Water Systems Calculator

The following Economics of Water Systems Calculator allows beef cattle producers to:

compare the costs and benefits of installing three different watering systems on a cow-calf operation
evaluate the costs and benefits of installing five different watering systems to use with yearling grassers
determine how long it will take to pay off any of these livestock water systems on an individual operation

Fecal contamination of water from cattle with direct access reduces the palatability and consumption of the water. Access to clean pumped water can improve herd health, increase weight gain and increase backfat.

Cow-calf: Research by Lardner et al. (2005) reported that suckling calves whose dams drank from water troughs gained on average 0.09 lbs per day more than calves whose dams had direct access to the dugout. Calves with access to clean pumped water were on average 18 lbs heavier at weaning time. Water and forage intake are closely related so as cows drink more water, they spend more time eating and therefore produce more milk for their calves. *

Yearling Grassers: Lardner also found that yearling steers had 8-9% higher weight gain when they had access to water that had been coagulated or aerated before it was pumped compared to steers that only had direct access to dugout water. Steers with access to untreated pumped dugout water gained 3% more weight than steers with direct dugout access. Based on results of Lardner et al. (2005), the below water system calculator was developed to estimate the potential economic benefits and costs of alternative watering systems compared to direct access to dugout water.

More details, calculator assumptions, scenario examples and references are available in the Canfax Research Services fact sheet: Economics of Water Systems (March 2018)

Enter values into the yellow boxes., other cells are formula driven.

Producer Information – Cow-Calf

Daily Water Consumption per cow-calf pair (Imperial gallons per day) (check the box to use default daily water consumption or enter your estimates in the yellow cell)	15
What is your herd size? (# of cow-calf pairs)
Do you need to drill a well?	Yes No
Do you need to buy and install stock tanks?	Yes No
Total estimated volume needed (Imperial gallons per day)	1500
Anticipated Sale Price ($/lb) Calves	$

Water System Information

Well
Do you need to drill a well(s)? (check the box if yes)	yes
If yes, how many wells are needed for the whole cow herd? (If no well is needed leave this blank.)
How much does a new well cost? (Check the box to use default price or enter your number in the yellow cell)	$7000
Trough
How much does a trough cost? (Check the box to use default price for a 535 gallons portable trough or enter your cost in the yellow cell)	$5295
If yes, how many troughs are needed for the whole cow herd? (If no well is needed leave this blank.)
Storage Tank The storage tank is a separate item if you want one day’s worth of water available to the trough.
Do you need to buy and install a storage tank?	yes
If yes, how much does it cost to buy and install a storage tank? (check the box to use default price or enter your cost in the yellow cell)	$2100
What’s the size of the storage tank (imperial gallons)? (check the box to use default size or enter estimated cost in the yellow cell)	2500
How many storage tanks are needed? (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use the estimated number)	Use estimated number
Estimated number of storage tanks needed (based on one-day water consumption of the cow herd and a 2500 imperial gallon stock tank )

Windmill Pump System			Solar-powered Pump System			Underground Pipe System
	Price	Units		Price	Units		Price	Units
Windmill Pump (incl. windmill, steel tower, plastic pipe, windmill pump cylinder and battery) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$5879		Solar-powered Pump (incl. solar panel, pump, plastic pipe, battery and miscellaneous hardware) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$2170		Underground Pipe (incl. trenching and pipe, hook-ups, tank) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$8350
Well			Well			Well
Trough			Trough			Trough
Storage Tank			Storage Tank			Storage Tank
Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$
Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)

Potential Additional Weight Gain – Pumped Water vs. Direct Access
While there are many potential herd health and environmental benefits from utilizing a watering system, the main economic benefit is the potential increase in weight gain. The following is based on research by Lardner et al. (2005), which analyzed the results of pumped water versus direct access over two periods, early summer (Period 1) and late summer (Period 2). Lardner’s research found that pumping water without treating it (via aeration or coagulation) appeared to be the most effective option for cows and calves.
Time Period	Period 1 (May 23-Jul 31)	Period 2 (Aug 1-Sept 30)	Whole Period
Number of Days	69	61	130
Additional ADG on cows (lb/day/head)	0.33	0.44
Total Additional Weight Gain per cow (lb/head/year)	22.77	26.84	49.61
Additional ADG on calves (lb/day/head)	0.15	0.09
Total Additional Weight Gain per calf (lb/head/year)	10.65	5.38	16.03
Estimated Economic Benefits from Increased Calf Weights ($/head)	23.21	11.73	34.94

*Source:Lardner et al. (2005)

Cow – Calf Results
	Benefit (per pair per year)	Estimated Initial Cost (per pair)	Maintenance Cost (per pair per year)	Number of Years to Pay off Initial Cost (excluding Maintenance)	Net Benefits in 5 Years (per pair)	Net Benefits in 7 Years (per pair)
Windmill Pump				years
Solar-powered Pump				years
Underground Pipe				years

Water System Cost/Benefit for Cow – Calf Herd

Number of Years to Pay Off Initial Cost

Net Benefit in 5 Years

Net Benefit in 7 Years

Producer Information – Yearling Grassers

Enter values into the yellow boxes.

Daily Water Consumption per steer (Imperial gallons per day)	15
What is your herd size? (# of yearlings)
Do you need to drill a well?	Yes No
Do you need to install stock tanks?	Yes No
Total estimated volume needed (Imperial gallons per day)	1200
Anticipated Sale Price ($/lb) Steers

Water System Information

Well
Do you need to drill a well(s)? (check the box if yes)	yes
If yes, how many wells are needed for the whole cow herd? (If no well is needed leave this blank.)
How much does a new well cost? (Check the box to use default price or enter your number in the yellow cell)	$7000
Trough
How much does a trough cost? (Check the box to use default price for a 535 gallons portable trough or enter your cost in the yellow cell)	$5295
If yes, how many troughs are needed for the whole cow herd? (If no well is needed leave this blank.)
Storage Tank The storage tank is a separate item if you want one day’s worth of water available to the trough.
Do you need to buy and install a storage tank?	yes
If yes, how much does it cost to buy and install a storage tank? (check the box to use default price or enter your cost in the yellow cell)	$2100
What’s the size of the storage tank (imperial gallons)? (check the box to use default size or enter estimated cost in the yellow cell)	2500
How many storage tanks are needed? (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use the estimated number)	Use estimated number
Estimated number of storage tanks needed (based on one-day water consumption of the yearling herd and a 2500 imperial gallon stock tank )

Windmill Pump System			Solar-powered Pump System			Underground Pipe System			Windmill Aeration Water System			Solar-powered Aeration Water System
	Price	Units		Price	Units		Price	Units		Price	Units		Price	Units
Windmill Pump (incl. windmill, steel tower, plastic pipe, windmill pump cylinder and battery) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$5879		Solar-powered Pump (incl. solar panel, pump, plastic pipe, battery and miscellaneous hardware) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$2170		Underground Pipe (incl. trenching and pipe, hook-ups, tank) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$8350		Aeration on Windmill Pump (incl. aeration treatment system, windmill, steel tower, plastic pipe, windmill pump cylinder and battery) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$7994		Aeration on Solar-powered Pump (incl. solar panel, pump, plastic pipe, battery and miscellaneous hardware) (check the box to use default price or enter your own numbers in the yellow cells)	$4285
Well			Well			Well			Well			Well
Trough			Trough			Trough			Trough			Trough
Storage Tank			Storage Tank			Storage Tank			Storage Tank			Storage Tank
Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$		Total Initial Cost	$
Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)		Maintenance Cost ($/year) (enter your number in the yellow cell or check the box to use default maintenance cost)	$73 – Use Default Maintenance Cost (0.05% of total initial)

Potential Additional Weight Gain – Water Treatments vs. Direct Access

While there are many potential herd health and environmental benefits from utilizing a watering system, the main economic benefit is the potential increase in weight gain.

The following is based on research by Lardner et al. (2005), which analyzed the results of pumped water versus direct access over two periods, early summer (Period 1) and late summer (Period 2).

Lardner’s research found that both aerated and untreated pumped water affect yearling steer performance compared to direct access to dugout.

Time Period		Period 1 (May 23-Jul 31)	Period 2 (Aug 1-Sept 30)	Whole Period
Number of Days		69	61
Untreated Pumped	Additional ADG (lb/day/head)	0.07	0.09
	Total Additional Weight Gain per steer (lb/head/year)	4.83	5.49	10.32
	Estimated Economic Benefits ($/head)	$8.60	$9.77	$18.37
Pumped and Aerated	Additional ADG on steers (lb/day/head)	0.26	0.07
	Total Additional Weight Gain per steer (lb/head/year)	17.94	4.27	22.21
	Estimated Economic Benefits ($/head)	$31.93	$7.60	$39.53

Yearling Steers Results

	Benefit (per head per year)	Estimated Initial Cost (per head)	Maintenance Cost (per head per year)	Number of Years to Pay off Initial Cost (excl. Maintenance)	Net Benefits in 5 Year	Net Benefits in 7 Year
Untreated Windmill Pump	$18.37		$0.76	8.26 years	$-63.69	$-28.46
Untreated Solar-powered Pump	$18.37	$114.65	$0.57	6.24 years	$-25.67	$9.92
Untreated Underground Pipe	$18.37	$176.45	$0.88	9.61 years	$-89.01	$-54.04
Aeration Treatment on Windmill Pump	$39.53	$91.39	$0.46	2.31 years	$103.98	$182.12
Aeration Treatment on Solar-powered Pump	$39.53	$84.40	$0.42	2.14 years	$111.14	$189.36

Water System Cost/Benefit for Yearling Herd

Number of Years to Pay Off Initial Cost

Net Benefit in 5 Years

Net Benefit in 7 Years

More details, calculator assumptions, scenario examples and references are available in the Canfax Research Services fact sheet: Economics of Water Systems (March 2018)

It is important to note that while a numerical difference was observed in this trial these results were not found to be significantly significant.

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Water Systems Calculator

Water Systems Calculator

Economics of Water Systems Calculator

Producer Information – Cow-Calf

Water System Information

Potential Additional Weight Gain – Pumped Water vs. Direct Access

Cow – Calf Results

Water System Cost/Benefit for Cow – Calf Herd

Number of Years to Pay Off Initial Cost

Net Benefit in 5 Years

Net Benefit in 7 Years