How much does a Manure Hauling Service cost to buy?

A typical Manure Hauling Service sells for 1.5x to 2.75x annual revenue. With average revenue of $350K, expect to pay $525K to $963K.

How much does it cost to start a Manure Hauling Service?

Startup costs range from $80K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Route

Manure Hauling Service

Q: What are the profit margins for a Manure Hauling Service?

The average profit margin for a Manure Hauling Service is around 35%. At $350K revenue: truck and equipment payments or maintenance ($40-60K/year), fuel ($30-50K/year), driver wages if not owner-operated, insurance, permits. Owner-operators net 30-40%.

You get paid to pick it up. Then paid again to deliver it.

Manure hauling businesses solve one of agriculture's most persistent logistical problems: livestock operations produce enormous volumes of manure that must be removed from barns, feedlots, and lagoons. The farmer pays to get rid of it. The crop farmer needs it as organic fertilizer. The hauler in the middle collects a fee from both sides — or at minimum charges for hauling and resells the load as a soil amendment. It's one of the few businesses where the raw material is free and you collect revenue at both ends. A single tanker servicing a 50-mile radius in a livestock-dense region can generate $250K-$600K annually.

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Avg Revenue

$350K

Profit Margin

35%

Acquisition Multiple

1.5x - 2.75x

Startup Cost

$80K - $250K

Difficulty

3/5

How It Works

Liquid manure is pumped from dairy, hog, or poultry operations into tanker trucks (3,000-6,000 gallon capacity) and injected or spread on cropland as fertilizer. Solid manure is loaded and transported in dump trailers. Source farms pay $6-$20/ton for removal, or provide it free; receiving crop farms pay $15-$45/ton delivered, or the hauler charges $8-$18/acre for custom spreading. Spring and fall are peak demand seasons matching crop planting cycles. Some operators add composting to convert raw manure into bagged premium product with higher margins.

Revenue Range

Low End

$150K

Typical

$350K

High End

$700K

Pros

+Raw material is often free or generates a pickup fee — both ends of the transaction can produce revenue
+Recurring route business with the same farm customers year after year
+Low competition in rural markets — few operators want the work, creating genuine pricing power
+Growing organic farming demand is increasing the value of properly-managed organic soil amendments

Cons

-Seasonal revenue — spring and fall are peak, winter and summer slow in northern climates
-Specialized equipment (tankers, spreaders, injection equipment) requires consistent maintenance
-Regulatory complexity: nutrient management plans, lagoon permits, and setback rules vary by state

Best For

Rural operators comfortable with agriculture who want a route-based business with very low competition and recurring farm customers

Operating Costs

At $350K revenue: truck and equipment payments or maintenance ($40-60K/year), fuel ($30-50K/year), driver wages if not owner-operated, insurance, permits. Owner-operators net 30-40%.