Resources / Grain / Operating expense ratio
Grain · Financial · Efficiency

Operating expense ratio

72%

Total farm operating costs as a percentage of gross income — how many cents of each dollar earned are consumed by running the business, before finance and drawings.

Worked example · Operating costs ÷ gross income
72% Costs 72% Margin 28%
Operating costs ÷ gross income
The benchmark

Efficient grain businesses keep operating costs below about 70% of gross income; averages sit higher, and the ratio climbs sharply in low-yield or low-price years.

GRDC GroundCover ↗
What it signals

A lower ratio is real financial resilience: it builds the cash cushion that covers interest, funds machinery and carries the farm through a dry year. A ratio creeping up over time is an early warning that costs are outrunning production.

Data required to calculate
Total operating expenses$Depreciation$Gross income$

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

How to improve it
01

Grow total tonnes to dilute fixed overheads across more production.

02

Review machinery, labour and finance — the largest fixed costs — per tonne.

03

Benchmark and competitively quote major input purchases each year.

Questions & answers

What is operating expense ratio?

Total farm operating costs as a percentage of gross income — how many cents of each dollar earned are consumed by running the business, before finance and drawings.

What data do you need to calculate operating expense ratio?

You need: Total operating expenses ($), Depreciation ($), Gross income ($). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good operating expense ratio benchmark?

Efficient grain businesses keep operating costs below about 70% of gross income; averages sit higher, and the ratio climbs sharply in low-yield or low-price years.

How do you improve operating expense ratio?

Grow total tonnes to dilute fixed overheads across more production. Review machinery, labour and finance — the largest fixed costs — per tonne. Benchmark and competitively quote major input purchases each year.

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