A two-day workshop this February will provide hands-on learning for cow-calf producers to learn how to calculate unit cost of production (UCOP). The meeting will take place February 3 and 4 (Wednesday and Thursday) at the Niobrara Lodge, 803 E Highway 20, Valentine, NE, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST.

Having information to make effective business decisions is important for ranch success. Tools, such as enterprise analysis and UCOP, can help ranchers identify where value is being created, costs are occurring (see Annual Cow Costs – The Big Three), and what changes could be made to improve profit on the ranch.

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.

Sound difficult? Hands-on, group activities and examples of how to calculate key numbers will help participants through the process. Participants will receive access to Excel® spreadsheet templates that can help analyze cost of production for their own operation. Nebraska Extension Educators will be available for follow-up after the workshops.

Pre-registration is requested before January 27 by contacting the Cherry County Extension office at (402) 376-1850. Workshop size is limited to 35 people. Contact Aaron Berger at 308-235-3122 with questions about the workshop.