Livestock Junction.
Providing software that is both useful from a management point of view, and practical from a data collection point of view.
Cattle Fattening Records.
Cattle Fattening Records - introduction.
(Click here to see Australian Lot Feeders Association article May 2011).
This software product has evolved to its current state over a period of nearly 20 years. The original version was written to just record cattle weights and dates, and hence measure weight gains in cattle being fattened. But with input from users of the software and the advent of new technology over the years, the system can now record all costs, Vet treatments, carcase data, performance analysis and reporting, interfaces with electronic scales, RFID scanners, and Bar code readers etc.
The main purpose of the software is to record everything that happens to cattle while they are owned, thus getting a profile on how they are performing. To do this we need to record :
- source of cattle (property of origin or Sire),
- all related costs,
- growth performance (dates and weights),
- drug treatments (and costs),
- feeding,
- feed conversion ratios,
- carcase measurements.
The software produces reports on specified selections of cattle to show how they have performed against their peers from various points of view. At least twenty different standard report formats are available.
|
|
If analysis shows that cattle from a particular source are below average, then that supplier becomes questionable. Conversely if we can identify cattle that are above average, we need to go back to that source again for more cattle, whether it be a bloodline or a breeder selling weaners.