Soybean Meal Production Break-Even: About $127K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $108.6K/mo Opening-month base

Contribution margin 85% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $127.7K/mo Revenue to cover fixed

Break-even timing Month 1 Model break-even point

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly soybean meal revenue, direct variable costs, and fixed plant overhead against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets how much margin is left after direct costs. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Direct costs that rise with output, like processing, packaging, hauling, and sales fees. $ Low direct cost High direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $19,558,802 $22,654,667 revenue - $3,095,865 variable expenses

Margin ratio

86%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Monthly overhead the margin has to cover, like plant rent and salaried staff. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which soybean meal production expenses are fixed, variable, or semi-variable for break-even?

Cost classification

Break-even gets reliable only when unit-linked costs stay variable and base plant costs stay fixed. Here, soybean purchases, labor, energy, logistics, and brokerage move with volume, while rent and salaries can distort break-even if treated like per-unit costs.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Soybean purchases	Variable	Treat as direct material tied to production units; no source amount is provided in the model.	Treating raw material volatility as fixed overhead.
Product processing labor	Variable	Use per-unit labor: $15 Standard Meal, $20 Premium Meal, $2 Soybean Hulls, $18 Crude Oil, and $25 Specialty Meal.	Using one blended labor rate without checking product mix.
Product energy	Variable	Use per-unit energy: $10 Standard Meal, $12 Premium Meal, $1 Soybean Hulls, $15 Crude Oil, and $15 Specialty Meal.	Burying usage-linked energy inside fixed base utilities.
Revenue-based logistics and brokerage fees	Variable	Apply outbound logistics at 3.0% of first-year revenue and sales commissions and brokerage fees at 1.5% of first-year revenue.	Modeling freight and brokerage as flat monthly spend.
Plant & Office Rent	Fixed	Use $25,000 per month from Month 1 through Month 60 in the operating break-even base.	Spreading rent per unit and letting it fall as volume rises.
Base utilities and product utility allocations	Semi-variable	Use $4,500 per month for base utilities, plus product utility allocations tied to revenue by product line.	Classifying all utilities as fixed or all as variable.
Equipment maintenance contracts and wear	Semi-variable	Use $6,000 per month for maintenance contracts, plus unit equipment wear and product maintenance allocations.	Ignoring wear on higher production runs.
Salaried operating roles	Semi-fixed	Model salaries as fixed within each staffing plan, then step up when full-time equivalents increase in later years.	Scaling every salary dollar with revenue.

How does break-even change from lean launch to full capacity in soybean meal production?

Scenario table

Break-even improves as volume rises because fixed overhead stays mostly flat while contribution grows faster than variable costs. These are planning assumptions only, and raw soybean pricing is not included, so treat the cushion as directional.

Planning cases only; they are not guarantees, and raw soybean pricing is not modeled here.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$1.271M	$185K	$1.086M	85.4%	$0	Revenue just covers fixed overhead, so margin room is thin.
Base launch plan	$1.774M	$259K	$1.086M	85.5%	$430K	Launch volume clears break-even with a solid monthly cushion.
Full-capacity run rate	$2.795M	$353K	$1.206M	87.4%	$1.236M	Mature output easily covers overhead; input costs still matter.

What pushes soybean meal production off break-even first?

Stress test

Base case clears break-even by a wide margin: monthly revenue is about $17.74M, variable expenses about $2.59M, and fixed overhead plus payroll about $1.09M. The cushion shrinks fastest if soybean input costs rise, meal pricing softens, or freight and utility charges spike.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$1.27M	$16.47M cushion	Wide cushion above break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 10%, with cost ratios unchanged.	$1.27M	$14.70M cushion	Sales can dip, but pricing power still matters.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed overhead and payroll rise 10%.	$1.40M	$16.34M cushion	Overhead creep lifts the floor fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise 10%.	$1.29M	$16.45M cushion	Freight, utilities, and input inflation hit first.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, variable expenses rise 10%, and fixed overhead rises 10%.	$1.42M	$14.55M cushion	Cushion narrows most when price and costs move together.

What should you verify before you lock soybean supply, plant spend, and hiring?

Founder checklist

Don’t commit to the crushing line, payroll, or storage build until the unit basis, Year 1 volume, and cash cushion all clear the model. In this plan, break-even is shown in Month 1, so a late sales start or weak supply contract can move the whole deal.

1Supply TermsTons/batches

Lock soybean supply terms and confirm the source unit before you trust the margin model, because a wrong unit basis can distort every revenue and COGS line.

2Pre-sold Volume372,000 units

Verify signed orders or firm demand for the Year 1 mix of 200,000 Standard Meal, 60,000 Premium Meal, 12,000 Hulls, 70,000 Crude Oil, and 30,000 Specialty Meal, because launch demand has to exist before the line is turned on.

3Margin Hold89.9% CM

Here’s the quick math: Year 1 revenue is about $212.9M and modeled variable costs are about $21.5M, so contribution margin is near 89.9%; if freight, QA, or handling runs hot, payback slips.

4Fixed Load$44.8K/mo

Keep the plant overhead near the modeled $44.8K per month for rent, utilities, insurance, security, software, legal, and maintenance, because that fixed floor hits before any sales upside.

5Payroll Ramp$63.8K/mo

Hire to the Year 1 roster only when throughput can carry about $63.8K a month in salaried pay, since the Plant Manager, two Operations Supervisors, Sales Manager, Admin and HR Lead, Quality Control Manager, Logistics Coordinator, and CEO are already in the plan.

6Cash Buffer$3.634M

Hold at least the Month 1 minimum cash need of $3.634M, and remember the listed capital spend is about $4.0M, so the launch month needs a real reserve before equipment and fit-out payments land.