Agriculture Software

Technology that can bring your farm, dairy or ranch up-to-date
By Lea Terry, Freelance Journalist / Copywriter The agriculture industry is evolving, and so are its tools--like agriculture management software. Software for agriculture can automate and streamline day-to-day tasks like tracking feed usage, evaluating production, and monitoring costs.
 

Agriculture software takes tasks common to any business, like accounting, resource management, and inventory, and tailors them to the specific needs of farmers and ranchers. Just like management software for any other business, the goal of farm management software and ranch management software is helping your business stay competitive in a demanding market. Using agricultural software can help you:

1. Increase productivity and profits.

2. Save time on your agriculture program.

3. Make more informed business decisions.

Try out the agricultural software before you buy

Even within the agriculture industry, individual farms, ranches and dairies differ widely in their needs, resources and goals. And with so many kinds of farming software on the market, it may be difficult to match those needs with software products. That's where demos come in -- many manufacturers of software for agriculture offer free demos of their programs, using information from a sample farm or dairy, to allow potential customers to evaluate the program before they buy. Try to limit your choices to two or three, though, because evaluating trial versions can be time-consuming.
Try: Farm Trends is farm history software that tracks crops, employees and equipment, and the company offers a trial version for download.

Streamline your financial processes with agriculture accounting software

Maybe you already use ag management software to help you track production and resources, so why not take it a step further and incorporate agriculture accounting software? With this software, you can help automate payroll and invoicing, for example.
Try: Farm Biz is one of the less expensive programs, and is designed for people with no accounting background.

Make sure your agriculture software is flexible

Farm, dairy and ranch management is complex, and your needs may change from week to week, month to month or year to year. Find software that you can adapt to your changing requirements, making it a good long-term investment and preventing the need to purchase new software in just a few years.
Try: DairyCOMP 305 by Valley Agricultural Software features fully customizable reports that are relevant to a wide range of dairy management styles.

• Before you purchase any ag manager software, make sure it's compatible with your computer system. Most software is designed for newer operating systems, and if your system is a decade old or more, you may need to invest in upgrading your hardware before you can implement any kind of new software for agriculture.
• When choosing agriculture business software, find out what kind of support the manufacturer offers. Implementing a new farming software system can be tricky, so many manufacturers make it easier for customers by providing phone or email support, and print and online manuals.