Agricultural News
Smartphone Apps Make Record Keeping a Snap Down on the Farm
Fri, 03 May 2013 12:35:14 CDT
Kansas cow-calf rancher Barb Downey has found convenient record keeping at her fingertips with the use of smart phone technology. She uses the Angus mobile app for her registered herd which helps her keep up with calving records, performance data, and other management tools.
"I hate paper and believe that information is much more readily used when it's in a format that is useful and mineable. It's data until you figure out how to use it, then it's information."
With just her smart phone and Google Docs, Downey can instantly note feed rations, irrigation use, herd health, and cow inventory and movement-information that she later formats into a searchable database for easy access. More conventional forms of record keeping just slow her down.
"Everyone knows--that keeps any sort of records--that you end up with stacks of information that you will take care of in your free time. And then there's the 'no time like the present' mode; we're entering data on the fly."
While certain records are required by law, like water, herbicide, and pesticide use, complete and accurate records show accountability and increase consumer confidence in beef products.
"We're required as beef producers to make sure that we're doing the best job. So, those vaccinations, treatment records, all of that, are very important. So we make sure we're doing the right thing on our own. We take that very seriously."
Downey says those well-kept and easily-accessed records are vital tools to keep building herd quality.
"In order to make selections in the right directions that you want to go, you've got to have that information and a way to get at it."
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