Gross margins and choosing enterprises
Work out a gross margin per head, per DSE and per hectare, use the NSW DPIRD budgets, and compare pigs, cattle and sheep with care.
Who it's for: Farmers weighing up which livestock enterprises to run, or whether to change the mix, and anyone new to reading gross margin budgets.
Lessons
By the end you'll be able to
- Explain what a gross margin is and what it leaves out
- Work out a gross margin per head, per DSE and per hectare
- Start from a NSW DPIRD budget and change it to suit your farm
- Know the limits of gross margins before you change enterprises
Each lesson has a short read, a worked example on an invented farm and three quick questions. Finish them all for an optional certificate of completion. Free, no sign-up, not nationally accredited.
Want this done on your own figures?
The course explains how it works. If you'd rather have it done on your farm's real numbers, that's what our Farm Health Check is for.
Sources
- NSW DPI, About gross margin budgets
- NSW DPI, Using DSEs and carrying capacities to compare sheep enterprises
- NSW DPIRD, Livestock gross margin budgets
- NSW DPIRD, 1st cross ewes, terminal meat rams, farm enterprise budget 2025 (1,000 ewes)
- NSW DPIRD, Beef gross margins summary, June 2026
- NSW DPIRD, Inland weaners gross margin budget, June 2026
Talk to Nick about your next bank review
We work with farm businesses Australia-wide by phone and video, with regular farm visits on the east coast. Get in touch for a no-obligation chat about what you need and what it would cost.