Variable costs

Variable costs are those costs which change according to the size of an activity. The essential characteristic of a variable cost is that it changes proportionately to changes in enterprise size (or to change in components of the enterprise). Variable costs are the total of selling costs and husbandry costs in Breedcow and Dynama.

Common variable costs include; husbandry, animal health, feed and handling costs.

Generally, a variable cost meets the test of one more animal equals one more unit of cost.

Allocating variable costs on a per head basis ensures that this component of the cost structure adjusts with any change in herd structure or size over time and accurately reflects the variable costs incurred by herds of various sizes when testing different scenarios in Breedcow and Dynama.