Microgreens Farming Break-Even: About $449K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $36.8K/mo Year 1 base

Contribution margin 82% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $44.9K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 14 Model breakeven

Break-even calculator

Test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs move a microgreens farm to break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash pool that covers direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Use seed, media, packaging, energy, and water costs that rise with sales. $ Lean costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $36,472 $44,155 revenue - $7,683 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

$3,028 short

Fixed monthly costs Use rent, payroll, software, and other overhead paid each month. $ Light overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which microgreens expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed for break-even?

Cost classification

Break-even gets more reliable when each expense follows its real behavior. Seeds and packaging move with sales, while lease stays flat, so mixing them can hide the Month 14 break-even risk.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Seeds & Growing Media	Variable	Model at 5% of revenue in the first operating year.	Treating seed and media spend as fixed.
Sustainable Packaging Materials	Variable	Model at 3% of revenue in the first operating year.	Ignoring packaging on wholesale orders.
Energy for Lighting and Climate Control	Semi-variable	Model at 8% of revenue and review usage as production scales.	Burying grow-room power inside office utilities.
Water & Nutrients	Variable	Model at 2% of revenue in the first operating year.	Skipping nutrient spend in gross margin math.
Facility Lease	Fixed	Use $5,000 monthly from Month 1.	Signing space before recurring demand supports it.
Equipment Maintenance Contracts	Semi-fixed	Use $700 monthly, then step up when equipment capacity expands.	Waiting for failures instead of planning upkeep.
Marketing Base	Semi-fixed	Use $1,000 monthly as the base outreach spend.	Assuming sales happen without steady outreach.
Payroll	Semi-fixed	Use about $28,542 monthly in the first operating year.	Hiring before recurring demand covers labor.

How does break-even shift across lean, base, and full microgreens setups?

Scenario table

As area rises from 0.1 to 0.2 hectare, revenue should grow faster than fixed costs if demand holds. The catch is lease and labor, so the bigger setup only helps when buyer demand is already lined up.

Planning figures only. Actual results can move with yield loss, pricing, and how fully the harvest calendar sells through.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean microgreens setup	$50,502	$9,090	$36,792	82.0%	$4,620	Sales sit just above break-even, so the cushion is thin.
Base microgreens setup	$75,753	$13,184	$44,442	82.6%	$18,127	Revenue clears break-even more cleanly, but lease still keeps the floor high.
Full microgreens setup	$101,004	$16,869	$50,742	83.3%	$33,393	Best cushion here, but extra labor means demand misses can still bite.

What breaks the break-even plan for this microgreens farm?

Stress test

The plan has a $5,634 monthly cushion, but it’s thin. Sales can fall about 11.2%, or fixed costs can rise about $4,620 a month, before break-even disappears.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$44,868	$5,634 cushion	Base case is positive, but the cushion is modest.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly sales fall 11.2% to $44,868.	$44,868	$0 cushion	Any deeper sales drop pushes the farm below break-even.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly fixed costs rise by $4,620.	$50,502	$0 cushion	The current sales plan no longer covers overhead.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 18.0% to 27.1% of revenue.	$50,502	$0 cushion	Spoilage, energy, or packaging can wipe out profit fast.
Combined pressure	Sales fall 11.2% and fixed costs rise by $4,620.	$60,756	$10,254 gap	Two small hits together erase the cushion.

Can this microgreens farm prove break-even before you sign the grow-space lease?

Founder checklist

Confirm committed monthly demand near $50.5K, not just interest, and keep the base revenue check above $44.9K before you lock the lease. The Month 13 cash trough and Month 14 break-even leave little room for a weak launch.

1Demand proof$50.5K/mo

Verify signed monthly orders or standing demand close to this level, because break-even only works if buyers are already lined up.

2Crop pricing$25-$40

Test that each crop sells inside the planned unit range, since arugula, radish, pea shoots, broccoli, and spicy mix drive revenue.

3Cost load18% target

Price seeds, media, packaging, energy, water, and nutrients against the 18% variable expense target so gross margin can hold.

4Yield plan5% loss

Check that the 0.1 hectare opening plan and the 20%, 20%, 25%, 15%, 20% crop mix can really absorb only 5% yield loss.

5Payroll rampMonth 25

Delay the extra operations hire until the base team covers payroll, because labor jumps fast after opening and can push break-even out.

6Cash cushion$355K

Hold enough cash for the Month 13 low point and do not expand the lease until base revenue clears $44.9K with room to spare.