Livestock Software

Increase efficiency of tracking and husbandry operations with livestock management software
By R.N. Dolgener, Special Education Teacher 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.

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.
Try:  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.
Try:  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.
Try:  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.