenue: 11 × 180 = $1,980/ha
- Profit: $280/ha, a 14% margin
- Break-even yield: 1,700 ÷ 180 = 9.44 t/ha
- Break-even price: 1,700 ÷ 11 = $154.55/t
In the crop cost and profit calculator you type the costs and get these numbers plus a breakdown of where the money goes.
Reading the result
A thin margin means a small shock — a dry month, a price dip — turns profit into loss. Ask how far yield or price can fall before you lose money: here, about 14% on either one. Consider forward-selling part of the crop or insurance if that buffer feels small.
Where to look for savings
- Fertilizer: match the blend to the soil test with the NPK calculator.
- Rent and machinery are often the biggest lines; spreading machinery over more hectares lowers the cost per hectare.
- Price your expected harvest after moisture and impurity discounts — the yield calculator shows what you'll actually be paid for.