Blog Post

Calculating depreciation in the cow herd

When making an annual ranch budget, some producers are able to document feed expenses, pasture rent and veterinary costs, but often they miss factoring in depreciation of their equipment and the cattle on the operation, say the experts at Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute.

Speaking on a recent Cattle Chat podcast, agricultural economist Dustin Pendell explained the term depreciation as it relates to a ranch.

“Depreciation is when you have an asset that loses value over time as it is used,” Pendell said.

He gave the example of a tractor that declines in value as soon as…

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