This calculator evaluates the economic opportunity from preconditioning by providing a summary of estimated net returns and projected breakeven price premiums of three different precondition programs.
More information is available in the Canfax Research Services fact sheet: Economic Considerations on Preconditioning Calves [English version | French version] (September 2015).
Preconditioning & Backgrounding Calculator
1. General Information |
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– Choose your region from the drop-down list. – In the yellow cells, enter weaning date and weaning weight. |
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| Region | |
| Weaning Date | |
| Weaning Weight (lbs) | |
2. Selling at Weaning |
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– In the yellow cells – enter shrink% and your projection of calf price at the estimated marketing time. – Gross revenue under traditional management will be calculated automatically. |
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| Marketing Time | |
| Marketing Weight (lbs) | |
| Shrink (%) | |
| Pay Weight (lbs) | |
| Projected Price ($/cwt) | |
| Traditional Gross Revenue ($/head) | |
3. Preconditioning/Backgrounding Program |
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Precondition/Backgrounding Program |
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– Check the box in green cell if use same animal performance and cost figures for all feeding period scenarios. – In the yellow cells – enter the length of backgrounding period, target ADG (average daily gains) and projected Shrink %. – Marketing time and weights will be calculated automatically. |
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| Backgrounding Period (days) | |||||
| Marketing Time | |||||
| ADG (lbs/day) | |||||
| Weight gain (lbs/head) | |||||
| Marketing weight (lbs/head) | |||||
| Shrink (%) | |||||
| Pay Weight (lbs) | |||||
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Preconditioning/Backgrounding Costs |
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– Check the box in green cell if use same cost figures for all feeding period scenarios. – In the yellow cells, enter backgrounding costs; total backgrounding costs per head, and cost per head per day will be calculated automatically. – The breakdown of cost per head, and cost composition for each scenario are show in the pie charts below. |
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| Feed, hay, and pasture ($/day/head) | |||||
| Medicine and veterinary care ($/head) | |||||
| Yardage(labor and equipment) ($/day/head) | |||||
| Interest rate (%) | |||||
| Death loss (%) | |||||
| Additional marketing costs (tags, commission, etc.) ($/head) | |||||
| Total Backgrounding Cost ($/head) | |||||
| Total Backgrounding Cost ($/head/day) | |||||
4. Projected Price after Preconditioning/Backgrounding |
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– This section projects future feeder prices for sale weights by indexing current prices using price seasonality (5-year index). In the yellow cells, choose the most current month of price data available from the drop-down list – Enter current prices for weight categories in the above line (this could be the latest monthly average prices known when making decision) – Projected prices based on a 5-year (2019-23) seasonal index will be automatically calculated (blue cells), you can choose to use these projected prices or enter your own projection – To use the seasonally adjusted price as the sale price: Check the box in green cell. This option automatically applies prices based on historical seasonal trends. – To enter your own projected sale price: Uncheck the box in green cell to enter your own projected sale price in the yellow cells. This option is suitable when you expect market prices to differ from typical seasonal patterns, such as when forecasting a counter-seasonal trend. – For more information on price projection and livestock price insurance coverage, check out the free Canfax app CFX Pro at https://cfxproapp.canfax.ca |
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| Pay weight(lbs) | |||||
| Month of Price Used ($/cwt) (select from drop-down list) | |||||
| Index of base month | |||||
| Sale Month | |||||
| Index of sale month | |||||
| Projected Sale Price Seasonally adjusted ($/cwt) | |||||
| Your projected sale price |
Use prices above |
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| Backgrounding Gross Revenue ($/head) | |||||
5. Results |
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– Gross revenues at weaning, total backgrounding costs and backgrounding gross revenue are calculated in Step 2 to 4. – Net return from backgrounding is calculated as additional revenue from backgrounding versus sell at weaning less total backgrounding cost. – Estimated breakeven price is the price needed to breakeven on backgrounding |
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| Gross Revenue at Weaning ($/head) | ||||
| Backgrounding Gross Revenue ($/head) | ||||
| Total Backgrounding Cost | ||||
| Net Return from Backgrounding vs.Sell at Weaning($/head) | ||||
| Breakeven Selling Prices ($/head) | ||||
| Breakeven Selling Prices ($/cwt) | ||||
| 6. Lookup(hidden) | |||||||||||
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| 30 Days | 45 Days | 60 Days | |||||||||