Modern livestock software programs provide a way to interface non-meat animal production, commercial livestock production and ranch management endeavors in a way that can make life much easier for livestock producers at any level. Whether your primary concern is the breeding of homozygous polled cattle, tracking the fiber quality yield of your finewools or keeping a close watch on rangeland grazing limits, you can find a livestock software application that integrates all the modules you need in one package.
As you begin to wade through your options, keep the following considerations in mind:
1. The diversity of your operation
2. The non-animal data you will need to track
3. Your need for mobile livestock software applications.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Explore livestock software applications for multi-species operations
Some livestock record keeping software applications have modules specific to certain species, which is important if you're breeding for homozygous traits or other non-meat animal products. In addition, if you grow your own feed crops, you'll need software modules that address crop yield, nutrient and fertilizer mixes.
I recommend: Visit the
Farm Files downloads page to find the livestock management software best suited to your operation.
HerdLogic can handle husbandry programs for llamas, alpacas, sheep and cattle.
Purchase cattle management software from industry leaders and researchers
You can find software for cattle management that has been on the front lines for years. The complexity of cattle management software programs depends upon what you're tracking and the size of your breeding operation. Many agribusiness schools have developed ultra-specific spreadsheets and databases for producer use.
I recommend: CattleMax sells the top beef cattle software in the industry. Also, try
Cattleworks Herd Management Software for beef, dairy and purebred operations. Ask your local
USDA office for recommendations on university freeware.
Find ranch livestock management software with rangeland management features
Most any supplier of livestock software these days will cater to large-scale ranching operations with options to manage livestock grazing land. Rangeland management software is bundled with ranch management software, which also features breeding management, logistics and accounting modules.
I recommend: Navigate to the
Farm Works demo page specific to ranch management livestock software. Contact
Lion Edge Technologies for a free trial of Ranch Manager Livestock Edition. Specify which species you produce for a customized trial CD.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Pair your livestock record keeping software with a foolproof animal identification system. If you haven't already, register your farm with the USDA's National Animal Identification Plan to be assigned a location PIN and start a herd micro-chipping program.
- Bring your accountant into the mix to help you find the best livestock software programs for your financial planning and tax record-keeping needs. Some programs include complete accounting modules, while others do not take expenditures, animal depreciation or productivity costs into consideration. You'll have to track those in a separate accounting program.
The official source of Livestock Software is the Livestock Software page at Business.com
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