The finance cost is the smaller number.
A stock purchase costs the repayment plus the feed, health, labour and pasture required to carry the animals, and on a system at capacity the second is larger.
Last reviewed 8 September 2026
Indicative repayment
Weekly
$2,662/week
Indicative only. Not a quote or offer of credit. Actual rates, fees, and repayments depend on the business profile and the lender's decision.
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What this tool calculates
The repayment, which is half the cost.
Livestock facilities ordinarily amortise, so the output here is a repayment figure and it is accurate for what it measures. What it does not include is the carrying cost: feed, animal health, labour and the pasture the additional stock occupies. On a system with genuine surplus feed that cost is small, and on one already at capacity it is frequently larger than the finance. The section below sets out how to put a number on it.
The other half
Working out the carrying cost.
The question is whether the farm has the feed. Where additional stock can be carried on pasture already grown, the marginal cost is animal health, labour and the pasture’s alternative use, which on a system with surplus is modest. Where feed has to be bought or grazing arranged elsewhere, the cost is that price multiplied by the period the stock is held.
A rough calculation is enough to change decisions. Taking the number of additional animals, the feed requirement for the period they will be held, and the cost of that feed at bought or grazed rates gives most of it. Add animal health and any additional labour. That figure sits beside the repayment this tool produces.
The comparison is then the total of both against what the additional stock produces. A purchase comfortable on the finance alone and uncomfortable on the total is a common outcome, and it is the reason the useful question before financing stock is whether the farm has the feed rather than what the finance costs.
A note on the tax
The livestock position is separate again.
A stock purchase or sale interacts with the New Zealand livestock valuation regime the business uses, and the consequence can be material and can arrive in the same year as the transaction, subject to the accountant’s confirmation of the particular circumstances.
That is entirely outside this calculation and it is not a minor omission on a large stock movement. A purchase, a herd sale or a transfer as part of a succession all raise it, and the guide on livestock valuation covers why the numbers in the accounts, at the saleyard and from a lender are three different figures.
The practical point is the same as elsewhere on this site: the conversation with the accountant belongs before the transaction rather than at the return, because by then the only remaining question is how to record what already happened.
What the tool does
The arithmetic behind the figures, and what it leaves out.
In its scheduled mode the calculator applies the standard amortising formula, spreading an amount and its interest evenly across the term and converting the monthly result to a weekly one. In its revolving mode it calculates the interest cost of an average drawn balance instead, which is the honest output for a seasonal facility that never amortises.
It excludes every fee. Establishment and line fees, review charges, valuation and legal costs, and any security disbursements are all real and none of them is here, because they vary by lender in ways no formula can anticipate. On a rural facility the valuation and legal costs in the first year can be substantial.
It also excludes seasonal repayment structures, which are common in rural lending and which change the shape of a schedule without changing its total by much. And it excludes every tax effect, which on a farm is a larger omission than it would be elsewhere. It is a way of seeing how amount, rate and term interact before a conversation with a lender, and it is not a quote, an application or an offer of credit. Nothing entered here is transmitted anywhere.
References
Sources
- Reserve Bank of New Zealand, agricultural lending statistics
Context for New Zealand rural lending aggregates and why indicative rate bands move.
- Ministry for Primary Industries
The agency publishing production and sector information underlying the seasonal patterns referred to here.
- Inland Revenue, farming and agriculture
Context for the tax treatment of farm assets, which is excluded from these figures and is a matter for the accountant.
- Personal Property Securities Register
The register whose search and filing fees appear as disbursements on a secured rural facility.
- Financial Markets Authority, financial advice
Backs the distinction between general information of this kind and regulated financial advice.
FAQ
The livestock calculation, questions
What does this calculator show?
The repayment on a livestock facility, which ordinarily amortises. It is accurate for the finance and it excludes the carrying cost of the animals, which is frequently the larger figure.
How is the carrying cost worked out?
Feed requirement for the period the stock is held, at bought or grazed rates where the feed is not already grown, plus animal health and additional labour. A rough figure is enough to change decisions.
Why does surplus feed matter so much?
Because it is the difference between additional stock costing very little to carry and costing more than the finance. The useful question before a purchase is whether the farm has the feed, not what the finance costs.
Is the tax effect included?
No. A stock purchase or sale interacts with the livestock valuation regime and the consequence can be material and can arrive in the same year, subject to the accountant’s confirmation. It is outside this calculation entirely.
Are fees included?
No. Establishment fees, security registration and any stock firm charges are excluded and vary by lender and by arrangement.
What term should be used?
One matched to how long the stock will be held and to the cash the additional animals generate. Trading stock and a permanent herd increase are different propositions and they suit different terms.
Are the figures here quotes?
No. Everything on this page is indicative and illustrative. Actual rates and terms come from a lender or stock firm after assessment, and nothing here is an offer of credit.
Is anything entered here transmitted?
No. The calculator runs entirely in the browser, nothing is sent anywhere and no personal details are collected on this site at all.
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