Beef farm business summaries have a long tradition in New York State. In 1941, The Department of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the Department of Animal Husbandry at Cornell University conducted a study of beef breeding enterprises. Of a total of 121 farms visited, 42 usable records were obtained for the study. The following farm business summary was compiled in 1987 by the Department of Animal Science in conjunction with the Department of Agricultural Economics, using data submitted by ten New York state beef producers from seven counties. Farms with a variety of resources and management objectives were selected so that a new data check-in form could be tested thoroughly. Data was collected for the calendar year 1986. All of the producers have a cow-calf component to their operation. Same sell all calves at weaning, others feed out some or all of their calves to a finished cattle weight. These ten farms are not a scientific sample and are not necessarily representative of New York state beef farms. The averages published in this report are not intended to represent the average of all beef farms and should not be interpreted as such. The averages are calculated to provide the cooperators with a comparison when analyzing their own records. The purpose of the Beef Farm Business Summary is to present the cooperators and other beef producers with a format for summarizing and analyzing their business and to offer some data which may be useful to potential beef producers and Cooperative Extension agents. The Beef Farm Business Summary was made possible with the help of several Cooperative Extension agents and the kind cooperation of the participating beef producers. This is the first Beef Farm Business Summary published since 1983. As the economics of beef enterprises tends to be cyclic, a one year summary may be deceiving. We hope to continue and expand the Beef Farm Business Summary in the future and will then be able to provide multi-year analysis.