Bamboo Farm Return Calculator

Put your acreage into the plan

Bamboo farm return calculator

Change any assumption. The starting values come from our 45-acre Henon proposal and are planning estimates only.

Acres to convert

acres

Your current crop

Current crop or land use

Select a starting benchmark, then edit it for your farm.

Estimated annual return above variable costs per acre

30 bu/acre x $9.50 = $285 gross. Minus $310 variable costs = -$25/acre. View the UGA 2026 dryland soybean budget

Your bamboo conversion

Establishment cost per acre

Based on $52,928 for 45 acres.

Farmer-paid share

Use 50% only when a written partner agreement applies.

Annual care cost per acre

Add your expected mowing, water, labor, and inputs.

First productive harvest

Year

Our proposal targeted years 5-6.

Mature annual net per acre

Baseline: $44,100 / 45 acres, after projected harvest costs.

First-harvest production

Model reaches 100% the following year.

Estimated farmer-paid establishment $47,047 About 8,889 planting positions at 14 x 14 ft spacing

Total project costs$47,047

Bamboo net income$0

Continue soybeans-$5,000

Bamboo projected position-$47,047

Costs

Income

Under these assumptions, estimated payback occurs in year 7.

Continue the current crop or convert to bamboo
Period	Continue dryland soybeans	Bamboo projected position	Bamboo difference

Long-range comparison

100-year cumulative return per acre

Compare every crop's cumulative return, or switch to the 100-year gross revenue and production-cost view.

Crop values repeat the selected UGA annual planning return for comparison. They do not include inflation, discounting, crop rotation, subsidies, insurance, or changing prices.

Important: This calculator is an educational planning tool, not a guarantee, appraisal, investment offer, or contract. Row-crop defaults are 2026 UGA dryland returns above variable cost and exclude fixed costs, land, management, subsidies, and crop insurance. Pine uses a 2025 Southeast annual-equivalent estimate because timber income arrives at thinning and harvest, not every year. Results depend on site suitability, weather, plant survival, labor, management, market demand, sale price, harvest cost, and buyer agreements. Replace every default with farm-specific written estimates before converting land.

Planning sources: UGA 2026 crop budgets and NC State's 2025 Southeast forestry analysis.

The right question

Not "Is bamboo exciting?"
"Does bamboo fit this land?"

Is the acreage suitable for Henon bamboo?
Can the farm carry establishment costs before harvest?
Is there a clear, written route to market?
Does the long timeline match the owner's goals?