Resources / Grain / Breakeven yield
Grain · Financial · Resilience

Breakeven yield

2.7 t/ha at $345/t

The yield a crop must reach, at the price received, simply to cover this season’s costs. It reframes cost of production as a paddock target every grower understands — tonnes on the header, not dollars in a budget.

Worked example · Breakeven vs achieved yield
2.7 achieved 3.8 t/ha 0 5 t/ha
Breakeven vs achieved yield
The benchmark

The lower the breakeven yield relative to your realistic average, the more resilient the business — the buffer between breakeven and expected yield is what carries you through a below-average season.

GRDC GroundCover ↗
What it signals

Breakeven yield is a resilience gauge. A wide gap between breakeven and your realistic average means the business absorbs a poor season; a narrow one means a single dry spring tips the year into a loss. It shows the risk baked into the input plan before sowing.

Data required to calculate
Total costs per hectare$/haPrice received$/tExpected yieldt/ha

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Set input intensity to the seasonal outlook, not last year’s big crop.

02

Lower fixed costs per hectare to pull the breakeven yield down.

03

Lock in price on part of the crop to reduce the breakeven’s exposure.

Questions & answers

What is breakeven yield?

The yield a crop must reach, at the price received, simply to cover this season’s costs. It reframes cost of production as a paddock target every grower understands — tonnes on the header, not dollars in a budget.

What data do you need to calculate breakeven yield?

You need: Total costs per hectare ($/ha), Price received ($/t), Expected yield (t/ha). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good breakeven yield benchmark?

The lower the breakeven yield relative to your realistic average, the more resilient the business — the buffer between breakeven and expected yield is what carries you through a below-average season.

How do you improve breakeven yield?

Set input intensity to the seasonal outlook, not last year’s big crop. Lower fixed costs per hectare to pull the breakeven yield down. Lock in price on part of the crop to reduce the breakeven’s exposure.

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