Resources / Horticulture / Breakeven packout
Horticulture · Financial · Resilience

Breakeven packout

62% Class 1 at $2.10/kg

The Class 1 packout a crop must reach, at the price received, simply to cover the season’s costs. It reframes cost of production as a grading-shed target every grower understands — cartons off the line, not dollars in a budget.

Worked example · Breakeven vs achieved packout
62% achieved 78% 0 100%
Breakeven vs achieved packout
The benchmark

The lower the breakeven packout relative to your realistic Class 1 recovery, the more resilient the business — the buffer between breakeven and achieved packout is what carries the block through a hail, heat or price setback.

APAL Orchard Business Analysis ↗
What it signals

Breakeven packout is a resilience gauge. A wide gap between breakeven and achieved packout means the orchard absorbs a bad grading season; a narrow one means a single hail event or heat spell tips the year into a loss. It shows the risk baked into the plan before harvest.

Data required to calculate
Total costs per hectare$/haPrice received by grade$/kgExpected 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

Invest in netting and handling to lift and stabilise packout.

02

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

03

Diversify grades and markets to reduce reliance on one price.

Questions & answers

What is breakeven packout?

The Class 1 packout a crop must reach, at the price received, simply to cover the season’s costs. It reframes cost of production as a grading-shed target every grower understands — cartons off the line, not dollars in a budget.

What data do you need to calculate breakeven packout?

You need: Total costs per hectare ($/ha), Price received by grade ($/kg), 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 packout benchmark?

The lower the breakeven packout relative to your realistic Class 1 recovery, the more resilient the business — the buffer between breakeven and achieved packout is what carries the block through a hail, heat or price setback.

How do you improve breakeven packout?

Invest in netting and handling to lift and stabilise packout. Lower fixed costs per hectare to pull the breakeven packout down. Diversify grades and markets to reduce reliance on one price.

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