The Nebraska Extension will host Unit Cost of Production workshops in November and December to provide hands-on learning experiences for producers in calculating the unit cost of production for a cow-calf operation. The first workshop will be held on Nov. 28 and 29 at the Middle Niobrara NRD, in Valentine, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST. The second workshop will be on Dec. 5 and 6, at the 4-H Building in Kimball, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. MST.
Pre-register one week in advance for both locations. Call the Nebraska Extension office in Cherry County at 402-376-1850 for the Valentine workshop or email Ryan Benjamin at ryan.benjamin@unl.edu. Call the Nebraska Extension office in Kimball at 308-235-3122 for the Kimball workshop or email Aaron Berger at aberger2@unl.edu. The workshop or each size is limited to 25 people. The cost is $85 and includes meals and materials for both days. Contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 with questions about the workshops.
“Having information to make effective business decisions is important for ranch success. Enterprise analysis and unit cost of production (UCOP) are tools that can help ranchers identify where value is being created on the ranch, where costs are occurring, and what changes could be made to improve profit,” Berger said.
While it takes time to set up and calculate a UCOP, the benefits are:
• Knowing what present costs are.
• Projecting what unit cost of production will be in 2024.
• Identifying opportunities to improve profitability.
• Using information to make management and marketing decisions.
Participants in this workshop will work through a sample ranch to determine the economic profitability of four common ranch enterprises: cow-calf, stockers/breeding heifers, hay, and land. They will go through the steps of analyzing costs and calculating what it costs to produce a unit of product for each enterprise. Participants will also learn how to identify how changes could improve ranch profitability.