Managing for Profit: What Efficiency Means on the Farm

How you can create efficiency on the farm with management systems for a better bottom line profit

As anybody with years of farming experience can tell you, efficient time management is essential to ongoing productivity and profit. But with all of the administrative work that comes with herd monitoring, data tracking, and economic evaluations, it’s easy to get bogged down and lose time that could be spent better managing your herd.

So how can farmers today stay on top of necessary livestock management without losing time or adding complicated systems?

Livestock Management Technology

The solution is in the form of modern livestock management systems designed specifically to increase your efficiency on the farm. A comprehensive livestock management system supports your data securely and allows you to access and share it in ways that work best for you. Best of all, innovative new systems are designed to work on your smartphone, saving you the hassle of learning a brand new technology.

Coupled with simple to use software, livestock management systems can contribute to better efficiency on the farm.

Enhance Your Information Flow for Better Business Decisions

In a perfect world, you’d have instant access to information on every animal in your herd, be able to easily perform genetic evaluations and comparisons across breeds, and manage the breeding potential of your livestock for the best economic benefit. And while all of this data might be available in dusty file cabinets, an integrated livestock management system allows you to access this data at your fingertips and share it easily.

By enhancing your information flow from seed stock to cow calf to the packing sector, you can effectively make better business decisions without taking time away from the field. With an online database capable of instant animal identification, health management, genetic evaluations, record keeping, and tracking and traceability, you can manage the health and efficiency of your herds better than ever before.

Informed Tracking and Cost-Efficiency

At the end of the day, your livestock are your livelihood, and being informed about each animal’s unique performance is an important part of standing out from the crowd. Making guesses about your herd’s pedigree and genetic viability used to just be part of the livestock trade, but this is no longer the case with the use of integrated herd management systems.

Having a reliable way of tracking previous owners, birth information, medical history, pedigree and future market viability is a huge benefit to your business that requires little additional work on your part. bioTrack’s updated responsive design allows you to take photos of each animal in your herd and upload them directly to your database to build a comprehensive profile on your entire herd, while its software gives you the ability to work on or offline, automatically updating your records the moment you return within range.

From there, it’s a simple matter to evaluate the future breeding value of your animals and know where they can best be used to help your business succeed. Weekly updated genetic evaluations give you invaluable insight into each animal’s ongoing performance, while secure, web-based records ensure that your information is safe at all times. Imagine how much easier selling your animals or animal products becomes when you can provide complete backgrounds on each of your animals, while your competitors may still be relying on guesswork.

Efficient Data Management for Better Product Quality

No computer system can replace what farmers do. Management systems aren’t about taking jobs from dedicated professionals, but rather, providing methods for you to track the data and logistics that bog down your day-to-day routine. By letting the technology handle the busywork for you, your time is freed up for other tasks while your management capabilities are broadened. The result? Increased productivity with little increase in operating costs.

Conclusion

Technology influences all aspects of the business world, and farming is no exception. Livestock management systems can keep you informed and allow you to grow your business by offering complete views on:

• Animal identification
• Genetic merit
• Past immunizations and medical history
• Future economic prospects

All the while, an effective management system frees up your time to focus on the aspects of your job that need a personal touch. By taking the administrative burden off your shoulders, you’ll be able enhance your farming operation, and increase the overall value of your products.

How have you increased efficiency on the farm with better management practices? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments!