Kathy Larson is a research associate in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed both her undergrad and master’s degrees in agricultural economics at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to joining the U of S in 2018, she was the beef economist for the Western Beef Development Centre for eight years. A key focus of her research and extension is determining what a new practice or technology is going to cost, save or make producers. She is the provincial liaison for the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network. Originally from a beef and grain farm near Francis in southeastern Saskatchewan, Kathy now calls Prince Albert home. In her spare time, she enjoys camping and fishing with her husband and son.

Knowing Your Numbers: How to Calculate Cow-Calf Cost of Production

Learn what numbers you need to calculate cost of production (COP) for your cow-calf operation. Once you know your cost of production, you will know the price you need to sell your calves for. You will learn: terminology (such as opportunity cost, depreciation and economic profit), which costs are the largest for most cow-calf operations, tools available to help you calculate your COP and recent results that you can compare to.