farmcfo.com.au/tools/piggery-feed-margin · 0412 759 847Piggery feed margin calculator
Enter your grain price, diet mix, whole-herd feed conversion, carcase weight and pig price. The calculator works out the cost of a tonne of diet, feed cost per pig and per kg HSCW, the margin over feed per pig, per sow and for the unit, and the grain price at which the margin over feed reaches zero.
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- Diet cost
- $460 a tonne
- Feed per pig sold
- 312 kg
- Feed cost per pig
- $143.22
- Income per pig
- $320.00
- Margin over feed per pig
- $176.78
- Margin over feed per sow a year
- $3,889
- Margin over feed for the unit a year
- $777,829
- Breakeven grain price
- $1,145 a tonne
Liveweight 103.9 kg a pig
$1.79 per kg HSCW
The grain price at which margin over feed reaches zero, other prices unchanged.
Margin over feed at different grain prices
| Grain $/t | Diet $/t | Feed cost per pig | Margin over feed per pig | Unit a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250 | $400 | $124.68 | $195.32 | $859,429 |
| $300 | $435 | $135.58 | $184.42 | $811,429 |
| $350 | $470 | $146.49 | $173.51 | $763,429 |
| $400 | $505 | $157.40 | $162.60 | $715,429 |
| $450 | $540 | $168.31 | $151.69 | $667,429 |
| $500 | $575 | $179.22 | $140.78 | $619,429 |
The grain price default is APL's delivered feed wheat price for southern NSW in the week ending 3 July 2026 ($335/t). Every other figure is an example for an invented 200-sow farrow-to-finish unit and is not a market price.
The working
- Diet cost ($/t) = grain share x grain price + (1 - grain share) x price of the rest of the diet.
- Liveweight per pig sold = carcase weight (kg HSCW) / dressing percentage.
- Feed per pig sold = whole-herd feed conversion ratio x liveweight. Whole-herd FCR includes sow, boar and weaner feed.
- Feed cost per pig = feed per pig / 1,000 x diet cost. Income per pig = carcase weight x price (c/kg HSCW) / 100.
- Margin over feed per pig = income per pig - feed cost per pig. Per sow = per pig x pigs sold per sow a year.
- Breakeven grain price = (income per pig / (feed per pig / 1,000) - (1 - grain share) x price of the rest of the diet) / grain share.
General information only. This calculator doesn't take account of your circumstances and isn't tax, credit or financial product advice. Check figures with your accountant before relying on them.
Want the numbers done for you?
Farm CFO builds the budget, the monthly cashflow and the tests your lender will run, at a fixed price.
Read next: How to budget for a piggery
Questions
What feed conversion ratio should I use?
Use your own whole-herd figure: all feed delivered in a year divided by the total liveweight of pigs sold. It's higher than the grower and finisher figure because it carries the sows, boars and weaners.
Why is there no cost of production in this calculator?
Margin over feed is the quickest test of how a grain price move hits your cash. For the full cost per kg, including labour, power, interest and depreciation, use the piggery cost of production calculator.
Where can I find current pig and grain prices?
Australian Pork Limited publishes weekly pig prices by state and delivered feed grain prices by region in its Eyes and Ears newsletter. Your own sale contracts and grain quotes are better still.