Corn Farming Break-Even Analysis: $165K Monthly Revenue Target

Fixed costs $142.8K/mo Lease plus base

Contribution margin 83% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $172.0K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 8 Crossover month

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test whether monthly corn sales cover direct crop costs and fixed overhead.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash in each month before direct crop costs. $ Soft month Peak month Variable expenses These are direct costs like seed, fertilizer, fuel, and sales costs that rise with output. $ Low direct cost High direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $98,680 $118,900 revenue - $20,220 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the farm pays even in a slow month. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which corn farming expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets reliable only when acreage-driven inputs are kept separate from standing overhead. In the first year, leased land alone adds $90,000 per month before one bushel is sold.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Seeds, Fertilizers & Crop Protection	Variable	Model at 8.0% of first-year revenue because it moves with planted acres and crop output.	Treating crop inputs like fixed overhead.
Fuel & Machinery Maintenance	Semi-variable	Use 4.0% of first-year revenue as the field-activity portion, then refine if equipment logs are tracked.	Ignoring harvest intensity and field hours.
Sales & Brokerage Commissions	Variable	Apply 3.0% of revenue, since the fee rises only when corn is sold.	Putting commissions into monthly overhead.
R&D for Yield Forecasting Model	Variable	Apply 2.0% of revenue in the first year, as provided in the operating assumptions.	Booking it as a one-time technology spend.
Leased Land	Fixed	Use 900 leased hectares × $100 per hectare = $90,000 per month in the first year.	Treating land rent like seed or fertilizer.
Salaried Labor	Semi-fixed	Start with $495,000 per year, or $41,250 per month, then step up as full-time equivalents increase.	Modeling salaried staff as a percent of sales.
Insurance and Office Overhead	Fixed	Use $11,500 per month for office rent, insurance, professional services, software, vehicle lease, security, and monitoring.	Letting stable monthly overhead float with revenue.

How does break-even shift from lean to full corn acreage?

Scenario table

More acres push revenue up faster than payroll and rent, so the cushion improves as the farm scales. The base case is the clean midpoint, and the model still reaches break-even by Month 8.

Planning assumption only; harvest timing, weather, and corn prices can move these figures.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean opening year, 1,000 hectares	$249.8k	$42.5k	$65.3k	83.0%	$142.1k	Still above break-even, but cash needs to carry pre-harvest spend.
Base ramp year, 1,500 hectares	$391.2k	$64.6k	$60.0k	83.5%	$266.6k	This is the break-even reference point and the cleanest midpoint.
Full scale year, 2,000 hectares	$549.2k	$89.0k	$64.2k	83.8%	$396.0k	Best cushion so far, because fixed overhead is spread across more acres.

What breaks the corn farm's break-even cushion?

Stress test

The base plan clears break-even by $69,643 a month, but that cushion is thin if yield or price slips, or if rent and other fixed costs climb. A combined hit cuts the buffer to just $9,657, so harvest timing matters a lot.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$165,462	$69,643 cushion	Healthy on paper, but not wide.
Revenue shortfall	Average monthly revenue falls 10% to $211,595.	$165,462	$46,133 cushion	A modest yield or price miss trims the buffer fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Monthly fixed costs rise by $10,000.	$177,510	$57,595 cushion	Extra rent or overhead eats about $12,048 of headroom.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin drops from 83% to 73%.	$188,241	$46,864 cushion	Higher input costs push break-even up fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, fixed costs rise $10,000, and margin drops to 73%.	$201,938	$9,657 cushion	One more miss could flip the farm below break-even.

What should you verify before you lock in land, equipment, and staff for this corn farm?

Founder checklist

Don’t sign the lease, buy the equipment, or hire the full team until the farm can carry 1,000 cultivated hectares, a 10% owned-land mix, and the Year 1 cash burn through Month 8. The model breaks even in Month 8, but cash bottoms out much later, so reserve depth is the real test.

1Cultivated Base1,000 ha

Verify you can start with 1,000 cultivated hectares, because less acreage cuts harvested volume and pushes the Month 8 break-even point back.

2Land Mix100/900 ha

Verify the 100 owned hectares and 900 leased hectares at $100 per hectare per month, and make sure the $1.2M land buy fits cash and debt room.

3Crop Mix45/25/15/10/5

Verify buyers can absorb the five-crop mix within the 3- to 5-month sales cycle, or one crop will sit too long and strain cash after harvest.

4Cost Stack$142.8K/mo

Verify the Year 1 fixed load is about $142.8K a month before variable costs, and keep the variable expense load near 17% so contribution stays close to 83%.

5Core FTE7.0 FTE

Verify the opening team is live from Month 1: manager, agronomist, data scientist, operations coordinator, and 3 skilled labor FTEs, because weak coverage slows planting and harvest.

6Cash Cushion-$9.4M

Verify you can fund the $9.407M cash trough through the Month 43 low point, because Month 8 break-even does not protect you from a later cash crunch.