Kill Sheet Calculator NZ

This checks a kill sheet: what a consignment grossed, what came off it, what landed in the account and, most usefully, what price per kilogram you actually realised once the deductions are counted. That last figure is the one worth having, because the schedule price everyone quotes is applied to carcass weight before anything is taken off, and the deductions come afterwards. Levies, processing, inspection and cartage are usually charged per head, which means their effect per kilogram depends entirely on how heavy the carcass was: the same three dollars is worth far more against an 18 kilogram lamb than against a 30 kilogram one. So two consignments killed on the same schedule in the same week can realise quite different prices, and a contract premium can be more than swallowed by what comes off underneath it. Working every consignment back to a realised price per kilogram is the only way to compare them honestly, and it is the only way to tell whether a premium was actually worth taking. Nothing here carries a schedule price, a levy or a processing charge, because those change constantly and differ by processor, by grade and by contract. Every figure comes off the sheet in front of you.

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kg
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/kg
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/kg
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$
$38,612.50
net for the consignment
Net per head$154.45
Gross per head$160.95
Total carcass weight4,625 kg
Deductions in total$1,625.00

Everything on this page comes off your own sheet. Schedule prices, levies and processing charges differ by processor, grade, contract and week, so none is supplied here.

What you actually got per kilogram

The net payment works out at $8.35 a kilogram of carcass weight, against a quoted schedule of $8.50. That is $0.15 a kilogram below the schedule, because the per head deductions are worth $0.35 a kilogram against a carcass this size.

How it works

The price applied per kilogram is the schedule price plus any grade adjustment and any contract premium, and that is multiplied by carcass weight to give the gross value of a carcass. Deductions per head come off, credits go on, and the result is the net per head. Multiply by the head count and you have the consignment. The realised price is the net per head divided by the carcass weight, which converts everything, including the per head charges, back into dollars a kilogram so it can be set beside the schedule.

Why the per head charges matter more than they look

A deduction charged per head is a fixed cost against a variable weight. Six dollars and fifty cents against an 18.5 kilogram carcass is 35 cents a kilogram; against a 30 kilogram carcass it is 22 cents. That is the whole reason lighter stock realise less per kilogram than the schedule suggests, even before grading. It also means the arithmetic on whether to hold stock longer is not just about the extra weight and the schedule at the time, but about spreading the same fixed charges over more kilograms.

Worked example

Two hundred and fifty lambs averaging 18.5 kilograms carcass weight, on a schedule of $8.50 a kilogram with a 20 cent contract premium and no grade adjustment, gross $160.95 a head. Deductions of $6.50 a head bring that to $154.45 net, and the consignment to $38,612.50. The realised price is $8.35 a kilogram, which is 15 cents below the quoted schedule despite the 20 cent premium sitting on top of it, because the per head deductions are worth 35 cents a kilogram against a carcass this size.

Related calculators

Data sources: this page holds no schedule prices, levies or processing charges. All figures come from your own kill sheet, because they differ by processor, grade, contract and week. Carcass and schedule conventions follow Beef and Lamb New Zealand.

Frequently asked questions

What is a kill sheet?

It is the statement a meat processor sends after a consignment is killed, showing how many head were processed, what each carcass weighed, the grade each fell into, the schedule price applied and every deduction taken off before the payment lands. It is the document that tells you what the stock were actually worth, as opposed to what the schedule said they would be worth, and the two are rarely the same number.

Why is my payout per kilogram lower than the schedule price?

Because the schedule price is applied to carcass weight before anything is taken off, and the deductions come afterwards. Levies, processing charges, cartage and inspection are charged per head, so their effect per kilogram depends on carcass weight: the same deduction hurts a light lamb more than a heavy one. Grade adjustments move the price per kilogram directly. Working back from the net payment to a realised price per kilogram is the only way to compare consignments fairly.

How is carcass value calculated in New Zealand?

Carcass weight is multiplied by the schedule price for the grade the carcass fell into, adjusted by any premium or discount that applies to that grade or contract. That gives the gross value per head. Deductions per head are then subtracted and any credit, such as a pelt or skin, is added, which gives the net per head. Multiply by the number of head for the consignment total.