Crop breakevens / Grain sorghum
What an acre of grain sorghum costs, and what it has to make
The University of Arkansas 2026 budget for furrow-irrigated grain sorghum comes to $690.25 an acre to grow 105 bushels, before the landlord's 25% share. Counting that share at the budget's $4.75 price, it's $814.94 an acre, or about $7.76 a bushel.
Updated October 5, 2026
- Cost per acre
- $814.94
- Budget yield
- 105 bu/acre
- Breakeven price
- $7.76 per bu
Run it with your numbersOpens the free calculator with these numbers filled in, ready to change.
Where the money goes
| Per acre | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 3% | $27.04 |
| Fertilizer | 25% | $199.79 |
| Chemical | 8% | $62.03 |
| Fuel/Labor | 41% | $337.54 |
| Land rent | 15% | $124.69 |
| Other | 8% | $63.85 |
| Total | $814.94 |
From University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, 2026 grain sorghum budget (furrow irrigated, 105 bu), grouped into Fencerow's six lines. Fuel/Labor in these examples covers all machinery costs (ownership, fuel, repairs), hauling, drying, irrigation, and labor. Insurance, interest, and miscellaneous costs are under Other. Land rent is the landlord's 25% crop share at budget yield and price.
- Fertilizer is the biggest line. $199.79 an acre: 350 pounds of treated urea at $112.64, plus $60.75 of phosphate and $26.40 of potash.
- Machinery and irrigation ownership. $136.16 an acre before fuel and repairs: $40.64 for tractors and implements, $62.04 for the combine, and $33.48 for the irrigation setup.
- Insecticides. $29.64 an acre across three products, on top of $32.39 of herbicides.
Ten years of USDA prices and yields
| Year | US average price received | US average yield |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.67/bu | 72.6 bu/acre |
| 2024 | $4.07/bu | 61.3 bu/acre |
| 2023 | $4.93/bu | 52 bu/acre |
| 2022 | $6.38/bu | 41.1 bu/acre |
| 2021 | $5.94/bu | 69 bu/acre |
| 2020 | $5.04/bu | 73.2 bu/acre |
| 2019 | $3.34/bu | 73 bu/acre |
| 2018 | $3.26/bu | 72.1 bu/acre |
| 2017 | $3.22/bu | 71.7 bu/acre |
| 2016 | $2.79/bu | 77.9 bu/acre |
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Quick Stats (national, marketing-year price received; final annual yield). Years USDA hasn't published yet are left out, not estimated. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS.
What changes the answer for your farm
- Yield moves the price you need. If you spend for 105 bushels and harvest 95, the same $814.94 works out to about $8.58 a bushel instead of $7.76.
- Crop share versus cash rent. This budget's land cost is the landlord's 25% share, $124.69 an acre at budget yield and price. A cash rent stays fixed whatever the crop brings.
- Bushels and cwt. USDA reports sorghum prices per hundredweight. A bushel is 56 pounds, so a price per cwt times 0.56 gives the price per bushel. The chart below is converted that way.
These are one university's numbers, not yours. Put in your own costs, yield, and price, and keep them by field from year to year. Free for up to three fields.
Other crops
- Corn breakeven $911.98/acre, $4.32/bu
- Soybeans breakeven $679.11/acre, $11.13/bu
- Rice breakeven $1,304.74/acre, $17.06/cwt
- Wheat breakeven $297.01/acre, $4.79/bu
- Cotton breakeven $1,450.12/acre, $1.21/lb