New online tool helps ranchers forecast operation economics
Aug. 19, 2026
By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Beef Cow and Heifer Investment Analysis tool available online
- Tool enables ranchers to project up to 10 years
(237 words)
DOWNLOAD screenshot, portrait of Mitchell, cattle
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ranchers now have a new online tool that allows them to make decisions to ensure the financial health of their cattle operations, looking up to 10 years into the future.
A key decision ranchers must make is whether to buy younger cows to replace older or culled cows, or to raise heifers themselves. These heifers are an important genetic building block of the herd.
“Over the last two years or so, I’ve been getting requests to give presentations on the economics of rebuilding a cow herd, based on my own analysis,” said Extension Livestock Economist James Mitchell. “We thought making a publicly available tool that could help with those decisions for producers and lenders evaluating those trade-offs would be a nice addition.”
Mitchell worked with Ryan Loy, his fellow extension economist within the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, to create the Beef Cow and Heifer Investment Analysis tool.
Mitchell said the tool is built on net present value, which is the value of a cow as a capital asset that depreciates over time.
The tool also helps ranchers anticipate “the stream of income an asset is expected to provide to the operation over its useful life, answering the question of whether it’s a good investment or not given the operation’s cost structure, lending terms, current cattle prices and what cattle prices are expected to be in the next eight to 10 years,” he said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land-grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
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Media Contact:
Nick Kordsmeier
nkordsme@uada.edu