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Anyone who's ever run a farm knows that it takes more than a green thumb to be successful. A good farm management software (FMS) will help you track financials and budgets, integrate with other programs, and generate useful reports that can help your business grow. The following are some of the top features to look for in a good farm management software: Reliable and secure A farm management software should be reliable, stable and secure. It should run smoothly on the computer you're using, whether it's a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. You shouldn’t have to worry about the system crashing or otherwise being disconnected while you’re using it. Data security is also important to consider when choosing a farming software solution. Ensuring that your data is protected from hackers and other cyber threats is crucial for any business owner who wants to keep their information safe at all times. Easy to use The system you choose should be easy to use. It needs to be intuitive so that anyone on your farm can pick it up and begin working with it immediately. If you're going to spend time and money implementing a new system, make sure that the learning curve is as short as possible — you don't want your employees wasting their time trying out something that doesn't work for them! The last thing you want when working with technology is having too many complicated steps involved in getting things done — so make sure that whatever software program you choose has an intuitive user interface (UI) so anyone can use it without needing much training beforehand! Additionally, consider whether or not this software will be able to accommodate future growth within the company; if there are multiple people who will need access at different times throughout the day (or even just one person who works from home), then having an easy-to-learn interface will help everyone achieve their goals efficiently and effectively. Customizable and scalable A farm management system should be customizable to your needs, budget, and goals. Whether you’re a livestock or crop farmer, you’ll want to make sure that you can customize the software to fit your specific needs, whether this means keeping track of birthing records or planting dates. The system should also be able to handle growth in the number of users, as well as growth in the amount of data. If your business grows and you add more employees or contract workers, it's important that they can all use the same platform with ease. The same goes for increasing amounts of data; if you've been collecting information for years, but haven't had a way to organize it until now — or if your operation has grown so much over time that its current software isn't cutting it anymore — you need something scalable enough to keep up with all this new information without breaking under pressure (or costing too much money). Cost effective The next feature to look for in a farm management system is cost effectiveness. This means that you get the most out of your money, which is important since farming can be expensive. You want to make sure that the software has features that will help you save money and reduce labor costs. The ability to track your farm's financials If you're looking for a farm management software, the ability to track your farm's financials should be at the top of your list. This feature will allow you to keep track of income, expenses and inventory levels so that you can make informed decisions about how best to invest in your operations. In addition to tracking income and expenses, it's also important for farmers who want their farms to run smoothly that they have access to tools that help them track receivables and payables as well as loans and debt at any given point in time. The ability to create and manage budgets Budgeting is a key part of running a farm. It helps you plan for the future, ensures that you have enough money to pay your bills, and makes sure that you can invest in new equipment or supplies for your business. You should look for a farm management software that allows you to create budgets by month or year. It should also allow users to enter their own figures into these budgets, so they can update them as needed. The ability to integrate with other software (like SAP) SAP is a popular software program used by many businesses. It helps you manage your inventory, finance, sales and purchases. If you have an existing SAP system, then your farm management software should be able to link with it so that all of your data can be pulled into one place. This will make it easier for you to see how different parts of your business are doing so that any problems can be addressed quickly and efficiently. The ability to generate reports that show you how well you're doing (and where you need improvement) Your FMS should have the ability to produce reports that show you how well or poorly your farm is doing. This can be done by generating a report on the number of animals, feed costs and expenses, labor hours spent on specific tasks, etc. It’s important to be able to see how well your business is performing so that if there are areas where improvements need to be made in order for profitability or sustainability, then you can make those changes! The ability to collect cash flow statements from your customers and vendors It is important to collect cash flow statements from your customers and vendors. Cash flow statements are a way of tracking the amount of money that comes into and goes out of your business on a regular basis. This information can be used to help determine whether or not you have enough working capital at any given time, as well as how much money is available for hiring new employees or purchasing new equipment if needed. You should be able to import these statements into your farm management software using an Excel file upload feature that many platforms offer, but there may also be some manual work involved depending on how often these documents are updated by vendors or clients. The ability to create custom reports, forms and data exports based on your farm's needs The ability to create custom reports, forms and data exports based on your farm's needs is an essential feature of any good farm management software. It's important to be able to customize the software so that it reflects your goals and objectives as a farmer. For example: If you need access to specific information at certain points in time (e.g., quarterly or monthly), then this should be an option within the software itself. You may also want the ability to export certain data in formats such as Excel spreadsheets or CSV files so that it can be used elsewhere. Final Thoughts on Top Features to Look For in a Farm Management System There are many features to look for in a farm management software. These include data security and backup, the ability to track your crops and livestock, and a user-friendly interface that allows you to easily input data and run reports on your computer or mobile device. Farmbrite’s farm management software offers all of these features and more. Check out their full list of services here. When it comes to choosing the right farm management software, the most important thing to consider is what your farm business needs from an FMS.

Drones seem to be everywhere today. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are basically remotely controlled (by a human operator) or fully autonomous flying platforms that can be adapted for various applications. Drones are typically self-stabilizing and rotor-driven, with multiple rotors (4-8), and can navigate via pre-programmed routes or by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to track objects or follow dynamic flight paths. Originally developed for military applications, drones are now everywhere and they are finding more and more commercial, industrial and agricultural applications. According to a 2019 report, the agricultural drone market alone is expected to grow to over $4.8 billion USD by 2024. This growth is primarily driven by pressures on global food supply due to the growing world population and new venture capitalist (VC) funding and investments in autonomous farming technologies, including agriculture drones. While many farmers may not be at a size, scale or level of complexity to be ready to consider adding flying robotic helpers, it's worth understanding how this technology is being applied today and how you might think about its potential on your farm. Read more about some of the many uses for drones in agriculture. Applications of agriculture drones With the increased movement of operations to more precision farming practices, especially for large-scale operations, drones are seeing a steady increase in adoption for agricultural uses. In many areas, drone use has become an essential part of large-scale precision farming operations already. Data from drones used in precision farming operations is helping farmers to monitor crop health, optimize treatments and irrigation, and improve yields - all of which help farmers to improve their bottom line. Keep reading to learn about some of the innovative ways that drones are being used in agriculture. Maybe it'll spark an idea that you can try on your farm. Scouting Crop Health Monitoring Farmers perform routine and regular scouting of crops to detect issues or threats such as pests, disease, poor growth rates, nutrient or water deficiencies and more. Typically this crop monitoring is performed by walking or driving through a planted field and performing visual inspections and taking soil samples from various locations. With the help of agricultural drone technologies farmers can now perform more comprehensive and efficient monitoring of plant health with less effort. Drones can be equipped with special agriculture specific imaging technology to create and analyze a vegetation indices map. This Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) technology enables farmers to quickly scan a large area of planted crops. The system will generate and analyze a Near Infra Red image map to help farmers identify healthy and unhealthy plants, allowing farmers to quickly identify and respond to specific problem areas before issues affect the whole crop. Many farmers are familiar with using satellite imagery to monitor crop performance and identify potential issues, the use of drones with normal optical cameras allows farmers to get a closer, more real-time picture of what is happening with their crops. The option to get higher resolution images and data even when there is cloud cover provides farmers with the ability to respond more quickly should issues be identified. Monitoring Field and Pasture Conditions with Drones Another area where agriculture drones have started to make an impact on crop and livestock yields is through monitoring of field and pasture conditions. Whether you're growing crops or grazing livestock the conditions of your field or paddock are critical to the health of your plants and animals and to your resulting yields. By leveraging drones, farmers and ranchers are able to keep an eye on overall soil health and conditions without needing to do regular 'boots on the ground' scouting and soil sampling. Agricultural drones can help to identify drainage patterns, look for overly wet or dry spots, help identify grazing rotation timing, and can also monitor nitrogen levels to support the precision application of fertilizers. Agriculture Drone for Spray Applications In South Korea, drones are performing as much as 30% of agriculture spraying applications. While this use of agricultural drones has not been as widely adopted outside of south-east Asia, drone sprayers offer an innovative solution for farmers to access hard to reach places, perform more surgical spraying applications of pesticides, reduce costs and reduce the health risk to workers who are currently using backpack sprayers. While this technology is promising many countries do not currently allow widespread use of drone based sprayers for agriculture usage. There are many safety and regulatory issues that might need to be addressed before we see widespread applications of agriculture drones for pesticide application. Farm and Ranch Security Farms and ranches often cover large areas and are located in hard to reach places. This can make the monitoring of the physical security of the property a real challenge. Many commercial and manufacturing organizations with large acreages have been turning to drones to help monitor and secure their property. Drones provide a nimble and cost effective solution to allow farmers and ranchers to keep an eye on corners of their property including fences, warehouses, silos, livestock paddocks, and more without having to perform tedious manual patrols. Using drones a farmer can quickly check on hard to reach corners of their property or send a drone to take a look at a potential issue before sending people to respond to a potentially hazardous situation. Drones for Livestock Management Livestock grazing and ranching operations typically cover large and remote areas and can present challenges to manage. By using drones, ranchers can more effectively monitor and manage their animals taking less time and using fewer resources. Some of the recent applications of drones for livestock management include herd tracking and monitoring, health checks, livestock fence checks and even the herding of animals using drone technology. By using drones cattle and sheep farmers are able to check on distance herds, evaluate water sources and paddock health, and determine the ideal time for grazing movements. Ranchers are also experimenting with using drones as remote shepherds to push cattle herds or sheep flocks to other grazing locations or to help guide a lost animal back to the herd. Additionally, livestock drone applications can help ranchers monitor herd health by performing remote cattle or sheep counting, assessing overall livestock herd health, performing visual animal inspections and even checking animal weights. Crop Pollinating with Drones Bees are hard to beat as pollinators, but with risks posed by the steady decline of these vital pollinators, farmers are looking for alternative solutions to pollinate their crops. A number of startups have sprung up and are testing drone base crop pollination. While drones are able to collect large amounts of pollen and move quickly through fields of crops delivering the pollen we are a long way off from finding a technology based replacement for the honey bee. Planting & Seeding with Drones One last innovative uses of drones for agriculture that we found in our research was using drones for seeding and planting. A key area that is leveraging this technology is to combat deforestation and increase biodiversity, especially in areas that have been devastated by wild fires. A few startups, including AirSeed out of Australia and DroneSeed in Washington state have been pioneering drone technology to strategically plant tree seeds by drone. The drones use proprietary seed pods and artificial intelligence (AI) to plant up to 40,000 trees per day. Flying ATV Imaging cruising over your row crops or paddocks at 400ft to inspect your crops or wrangle a stray calf that's wandered off. Startup Ryse Aerotech has created the solution for you. While more of a personal aircraft than a drone, their new Recon ultralight is capable of carrying a single passenger up to a 400ft elevation and traveling at speeds of 50 knots. Now you can leave your ATV in the garage and flying over to the other side of the ranch. Unfortunately, the current technology only offers a 25 minute flight time, so you might need a ride back, but either was this technology provides a glimpse into some of the emerging drone technology. Learn more at Ryse Areotech. Summary Drones have already started to impact and change the farming industry and are likely to continue to do so for years to come. While drones may not be the right tool for all farmers, they do offer innovative ideas for ways that technology can help farmers and ranchers be more productive, increase crop yields, reduce crop and livestock losses, reduce pesticide applications and improve margins. If you're interested in learning more about incorporating drones into your operation we would suggest starting small and slowly to understand the potential benefits before making larger investments. If using technology on your farm interests you, take a look at Farmbrite for your farm management. You can store images and files within your account and lots of other types of data. Give us a try for free.

The goat gestation is a short 5 months but setting up your Doe's for a successful pregnancy, birth and lactation is important. The first part of that is knowing when your goat may be delivering. We hear from many farmers that finding those dates can be tricky. You can use a software like Farmbrite to help you calculate those numbers but since we know how important this information is here is a helpful free calculator to take out the guesswork of finding the gestation dates of your herd. We've also put together some basics on goat gestation and a helpful goat gestation calculator to help you estimate when your doe might be expecting. How long does a goat's pregnancy last? The gestation period (length of pregnancy) for goats on average is 150 days for standard breeds and about 145 days for miniature breeds, however the time for your dow to kid does vary based on the breed, environment, litter weight and size, parity and other factors. While the average gestation period is 150 days, kidding can typically happen between 145 and 150 days, with miniature breeds delivering earlier. Litter size has a significant impact to gestation period. Larger litters typically mean shorter gestation period. The litter size was significantly greater in animals who were repeat mothers compared to those in their first pregnancy. Studies show that first pregnancy does typically give one or two kids. Later, goats can deliver three or four (and up to 5 or 6 on rare occasions). We recommend always consulting with your local vet throughout your goat's pregnancy to ensure the best health of both the mother and kids. Goat Gestation Calculator The goat gestation calculator will help you estimate the kidding date (due date) for your for goat. How to use the goat gestation calculator? To use the goat gestation calculator you’ll need to: Select the breed type (Standard or Miniature) Select the breeding date of your doe The goat gestation calculator will provide you with the estimated kidding date. To accurately calculate the expected due date for your goats it's important to keep detailed and accurate records about when your does may have been exposed to a buck, artificially insemination or had a confirmed pregnancy through an ultrasound. Learn more about keeping livestock records. How is the goat kidding date or due date calculated ? As we mentioned above, the average gestation for most breeds is 150 days, although it may last anywhere from 145 to 150 days. The goat gestation calculator uses the following formula: Kidding date = Day when doe was exposed to a buck or AI + (150 days or 145 days, depending on breed selection) There are many things to consider during goat gestation and when you get to kidding season. Paying close attention to your goats needs during this time is important. They may have additional nutritional requirements, energy changes and changes in body condition scoring. Feeding forage lower in protein and higher in calcium at key points in a doe's gestation and lactation will set up the doe, the kid and you for a successful pregnancy and lactation. Check out our post on body condition scoring (BCS) so you can optimize the health of your herd. Written by our staff at Farmbrite. Goat lovers unite.

We've put together some basics on sheep gestation and a helpful sheep gestation calculator to help you estimate when your ewe might be expecting. How long are sheep pregnant? The gestation period (length of pregnancy) for sheep on average is about 5 months or 147 days, however the time for your ewe to give birth does vary based on the breed, environment, litter weight and size, and other factors. While the average gestation period is 147 days, sheep gestation can typically happen between 142 and 152 day. Litter size has a significant impact on gestation period. Larger litters typically mean shorter gestation periods. Litter size may be greater in animals who are repeat mothers compared to those in their first pregnancy. Ewes typically give birth to 1 to 3 lambs, but older ewes with in good health can give birth to up to 5 or 6 lambs. Ewes often give birth to their largest litter of lambs between 3 and 6 years old. While the gestation period for sheep is well established, it's always be to consult with your local vet throughout your sheep's pregnancy to ensure the best health of both the mother and lambs. Sheep Gestation Calculator The sheep gestation calculator is a simple tool to help you estimate the lambing date (due date) for your for ewe. Enter your mating dates and the calculator will estimate how long your sheep will be pregant. How to use the sheep gestation calculator? To use the sheep gestation calculator simply enter the Mating date for your ewe and the sheep gestation calculator will provide you with an estimated lambing date. To accurately calculate the expected due date for your sheep it's important to keep detailed and accurate records about when your ewes may have been exposed to a ram, artificially insemination or had a confirmed pregnancy through an ultrasound. Learn more about keeping livestock records. How is the sheep lambing date or due date calculated ? As we mentioned above, the average gestation for most breeds is 147 days, although it may last anywhere from 142 to 152 days. The sheep gestation calculator uses the following formula: Lambing date = Day when ewe was exposed to a ram or AI + 147 days Keeping reading to learn more about successful sheep and lambing. Written by our knowledgable staff writers and sheep owners at Farmbrite.

How many head of cattle can you keep on your pasture? It is a question that we often need to solve if you have a limited amount of land or want to use your land in the best way possible. As cattle producers we want to understand how to raise the maximum number of animals on the acreage we have. Additionally, if you are looking to purchase or expand your herd, it's important to understand the minimum amount of land you need to support the grazing and growth requirements of those animals. Finding the right balance between your herd size and available forage is a critical part of developing and managing good grazing practices, no matter if you are using rotational or continuous grazing practices. This article, and the included cows per acre calculator at the end of the post, will walk you through how to calculate the number cows that can be supported based on your pasture size -and health- and how much land is needed for each head of cattle based on the cattle type. Why Calculate Cows per Acre? In order to maintain the quality of your soil you can’t run too many cows per acre. If you do you can run in overgrazing issues that will impact the health of your soil and in-turn negatively effect the health and productivity of your herd. Overgrazing is a common mistake that new ranchers make. Overgrazing can reduce soil health, quality and lead to a reduction in the biodiversity of your pasture. A pasture in poor health is more likely to allow the expansion of invasive plants and grasses to take over, which will reduce the quality and amount of forage available. Overgrazing also causes soil degradation can can cause desertification of your land. Rotational grazing and multi-species grazing are two types of grazing you should coniser for your farm. In addition to supporting healthy pastures, rotational grazing and multi-species grazing practices can also produce healthier animals. Before we dive into the calculator, it's important to understand the key factors that go into determining how many grazing animals the land can support. The key factors come down to the weight of the animals grazing, measured as animal units (AU), and the health and productivity of the pasture. Let's start by understanding animal units. Cattle Animal units The Animal Unit (AU) is a standard measure of weight that can be used to estimate how many cattle per acre you can graze. One AU is equivalent to a 1,000 lbs (453.6 kg) of body weight. Another important metric to understand is Stocking Rate, which is expressed as Animal Unit Month (AUM). A cow typically eats about 75-80% of their body weight in forage per month. Understanding the forage rate for cows helps us to determine the Animal Unit Month (AUM). AUM is the monthly forage demand for 1 AU or roughly 915 lbs for a cow according to Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS. Estimating Pasture Forage To accurately estimate how many acres a cow needs it's important to understand the pasture conditions, precipitation, and more specifically, the estimate of the forage yield that the pasture will produce. The amount of forage that can be produced by a pasture can vary widely and can be severely effected by: Pasture condition Precipitation zone Types of forage grown Grazing system used (e.g., rotational grazing) Pasture condition scoring takes into consideration many factors when evaluating the overall health and productivity of a pasture and its pasture forage yield. The NRCS and Alberta Forage Manual provide extensive details about this. Using pasture scoring to determine the pasture condition class will help you to develop an estimate for the Animal Unit Months per acre. For example, an irrigated seeded pasture in excellent condition might provide 7+ AUM/acre while the same irrigated pasture in poor condition may only yield 2.5 AUM/acre. A poor quality field in a dry year might have as little at 0.25 AMU/acre. How much land does a cow need? You've probably heard that you need about 1 acre per cow or about 1.5 to 2 acres to feed a cow/calf pair for 12 months. But the story really that simple. A typical 1 AU, 1,000 lb, cow might require as much as 8 acres (3.2 ha) on poor quality pasture with low precipitation or as little as about 0.27 acres (0.11 ha) on an irrigated pasture in excellent condition. As you can see the health and quality of the pasture and forage yield makes a huge difference in how many head of cattle can be supported per acre. Now that you have a sense of how much land a cow needs to support their grazing needs, let's walk through an example to understand how to calculate the number of cows per acre that could be supported by a certain size pasture. Let's assume that you've estimated your pasture forage yield rate on a good quality pasture with decent precipitation and determined an average forage yield of 2.2 AUM/acres or 2000 lb/acres. Assuming that we are allowing the pasture to rest 1/2 the time by using a rotational grazing system, we can assume a 50% utilization rate. To determine the total monthly production of the field we multiply the AUM x the utilization rate. Or 2,000 lb/acre x 50% = 1,000 lb/acre or 915 lb/AUM. Next, we determine the total AUM for our pasture. Let's assume a 500 acre pasture. We do this by multiplying the monthly production of the field, 1,000 lb/acre) x the size of our pasture (500 acres) to get a total of 500,000 lb of forage or 546 AUM. Assuming we want to graze an average weight of 1,200 lb (1.2 AU) - cow with calves. We can determine the total number of animals by dividing the number AUM (546 AUM from step 4) by the average animal units (1.2 AU) and then dividing by the total acres - or (546 AUM/1.2 AU) / 500 acres = 0.91 head of cattle per acre. Ok, there's a lot of parts to that calculation. The good news is that you can just select a few options and plug in some information in the calculator below and let it handle the math for you. Cow per Acre Calculator Here's the basics instruction for using the cattle per acre calculator. Choose a cattle type you plan to graze. Tip: If you know the average animal unit (AU) of the herd, select the Custom option and enter your value. Enter the pasture area. Adjust the utilization rate, according to your grazing practices. If you know the forage yield, enter it, otherwise choose the annual precipitation and pasture condition option to determine the forage yield estimate. And, that's it! Once you've supplied that information you'll see the estimated pasture's forage production, total number of cattle, and how many cows per acre can be grazed on the field. Additional Cattle Resources Cattle Body Conditioning Scoring Cow Gestation Table and Cow Gestation Calculator Estimating your Hay Needs Beginners Guide to Keeping Livestock Records Other Cattle Resources Farmbrite is a complete livestock software system that supports integrated multi-species breeding, livestock record keeping, grazing, management, tracking, sales and reporting software to run a thriving livestock business. We provide everything you need to manage your livestock operation. Want to learn more about how Farmbrite can help your cattle operation? Learn more. Conclusion We hope that this article has taken some of the confusion out of calculating the number of acres you need to graze your cattle on. Best of luck and happy ranching!

Good farm record keeping helps your farm business plan, track what's working, and what's not, identify trends, make decisions to improve your business and to do realistic forecasting. This valuable information helps you make decisions on which practices and methods work and can better predict expected yields, costs and sales. For cattle ranchers, keeping good cattle records is critical to track animal health, vaccination records, production, breeding and calving. Having accurate records is also important for many food compliance regulations and make it easier to borrow money, get grants and complete tax returns. Read more about getting started with livestock record keeping. What cattle records should you keep? Keeping detailed cattle or cow/calf records for your herd and for individual animals is a critical part of any cattle rancher's job. Here's a list of some of the key livestock records that you might want to be tracking for your cattle business. Key cattle records include: Ranch tasks and activities performed Pasture management and health records Rainfall records Pasture planting records Soil test results Pasture amendment and treatment records Pasture fertilizer records Pasture harvest records for hay production Pest inspection records Pasture treatments records Grazing records Individual animal records Animal identification details Individual animal measurements Cow breeding history Cow calving and production history Animal pedigree and genealogy Herd breeding and A.I. Records Pregnancy check and pregnancy status tracking Tracking herd feeding details Herd feed supplements Feed costs and receipts Herd measurement records Herd vaccination/treatment record Tracking year-over-year livestock inventory Detailed Financial records Sales, receipts and income records, including cattle sales and other income. Production costs and other expenses How to keep your cattle records Keeping quality cattle or cow/calf records can be as simple as managing a paper file for each animal in your herd, using a custom computer spreadsheet, using a printable cattle herd record book or pre-built cattle log book or leveraging a farm management software application. There are pros and cons to each of these methods. The critical thing is that you keep detailed records for your herd. We recommend choosing the cattle record keeping method that you’re most likely to maintain for the long term. By using the key cattle record keeping categories that we've stated above it will help you give you key information and help you manage your cattle operation more efficiently. While some farmers prefer portable cattle notebooks they can take with them in the field, many would rather use an online mobile or web application to keep their records. Unlike paper records and spreadsheets, farm management software streamlines the data capture for your cattle records, provides automated reporting to simplify compliance and decision making and keeps your records safe and secure so you don't need to worry about loosing your paper log book. Free Printable Cattle Keeping Log Book & Forms While we certainly believe that using a computer based cattle record keeping system provides the best benefit and value to your cattle operation (we're a little biased) we understand that some producers may prefer to use a paper cattle log book. To help make your life easier we've created this free printable cattle record keeping book. It's packed with over 70 pages of free printable livestock record keeping forms covering all the critical areas we listed above, plus free conversion tables and more. Check out this free printable cattle herd record book to help you to keep track of all your critical cattle animal and herd records. Free Printable Cattle Records Book Simply download the free printable cattle log book PDF and print it. It's designed to be printed landscape (8.5 x 11" paper), double-sided and conveniently folded into a convenient book. Once printed, simply bind it or staple it and fold it into a handy 'pocket sized' book you can take on the go. If you need additional printable livestock forms to insert for your individual animal records (ID, measurements, breeding and pedigree) you can download the 4 page printable livestock records form insert here. If you want to streamline your cattle record keeping, or try an online cattle management software, check out our cattle record keeping software. We offer a free, no hassle 14 day trial or our complete farm and livestock record keeping & management software designed to help you run a more efficient, productive, and profitable cattle business. With Farmbrite you'll find all the features you need to be better organized, keep better records, manage your resources, track production, identify trends, gain valuable insights, and increase efficiency and profits. Farmbrite provides an all-in-one farm software platform designed to help modern farmers and ranchers know more, grow more, and sell more, all from one easy to use place. Plan, track, sell, and improve with our integrated farm & livestock record keeping, planning, management, tracking, sales, and reporting software to run a thriving agriculture business. To learn more about how Farmbrite can help your cattle operation keep better livestock records head over to www.farmbrite.com and start a free 2 week trial. This article and cattle record keeping book was written and created by our knowledgeable staff of farmers and ranchers at Farmbrite. Thanks for reading and happy farming.

Introduction to Key Metrics When you’re managing a ranch, it's important to track key metrics that tell the story of your cattle herd or your cow calf operation. These metrics can differ depending on the size and type of your operation, but here are some key metrics every rancher should know: Cattle Gains Cattle gains is a measurement of the amount of weight gain (or loss) in cattle over time. The calculation can be done two ways: Using an average of every animal on your ranch, or Using an average of all animals that were born within a certain year (this will only include cows that have calved once). Once you’ve figured out how many pounds each animal has gained or lost throughout its lifetime, multiply this number by its current market value to get its total value. This gives you an idea of whether selling your cow now would prove profitable for the ranch. If not, it may be better to keep it and wait for increased growth potential down the road. As with many metrics in agriculture, cattle gains are determined by several factors: age at birth (younger animals grow faster), genetics (some breeds grow faster than others), feeding regimen, and environment conditions during growth period. Cattle Production Costs Production costs are the expenses associated with raising beef cattle. These costs include feed, labor, land, equipment and other cattle production costs. The cost of each category varies depending on the size of your operation—small-scale ranchers have only a few animals in their care compared to large operations that may have hundreds. Some expenses are fixed, meaning they don't change with production levels; others are variable—they increase as output increases. For example: Fixed Expenses: Feed is generally the largest single expense that you'll incur as a rancher (it accounts for 50% or more of your total annual costs). As such, this is one area where it's important to keep an eye on how much you're spending so you can be sure there's enough cash flow coming in to cover these bills each month. Labor is another big ticket item because it includes salaries paid out not just to you but also to any hired help who work at your farm. Land values vary widely depending on location and soil quality, but tend toward increasing over time due in part to urban sprawl around metropolitan areas. Equipment costs vary according to what type(s) of machinery/tools are needed; however there are several things to consider from both an upfront perspective as well as continuing maintenance after purchase. Feed Conversion Rate Feed conversion rate calculation is the number of pounds of gain per pound of feed. The average conversion rate is between 1.25 and 1.50 pounds of gain per pound of feed. This measure is an important indicator for ranchers because it indicates how efficiently a cow-calf operation is using its resources to produce calves that will grow into market animals or replacements for the herd. Breeding, Calving and Weaning Summary The Breeding, Calving & Weaning Summary is a table that shows the total number of cows bred (including those bred multiple times), the total number of calves born, and the total number of calves weaned from your operation. Here is an explanation of each of these metrics: Cows Bred: The total number of cows bred by your operation during a given time period (monthly or annual). This includes heifers who have not been bred yet but are available for breeding. You may also see this written as “Cows Mated” or “Cows Pregnant” which means only those females that are currently pregnant with live calf embryos should be included here—not heifers that have not been bred yet but could potentially become pregnant at any point during their first breeding season (usually 18-24 months old). Cows Bred Multiple Times: This metric represents how many females were bred more than once within a specific time period (monthly or annual), regardless if they produced multiple pregnancies or not. For example, if two different bulls were used on one cow during this same time frame then only one pregnancy would count toward your overall average value; however both bulls would be counted toward this total regardless if they were used on other different females within this same timeframe as well. Calves Born: The total number of calves born from all cows combined during a given time period (monthly or annual). For example: A cow has twins; one being a bull calf and one being female calf who dies shortly after birth due to complications. Both would still count towards overall average value since they were both born alive. Livestock Feed and Herd Summary A Feed and Herd Summary is a document that includes metrics like the total cost of feed and feed conversion ratio, among others. It helps ranchers determine how much money is going toward feed and how much it costs to feed each animal on their ranch. Here is a breakdown of each of these metrics: Total feed cost: This is the total amount of money spent on feed and supplements, both purchased and homegrown, over the course of one year. Feed cost per head: This metric gives you an idea of your herd's average daily intake by dividing the total annual feed bill by the number of cattle in your herd. For example: If you have 100 cows and spend $10,000 on feed annually, then each cow costs $100/year in feeding expenses ($10k/year / 100 cows = $100/cow/year). Feed conversion ratio (FCR): The FCR helps ranchers figure out how much protein and energy their animals are getting from each pound of forage consumed—and thus enables them to better manage their grazing programs based on having a desired FCR goal. An FCR closer to 1 means that more nutrition is being extracted from what they eat; while an FCR closer to 0 indicates that they're not getting much worth out of what they consume (which may cause lower production levels). Calculate feed conversion rate. Herd inventory per acre/head-acre: This metric measures how many acres are needed per cow unit or head unit within a given area—a useful benchmark when planning future expansion plans or assessing pasture quality before making any changes that could impact its health. Medical Treatment Summary The cost of treating sick animals is a key metric to track. Calculate the cost of treating sick animals by adding up all of your medical bills for a year. To calculate this figure, include any money you spent on vaccines, medications, antibiotics and other treatments for your herd. You might even want to include the cost of hiring a veterinarian or buying vaccines from outside vendors if these expenses are significant enough that they should be included in the overall calculation. Use this information to improve your herd's health. By knowing how much it costs you each year to treat sick cattle, you can better plan ahead when it comes time to buy new supplies or make changes in how they're cared for (such as switching veterinarians). Takeaway As a rancher, there are plenty of livestock data to keep track of. But don't let the sheer amount of numbers and data points overwhelm you. Data can provide useful insights into your operation, whether it's helping you make better decisions or improving your overall management practices. Now that we've covered some key metrics to consider as a rancher, here are some tips to help guide any future analyses: Identify what questions need answering before conducting an analysis and how those answers will be used by the business—this will help clarify what data needs to be collected in order for it to be useful. Choose the right metric(s) for measuring success—choosing too many metrics at once can lead to confusion and frustration when trying to interpret results. Use a consistent method for collecting data over time (e.g., weekly reports) so that trends can be identified. With the right cattle software and data collection methods, it’s easy to keep tabs on all of the information you need in one place. Conclusion If you’re looking for a way to track your ranch’s performance, these key metrics are a great place to start. Whether you start keeping herd records in a cattle record book or leverage an online cattle record keeping app, keeping accurate data is a key part of growing your cattle business. Sources: https://www.ranchkpi.com/key-performance-indicators/key-performance-indicator-targets-for-cow-calf-operations/ https://dashboardfox.com/blog/top-9-metrics-for-the-agriculture-industry-you-should-be-monitoring-and-why/ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=rangebeefcowsymp

Whether you’re growing acres of crops or a small kitchen garden, fertilizer is an important part of making sure your plants are healthy and productive. Making your own fertilizer is a great way to save money, reduce waste, and customize the amount of nutrients your plants need to thrive. Read on to learn how you can use organic matter like compost and livestock bedding to make your own fertilizer on-farm. Why is fertilizer important? Fertilizer is a mixture of different types of nutrients that you feed your plants. It's important to understand what these nutrients are and how they work together, so you can choose the right fertilizer for your crops. Fertilizer is also known as plant food, and it's an essential part of growing healthy crops. Without fertilizer, plants don’t have enough energy to grow and be as productive as possible. Your plants won't be as healthy. You can purchase pre-mixed fertilizer from your local farm supply store, but this comes with predetermined nutrient amounts. The benefit of making your own fertilizer is that you can customize how much of each nutrient is included, making it ideal for your crops and soil. What nutrients are in fertilizer? The five main ingredients in fertilizers are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium and magnesium. These elements make up more than 90% of plant material by weight. Nitrogen is a gas that plants use to grow. Phosphorous helps plants grow new roots and leaves. Potassium helps plants grow strong stems and roots. Fertilizer recipes vary depending on the type of plant you are growing; some fertilizers are made specifically for tomatoes or fruit trees, for example. Fertilizer recipes also vary based on whether you are using organic or non-organic ingredients. How to determine the ratio of nutrients The ratio of nutrients in fertilizer varies depending on what kind of plant you're feeding and its needs. The ratio can also be determined by a soil test, which will tell you what nutrients your crops need. If you have sandy soil or live in an area with alkaline water (which is common), then the pH may be out of balance and will require additional adjustments before adding any fertilizer. The best way to determine what your crops need is by testing the soil. There are many different kinds of soil tests, but most will provide you with a list of nutrients that are either in excess or deficient in your soil. From there, you can adjust your fertilizer ratio based on those results. Can compost be used as fertilizer? Compost is a great source of nutrients for your plants. Compost is made up of organic matter, such as leaves and livestock bedding, that has been broken down by beneficial microbes into nutrients that can be absorbed by plants. These microbes also help break down organic matter in the soil, which helps retain moisture and nutrients. Adding compost to your crop acreage will give you healthy soil with more microorganisms than just plain dirt would have. Compost can be used as a mulch, a soil amendment and even a fertilizer. It is easy to make your own compost or purchase it from local garden centers. Composting is also an effective way to reduce waste and save money! If you're looking for something simple and easy, try mixing up some compost or worm castings with water into a liquid solution before applying it directly onto the soil around your plants. Ingredients to make your own fertilizer If you don’t have a compost pile, there are other ways to make your own fertilizer. Below are the most common ingredients in fertilizer. You can purchase these from your local farm supply store, or order them online. In some cases, you can even find them on your farm. By purchasing them separately, you can choose how much of each nutrient goes into your fertilizer. This will help you to customize your fertilizer to your soil type and crops. 1. Urea Urea is a nitrogen-rich compound that's produced by bacteria, and can be used as a fertilizer. It's also the main ingredient in many fertilizers. Urea comes from urine that has been filtered through the kidneys and excreted from the body. easy way to add urea to your fertilizer is by adding used livestock bedding to your compost pile. You can also purchase urea from your local farm supply store. 2. Ammonia sulfate Ammonia sulfate is a mixture of ammonia and sulfuric acid. It's used to make ammonium sulfate fertilizers, which are used on crops such as corn, wheat and potatoes. Ammonia sulfate is produced by reacting ammonia with sulfuric acid. This reaction produces water as well as ammonium sulfate crystals that can be filtered out from the solution and dried in an oven. Ammonia sulfate is also known as "salt cake" or "salt petre". It's a liquid fertilizer that has been used since ancient times for its ability to increase crop yields greatly when applied correctly - especially when mixed with other ingredients like animal manure or composted plant matter. 3. Solid Super phosphate Solid super phosphate is a fertilizer made from ground rock phosphate. It's good for crops that need more phosphorus, such as corn, wheat and alfalfa. To make solid super phosphate: Add 80 pounds of ground rock phosphate to a 5-gallon bucket (about 2.5 gallons) of water. Mix well until all of the powder has dissolved in the water. Pour this solution into another bucket and add another gallon of water to make sure there are no lumps left behind in your mixture. 4. Potassium chloride Potassium chloride is a mineral salt that can be used to make fertilizer. This form of potassium is often used in the manufacture of potassium nitrate, potassium permanganate, and potassium chlorate. 5. Granular lime (optional) Granular lime is a good option if you want to add a small amount of calcium and magnesium to your soil. It can be used in addition to bone meal or rock phosphate, or on its own if you don't have those materials available. The amount of granular lime you need will depend on what kind of soil you have, how much nitrogen your plants are getting from other sources (like manure), and whether they need extra calcium or not. How to make your own fertilizer Now that you know the ingredients needed to make your own fertilizer, the next step is to mix together the correct amounts of each nutrient. The best way to know how much of each nutrient is ideal for your crops is to have your soil tested. This will let you know which nutrients your soil has in excess and is deficient in, so you can tailor your fertilizer to suit your specific situation. When you’re ready to mix together your ingredients, you’ll want to add water to the mixture and apply them to your fields using a tractor or other type of machinery. Here is a calculator to find the ratios you need. Conclusion When you're growing crops or gardening, the work doesn't stop at planting. You also need to keep your plants healthy by making sure they get all the nutrients they need. Making your own fertilizer on-farm is an easy way to save money, reduce waste, and customize nutrients to your plants’ needs. It is a great way to recycle used livestock bedding and manure, as well. Farmbrite is an all-in-one farm software that can help you keep track of your soil samples, soil ratios and many other helpful items on your farm. Try us free for 14 days.

When it comes to running your own livestock business, staying on top of animal record keeping is a constant challenge. You may have entered the farming profession to spend less time in front of a screen, but failing to keep detailed livestock records will not only put you at a disadvantage compared to your competitors, but means you maybe spending time and money on areas of your business that are not effecitive. Beginning farmers often believe they can rely on memory alone, but without careful records, you’ll miss crucial details and compromise your profit potential. After all, it’s practically impossible to manage what you do not measure. The solution? Maintain careful records about your livestock. The process might feel overwhelming for a beginner, but by following these tips, you’ll better understand what’s working and what needs to change with your livestock operation. Note: We’re focusing on cattle record keeping here, but these tips can also apply to other forms of livestock like sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and more. Benefits of Keeping Livestock Records First, let's highlight why livestock record keeping is important in the first place. Staying organized offers many advantages: Allows you to track all farm expenses for better livestock pricing Helps you develop better cattle breeding plans for long term herd health Makes cost inefficiencies clear so you can economize your operation Helps you track, control, and prevent the spread of disease Lets you notice changes in animal welfare early so its easier to address them Makes it possible to compare results year to year to see what’s working What to Track with Livestock Records Keeping cattle livestock records involves more than taking notes on each animal’s daily habits. Not only is this time-consuming, but the resulting documentation would be broad and challenging to put to use. Rather, farmers monitor their herds in key categories, so the information they collect is as relevant to the operation as possible. Livestock Genealogy Who is having babies with whom, and what traits do the offspring have? Which genetic lines should be continued? Animal Treatments What vaccinations or supplements have been given to the herd, and at what doses? Do they show positive results? It’s best to maintain detailed health records with dates of procedures like dehorning, castration, deworming, branding, insemination, and other livestock treatments. Breeding Records & History Track which cows are hitting reproductive age, whether and when they have been bred, and when their due date is. Births and Weening Monitor the success rates of your herd’s offspring. Which cows are having healthy babies? How long will they need to stay with their parents? You can number each calf with a brand or ear tag for easier tracking. Most farmers use a two or three-digit number system based on the year the animal was born and its birth order within the herd. Livestock Growth & Measurements Are your animals growing as they should? Are there signs of stunting or nutritional deficiencies? You can start by recording every calf’s birth date, birth weight, weaning weight, and yearling weight to compare from one season to another. Farm & Animal Yields How much food are you producing on your property? Are you seeing an increase from one season to another? Whether you’re maintaining grazing fields or crop land, it’s critical to keep records of everything from soil amendments to annual yield metrics. Feeding, Grazing and Eating Habits How well is your pasture space meeting each animal’s nutritional needs? Is it time to supplement their diet? Consider naming or numbering each quadrant of your fields for easier classification in your records. Costs and Profits Track all income and expenses for your animals. How much have you paid in food costs before a calf can be sold? Are you pricing them high enough to make a profit? Raising cattle? Check out our free printable cattle record keeping forms for more ideas. How Do Farmers Keep Livestock Records? There are as many ways to manage livestock record keeping as there are farmers doing so. Determining the right method for you may come down to trial and error, but these suggestions should help you find success faster. Paper or Digital Livestock Records? Keeping quality livestock records can be as simple as managing a paper page for each animal or as complex as a software program. We recommend choosing the livestock record keeping method that you’re most likely to stay on top of for the long term. While some ranchers prefer portable livestock record keeping log books they can take with them in the field, many would rather use a spreadsheet or an online farm management software to keep their records. Unlike paper records and spreadsheets, farm management software streamlines the data capture for your livestock records, generates automated reporting to help decision making and also keeps your records safe and secure. You want to choose the record keeping method that you’re most likely to maintain for the long term, so choose one that matches your skillset and work style. So, while some farmers prefer portable notebooks they can take with them in the field, while others would rather compile all their notes on the computer at the end of the workday. Like everything else there are pros and cons to each of these methods, but the critical thing is that you keep consistent and detailed records for your animals. Resources for Livestock Record keeping There’s no limit to the ways you monitor your livestock. Here are a few popular resources. NCBA Redbook: This pocket-sized record book includes more than 100 pages for recording everything from calving activity to pasture usage, cattle inventory, and overall herd health. The Shepherd Flock Record Book: For sheep farmers, signing up for a subscription to The Shepherd magazine qualifies you for a free copy of its popular Flock Record Book. CHAPS (Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software): This data-intensive record system for beef cattle organizes your information for valuable insight about the whole herd’s performance. Free Printable livestock record keeping book and forms: Check out this free printable livestock record keeping book. It has all the livestock forms and conversion tables you need to track your cattle (or other animals) in a free printable format. For more personalized guidance, connect with your local extension office. Most, like the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture will provide free resources like screening sheets that help you assess the health of your herd and plan for reproduction. Here is a free Cattle Record Book resource to get you started. Manage Cattle & Livestock Record Keeping with Farmbrite, Complete Livestock Management Software If you want a comprehensive system for managing your livestock and other farm animals, consider signing up for Farmbrite software. This flexible livestock management software works to simplify breeding, grazing, health records and more for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and more. Use it to manage breeding activity, track and understand your return on investment for every animal, and measure and report key health and growth metrics. The software even lets you automate and track tasks assigned to ranch hands. By Lydia Noyes Interested in learning more about making record keeping easier on your farm? Connect with us today to start your free trial.

Livestock ear tags and tattoos play an integral role in animal identification and disease traceability. These two animal identification methods are widely used in communal and commercial farms across the globe. Other methods of livestock identification include branding, ear notching, painting, and the use of microchips. So, which is better? Livestock ear tags or tattoos? In this article, we’ll examine the pros and cons of livestock ear tagging and tattooing as essential farm management practices. We’ll also detail the steps to follow when tagging or tattooing your livestock. Let’s start with the basics. What is an Ear Tag? An ear tag, also known as an animal identification tag is a small piece of metallic or plastic ear attachment meant for identification purposes. The tag bears the animal identification number, letter, or alphanumerical. The animal identification ID number is usually used to indicate sex, sire, problem, date of birth, and other crucial information about the livestock. Tags are fixed onto the livestock ears using a special pair of pliers also referred to as an applicator. You can buy ear tags and their applicators from farm equipment dealers or online marketplaces. Federal and state ear tags are supplied and regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS. Types of Animal Ear Tags Ear tags differ depending on shape (button-shaped or flag-shaped), size, color (yellow, blue, red), and material (plastic or metallic). Currently, ear tags are classified as electronic or non-electronic. In a move to enhance animal disease traceability, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is engaging the public to approve Radio Frequency Identification RFID ear tags to be the only legitimate form of cattle identification for interstate movement. How to Tag Your Livestock The process of applying ear tags to livestock is quick and simple and you can do it yourself. Indeed, you can follow the manufacturer’s directions and apply the tag appropriately. That said, you should ensure that you choose the appropriate tags for the animal. In addition, ensure that you abide by the county, state, and national animal identification guidelines, especially if the livestock will be moved across states. Below are the steps you should follow when tagging your animals. Assemble the tools Have in place the instruments needed for applying ear tags. These include ear tags, an applicator, disinfectant, and gloves. Also, ensure the tag have information that you want to capture including sire, sex, date of birth, and so forth. Catch and restrain the animal You should restrain the animal to avoid getting injured or applying the tag wrongly. Small livestock such as calves, goats, and sheep can be held and tagged by a single person. Be careful with newborn calves because their mothers are overprotective and might gore you. Perhaps, you can use a calf cage to tag newborn calves without getting gored. For bigger animals, use a halter, nose lead, or head gate to restrict head movement. Determine where to apply the tag Tags shouldn’t be applied too far inside the ear. This site has thicker tissue and might hold the tag tightly resulting in infections such as necrosis. Similarly, tags placed on the extreme exterior part of the ear are likely to be ripped out or snagged. The appropriate location should be between the ribs in the middle one-third of the ear. Disinfect Always disinfect the applicator and site for the tag by wiping it with 70% alcohol or any other disinfectant before starting to apply the ear tag. This way, you will prevent germs from getting into the pierced site. Tag application Once you have everything set, it is now time to apply the tag. Note that if you apply the tag correctly, you will avoid issues such as ear infections or the tag falling off. Moreover, a rightly placed tag eases livestock identification. To apply the tag correctly, ensure the parts of the ear tag and applicator are intact and function as required. An ear tag has two parts; the male and female portion. The male part of the ear tag, also known as the stud is the visual panel while the female part is the button. On the other hand, the jaws of the applicator should be correctly aligned to give the best results. And so, you should clamp them to ascertain whether they are aligned properly. With the applicator over the tagging area, place the male portion on the back and the female portion on the front part of the ear. Position everything correctly then press firmly and release the applicator to tag the animal. A sharp sound (clink) will be produced as the two portions of the ear tag join. Now remove the applicator and confirm that the two portions of the tag are interlocked. Watch the tags After applying the tags, you should keep an eye on the ears of marked animals to identify, prevent or treat problems such as swelling, pain, discharge, or tissue death. Please consider removing the tag to treat the wound if the swelling, discharge, or pain persists. How to Maintain the Ear Tag Applicator? The applicator should be properly cleaned before and after use. It should also be sanitized using an antiseptic or a disinfectant. Keep in mind that sharing ear tag applicators among a group of livestock can easily spread bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases. Pros and Cons of Livestock Ear Tags Pros Ear tags provide an effective way of identifying the livestock. Non-electronic tags are easily visible by the naked eye while electronic tags IED or RFID store critical information about the livestock. RFID provides automated reporting on animal movement which aids in animal disease traceability. The process of applying ear tags is quick and simple. Farmers can do it for themselves. Simple non-electric tags are affordable and might not require trained personnel to apply. Some cost as little as $10. If fixed properly, ear tags can last long enough till the livestock is sold. Ear tags are available for most livestock including cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs Blank ear tags are available for the farmer to write whatever they wish. You can acquire a wide variety of ear tag sizes and colors Cons Wrongly applied ear tags can result in tissue problems, infections, or severe pain. Tags are considered a semi-permanent identification method because they can break or can come out accidentally or by intention. Metallic ear tags are associated with infections in dairy cattle and goats. The applicator must match the brand of tags. Some jurisdictions require that ear tags to purchased annually. Important information about ear tag color The blue color is used by the USDA (at least for the identification of sheep and goats). So, don’t use it. Certain ear tag colors are easier to read and identify than others. Usually, lighter tag colors such as pink, orange, yellow, etc. are easier to read on the animal than dull colors You do not need to change the color of your ear tags; you can use the same color for ages and all animals in your flock. What Is a Livestock Tattoo? Livestock tattooing is the practice of placing permanent marks on the skin of farm animals primarily for identification. A pair of livestock tattoo pliers is used to embed numbers or letter marks on the animal’s skin. A tattoo ink is then applied before puncturing marks. This ink remains visible even after the wound heals. Ear tattooing is regarded as an easy and reliable permanent identification method. According to CALS, tattooing is the favorite permanent identification technique for goat breed associations. Requirements for Livestock Tattooing You will need tattoo pliers and ink, disinfectant, numbers, or letters (used to pierce the skin and leave the needed mark). You might require gloves and a halter as well. Steps to Tattoo Livestock 1. Restrain the animal Restrain the animal. Smaller animals such as kids and calves are held by hand but the large ones need to be restrained using a halter. 2. Identify the site for tattoo Locate an appropriate site for the tattoo. If tattooing the ear, ensure you avoid piercing the veins. For goat breeds with small ears, you can consider tattooing the tail web. 3. Clean Disinfect the site for the tattoo using a clean cloth or cotton wool dipped in rubbing alcohol. Ensure you clean all the wax to get the desired results. 4. Applying tattoo ink Apply ink generously on the site for the tattoo. You should ink an area larger than the tattoo pliers. Also, stick to the part of the ear without too much hair. 5. Place the tattoo Confirm the that animal is restrained and place the tattoo plier in the right position. Avoid piercing the veins as this will lead to bleeding and result in a low-quality tattoo. Then clamp the pliers to puncture the ear. Unclamp, lift, and remove the pliers. 6. Apply more ink Check the piercings and apply more ink into holes to get a visible and long-lasting tattoo. 7. Clean and disinfect the tools After you’re done, clean and disinfect the tattoo pliers for the next use. This way, you will minimize the chances of infecting the next batch of animals. Pros and Cons of Tattoos Pros Tattoos are permanent identification marks that last a lifetime, a reason why it is used by most livestock registries. They are quick, simple, and reliable when compared to other permanent identification techniques such as branding. Tattoos can be used singly or together with other identification methods. Tattoos are appropriate for all livestock. Tattoo application tools can be used for a lifetime Cons Tattoos are unobtrusive and might not be easily visible. Tattoos work well with some specific animal colors Infection may if the tools are not properly cleaned Similarities Between Ear Tags and Tattoos Both are animal identification techniques The tools and the procedure used to apply ear tags and tattoos are almost similar. Both are quick and simple methods of animal identification. In most cases, tags and tattoos are applied on the ear of the animal. Both techniques are approved by the US Department of Agriculture and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Both methods involve piercing the skin. Well done tag and tattoos are easy to read Differences Between Ear Tags and Tattoos Ear tags Tags are conspicuous, easily visible, and readable Tags are semi-permanent animal identification method Are metallic or plastic object containing the identification number is attached to the ear of the livestock Identification Tags are conspicuous, easily visible, and readable Metallic ear tags have been associated with infection, especially in dairy cattle Ink is not used during the tagging process Tags: can accommodate over 15 numbers or letters and are good for keeping records In case of a mistake, you can choose a different location and allow the mistakenly done site to heal. Not suitable for some kinds of livestock such as horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, etc Tattoos Tattoos are a permanent livestock identification method Numbers or letters are punctured on the skin of the livestock Tattoos are inconspicuous and you have to hold the animal to read the marks Tattoo ink is inactive and has no documented effect on the animal Not suitable for some kinds of livestock such as horses, donkeys, dogs, cats, etc. Appropriate for many kinds of livestock Ink is used for tattooing Tattoos may not exceed 7 numbers or letters per ear thus used for registration purposes Mistakes leave a permanent mark on the skin of the livestock. Livestock Ear Tags Vs Tattoos: Which one should you choose? When choosing an animal identification method, you should consider the need you plan to solve. As mentioned above, ear tags are appropriate for keeping personal records. This is because they can fit over fifteen numbers or letters which can capture details about sex, sire, date of birth, and more. On the other hand, tattoos are preferred by livestock registries due to their durability. Note that ear tags might not be appropriate for some animals. That said, ear tags and tattoos are both quick, simple, and reliable animal identification methods. Each of these methods has it pros and con as listed above. Your choice between the two solely lies in what you intend to achieve. Want to keep track of your animals? Take a look at Farmbrite for your Livestock record keeping. You can store tag numbers, EID, or tattoo numbers in Farmbrite to help you keep track of your animals. Try today for free.

Getting Started With Microgreens on Your Farm Microgreens are popular in home gardening, farming, and for chefs worldwide. People have been drawn to them for beauty, flavor, health benefits, and commercial purposes. Also, they are quick food crops and ideal if you have limited space. With so many advantages they are definitely a crop to take a look second look at for your farm. With the advantages, there are however some things you should know before getting started growing microgreens. They do require some knowledge and growing skill. We're going to cover some of the basic tools that you need to make might make growing microgreens less daunting. This guide covers all the essential details you need to get started with microgreens on your farm. What are microgreens? Microgreens are young seedlings of edible plants such as vegetables or herbs. You can harvest them after the cotyledon leaves have developed with one set of true leaves. You can use them as nutrition supplements, flavor, and texture enhancement to other foods. They add sweetness and spiciness to your food, and you can also use them as garnish. Don't confuse microgreens with sprouts. Sprouts germinate in water for one or two days to produce underdeveloped leaves. Microgreens grow in soil and take fewer days to produce leaves than sprouts. Benefits of Microgreens Nutritional benefits One of the essential benefits of Microgreens is they contain valuable vitamins and nutrients. They are more nutritious than their mature counterparts. The high nutrient density is because microgreens are harvested after germination when all nutrients for plant growth are still present. Also, microgreens are grown in a safer environment and don't have food-borne illness risks. Microgreens are packed with flavor Microgreens are a delicious and colorful addition to many dishes. You can use them to add flavor to your food and complement salads, smoothies, and more. Quick and easy to grow It's quick and easy to grow microgreens on your farm. You'll require a few supplies depending on the type of microgreen you'd like to grow. Depending on the variety they area quick crop to grow. You can harvest most varieties of microgreens within 10 to 28 days of sowing the seed. Microgreen growing is space-efficient Growing microgreens allows you to utilize just a small space. You can utilize a limited piece of land (other other area) and get a high yield and do this over and over. You can also use racks to maximize vertical space. Make sure there is sufficient water, light and air circulation for them to thrive. They have many health benefits: Microgreens are nutrient dense because they contain most of the energy the plant has stored in the seed. By harvesting them early the energy is still there and is able to be consumed. That is why there are so many health benefits for eating microgreens which you can pass to your customers. Here are just a few health benefits of microgreens: Microgreen have been shown to contain anti-inflammatory properties that activate proteins that serve as a defense mechanism against oxidative stress. This means the support cardiovascular health since oxidative stress is one of the leading causes of cardiac diseases. Consumption of microgreens is associated with reduced risk many cancers like colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic, lung and breast cancer. They have may help strengthen the immune system. Vitamin C is a vital nutrient for boosting the immune system. Microgreens provide Vitamin C adequately, strengthening the immune system and making you less susceptible to illness. Further, microgreens help protecting bones. Your bones need vitamin K and microgreens contain it in abundance. Lack of Vitamin K will increase the risk of fractures and reduce bone strength. They may help improve digestion. Microgreens contain vitamins C and B, essential to enhance iron absorption. Iron helps to turn food into energy and growth of gut microbes, which help to digest food. They are also a great form of fiber. It's thought that microgreens help in fighting various diseases, such as; Alzheimer's and anemia. Materials needed to grow microgreens. The materials you'll need to start growing microgreens include the following; Seeds You'll need to purchase seeds from your convenience store, gardening center, or online. You can buy them in bulk to save on cost, as you'll receive discounts. However, most microgreens seeds will remain viable for a few years if you store them in a dry, cool area. It's best if you use seeds that are new. Growing medium Soil is one of the popular mediums for growing microgreens. You can mix the soil using potting soil, vermiculite, perlite, and compost. Growing trays Growing trays are essential materials that you'll need when growing microgreens. They are of different sizes, and you can choose the right size depending on the number of seeds you want to grow. Ensure the tray has drainage holes for better farming practices. Growing mats Mats are easy to use and help distribute water evenly in growing trays. A woven hemp mat will hold water well, reducing the number of times you have to water the microgreens. Lighting Microgreens require light to photosynthesize and grow. Typically, they need 6 to 8 hours of light a day after the seed sprouts. If they lack light, microgreens will become pale and weak. Therefore, ensure your farm and your system allows enough lighting for microgreens. Heating mats It's essential to provide ideal conditions for germination seeds when growing microgreens. The roots grow better in warmer conditions, and a heating mat will provide the necessities. It increases the germination rate and the percentage of seeds that will germinate. Also, a heating mat will keep the microgreens warm during winter. Harvesting tools Depending on your microgreens portfolio, you might need scissors or knives/blades for harvesting. Ensure the tools are sharp to make harvesting effective and more enjoyable. pH Up/ pH Down They are chemicals used to adjust the pH of the water. Usually, pH increases pH, and pH down lowers the pH. pH down consists of food-grade phosphoric acid, and pH up contains potassium hydroxide and carbonate. How to grow Microgreens in 9 steps Follow these steps if you want to get started in growing microgreens on your farm. Get ready: Gather all the materials (shown above) needed for growing microgreens. Sanitize: Sanitize your growing trays using warm, soapy water. Also, spray it with hydrogen peroxide and rinse it out after 10 minutes. Lastly, dry off the tray using a clean cloth. Pre-soak the seeds: most seeds require soaking before spreading them over your soil. Submerge your seeds in a jar filled with water for soaking and ensure the water is sufficient. Prepare the trays: Put soil in a tray with drain holes and ensure the soil is fine without large particles like wood or stone to allow the seeds to germinate and develop properly. Spread the soil evenly and gently, tamp it flat, and dampen it by misting it or spraying with water. Spread seeds: Spread the seeds evenly across the tray to avoid overseeding. Ensure there is enough room so all seeds get enough light, water and air. Water and cover: Cover your seeds with a light layer of soil to increase the humidity for better seed germination. Mist the soil evenly and set the tray at a desired germination temperature. Depending on the species, uncover and mist regularly. Avoid excess moisture. Uncover: Uncover the tray when the baby leaves of your plant first emerge. Expose to sunlight: ensure the microgreens get plenty of sun for better development. Check it regularly and water it when necessary until harvest time. Harvest: Most microgreen species are ready for harvest ten days after sowing. You can harvest some types as early as seven days; most plants will not last 14 or 15 days before harvesting. Use the scissors to trim the microgreens above the soil line. Types of Microgreens Almost any type of vegetable or herb can be grown as microgreens. Some of the commonly grown microgreens include; Radish: Radish microgreens are one of the easiest and fastest microgreens to grow. You can harvest them 7 to 10 days after sowing. In addition, radishes are delicious and add some peppery flavor to your food. You can choose not to soak the seeds, but for higher yields, it's better to soak them. Sunflower microgreens: Sunflower microgreens are a prevalent type. It has a nutty flavor and similar taste to a sunflower seed, making it an ideal addition to soups, salads, and sandwiches. Sunflower microgreens grow quickly, and you can harvest them within 7 to 10 days. You'll need to soak the seeds in cold water 8-12 hours before sowing, and they need to be grown in soil. Peas: Peas are a popular type of microgreen and are ideal for beginners. They are sweet with a tender flavor and are a great addition to smoothies, juices, and salads. You can harvest peas after true leaves open, which will happen 10 to 14 days after sowing. However, if wait just a few days more the leaves will get bigger and become more tender and sweet. Try growing them a few different way to see which ones you and your customers like best. Remember to take good notes so you know what you did on each growth cycle and stage. Other types of microgreens include; Cress Chicory Lettuce Basil Arugula Broccoli Cabbage Collard greens Kale Kohlrabi Mustard Issues facing Microgreens growers Growing microgreens is effective, but you can face issues such as; Mold Mold is the most common problem that microgreen growers deal with. Mold appears as black soot or white cobwebs and ruins microgreens. Mold can be caused by a few different things like bad drainage, high room humidity, over-seeding and poor ventilaiton. Excess moisture Excess moisture will cause molds, leading to bacteria. Also, poor drainage in your farm will increase humidity leading to molds. The soil needs to be moist and not drenched. It should be spongy and not muddy if you press your fingers into the ground. Poor air circulation Insufficient airflow leads to mold formation in microgreens. You can install fans near your microgreen growing tray for better air circulation and to reduce humidity, reducing mold formation. Over-seeding Over-seeding causes a high density of stems leading to poor air circulation. Poor airflow will lead to molds.This can also lead to poor, late or inconsistent germination. The seeds might be fighting for resources if you're having germination issues. Falling over There are a few reasons this might happen but check your water (they need a lot) and they might need more light. Watering from the top also might be causing this issue. Spray instead so the water force doesn't make them sag. Tall and Leggy Plants They may need more light. There is a balance with microgreens because you keep them in the dark for some period of time. Blackout time for mocrogreens should be 3-5 days max. Poor Environment Your environment is very important when growing microgreens. Many things can happen if you don have the right humidity, light intensity, nutrients, water and temperature. Take care that they are getting the conditions they need. Taking good notes and being attentive will go a long way here. How to prevent mold on microgreens Apply the following tips to prevent the growth of Mold on microgreens; Clean your container to prevent bacteria or microbes from infecting your microgreens. Sanitize your seed by soaking it. Avoid overseeding for better air circulation. Maintain the proper soil moisture for the microgreens Use substrate pads instead of soil Fungus gnats Fungus gnats are another problem that microgreen growers face. Excess moisture is the leading cause of the issue. Fungus gnats are dangerous as they can carry fungal diseases. You can eliminate the fungus gnats by setting a trap near the microgreens. You can pour an inch of apple vinegar into a cup, add drops of dish soap and mix it thoroughly. Then, cover it with plastic wrap and poke a small hole. Fungus gnats will fly into the trap and won't be able to get out. Washing and storing microgreens A microgreen harvest season is an exciting time for a farmer. But first, you need to learn how to wash and store microgreens properly. Washing microgreens You'll need to wash microgreens whether you applied pesticides or your growing medium. Washing helps to remove harmful bacteria, yeast, and more. You can wash microgreens using various techniques, such as Rinse and pat with a paper towel; Rinse your microgreen with cold water and pat them thoroughly and gently using a paper towel. Dunk in water and shake it off; if you grow microgreens on a small scale, this technique will work well for you. Dunk the top inches of the microgreen into a bowl of clean water and shake off the excess moisture. Salad spinner; Put your microgreens in a basket of your salad spinner, rinse them with cold water, and spin. Remove excess water and remove the microgreens and dry them. Storing microgreens Microgreens are best when fresh as possible. But if you're going to the store, you must learn how to do that effectively. Depending on the species, you can store them for 7 to 21 days. Avoid wetting the microgreens in the refrigerator to prevent a stinky and mushy mess. Use a paper towel and keep them covered until you're ready to use them. If you're marketing the microgreens using bags, leave ample air that increases the size of the bag to protect the fragile shoots. You can use Farmbrite to track the growing process, PH levels, nutrients, success rates, storage, rate of germination and rate of loss as well as many other things. Take a look for free. Final thoughts Growing microgreens is a fun and rewarding activity. The activity is beneficial and a great way to utilize your farm. The process is easy, but there are pitfalls to avoid and steps to prevent getting it wrong. The steps are straightforward; even a first-time grower can grow successful microgreens on their farms. You can farm them for domestic use or commercial purposes to make money. But regardless of the reason for growing microgreens, the above guide will be helpful to get you started successfully.

Cattle body condition scores (BCS) uses a 9-point scale to describe the relative fatness of a steer or cow. It is an effective management tool to evaluate nutritional and health status of your herd. To access cattle body condition score, producers can use a number system to objectively describe the cattle's condition and fat reserves through a visually assessment. BCS provides for an alternative to evaluate a herd’s health without weighing and measuring the animals directly and is closely related to reproductive efficiency and is often a more reliable indicator of nutritional status than only body weight. How to calculate cattle body condition score The following are key areas for evaluation for beef cows: backbone, ribs, hips, pin bones (pins), tailhead, and brisket. The following is a description of the 1 to 9 body condition scoring system where a BCS 1 cow is extremely thin and emaciated and a BCS 9 cow is very fat and obese. Assign a cow a condition score in whole numbers (3, 4, 5, etc.). Cow Body Condition Scoring Table Visual description of key body locations for each body condition score: (1) Muscles of loin, rump, and hindquarter are concave, indicating loss of muscle tissue. Adapted from Pruit and Momont, South Dakota State University, 1988 What is the ideal body condition score for breeding cattle Before breeding cows it is recommend that cows have a good condition score of 5 or higher and a body condition score of 6 or better at calving. What is the target body condition score (BCS) for beef cattle? Beef cattle should have a BCS between 5-7 for optimum health and wellness. We hope this article has been helpful to learn more about calculating Body Condition Score in your cattle herd. Below are some other free resources. Other Cattle Resources: Body condition score guide for beef cows Free Cow Gestation Calculator Cattle Gestation Table Free Downloadable 74 page Cattle Record Keeping Book Beginners Guide to Buying Cattle Guide to Keeping Livestock Records Estimating Cattle Hay and Feed Needs Top Breeds of Cattle for your Ranch

So you want to hire a few people for your farm. Finding the right person for the job is hard for any business but it is especially hard to find good help on the farm. Farm workers need to be very reliable workers and loyal (and stick around for the whole season) and don't mind manual labor and dirt. Some other things that you might want in your farm laborers are a can-do attitude where they are not afraid to try new things and a logical way of thinking so they can figure things out on their own. Do you have a few more you'd like to add to the list? Write them all down so that you can communicate that to your team who might be interviewing. Hiring for your farm doesn't have to be a chore. Here are a few tips to help you find the best farm workers and field hands. Provide farm worker candidates with clear expectations Give the low-down on the job and your expectations. If you're able to communicate what they need to accomplish and what is expected you can find out a few important things. Do they have the skills you need? Are they the right person for the job? Are they are going to be happy working for you? Are they going to stay? (so you don't have to repeat this process as often.) Develop a farm worker hiring plan Before you start talking to any candidates, it's always good idea to develop a hiring plan that outlines the number of workers you need, when you needed them, how long you'll need them, and key skills they are required to have. Preparing for farm worker interview: Define the job: Make a list of qualifications needed and tasks that you are needing to be done, as well as any physical labor requirements. Review your financial plan and budget for the season and settle on hourly rates. Define your hiring plan and schedule and determine how much lead time you need to find the right workers. Make sure you have all your company legal documents up to date and you are able to hire someone. Will they be a contractor? A W-4 or W-2 employee? - Know the laws and requirements for different worker types and how they might effect you. Do you plant to sponsor H2A visas for for seasonal or temporary workers? Are these volunteer / WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) opportunities? Create an employment application that they fill out during the interview. Have a follow up plan and timeline for hiring. What does the interview process look like? Who are they meeting with? Develop and document a training plan that covers farm operations, day-to-day responsibilities for the role and any key safety and compliance requirements. Promoting your farm work positions In order to find the workers you need it's important to promote the positions you're looking to fill. Depending on where your farm is located and the types of roles you need to fill there are various resources online to help with promoting and souring season farm workers. These range from online classifieds like Craigslist to job boards, like Indeed or farm job boards to using new online tools for gig workers and WWOOFing specific sites. Do your research for your region and talk to other local farmers to see what's worked best for them. Interviewing and testing for motivation It's important that you find the person who is best suited for this job. That might not be a close friend or even a friend of a friend. Lots of people will tell you whatever you want to hear to get the job but you should make sure that they are motivated to work in this type of job and have the qualifications. Farm worker interview questions Of course you want to talk about the job and a potential farm employee is qualified for the job but there is a lot more that you can find out and save yourself many hassles down the road. Go over the application with them and ask questions about past jobs, time off and other things that are listed. Have you ever done this type of work before? Go over the jobs they sited on their resume. Ask questions and get them talking about the job, what they liked, what they didn't, why they left. What skills and experiences set you apart from other applicants? What was the hardest day you've had working on a farm before? How did you handle it? What did you learn? Are they familiar with (and have experience using) the require equipment? Have they worked with similar crops and/or livestock? Do they know their way around common farm tasks? What was one of your favorite jobs doing farm work? What are your expectations of this job? Expand and talk about the things that they talk about and anything that comes up that concerns you. What are your expectations of your boss/co-workers/anyone else they will be working with? Do you have a reliable vehicle to get to work? How long are you looking to hold this job? (Talk about seasonal work if needed) How have you succeeded at your job in the past? And when have you failed (and how did you handle it?) It's also good to note what questions you are not allowed to ask. Things like age and race are off limits. Here is a helpful list of interview questions that are off limits to ask. Provide follow up plan and next steps It's a good plan to know when you're going to follow up with candidates (and how) before you start interviewing. When will you be getting back to applicants? What can they expect? What is the process? When do you need to them start? Do you have a good contact number for them? If someone nailed the interview and they meet all your key requirements, there's no reason to wait to make them an offer. It's better to hire a great worker on the spot than potentially losing them to someone else. Be prepared for your new team There are many resources out there that give information on hiring and firing. Here is a link to a guide that covers farm hiring from A to Z and tackles many of the hard parts of hiring/firing. The guide covers: Recruitment Farm worker hiring Farm worker on-boarding and training Mentoring Farm operations Worker retention Termination. Finally, be part of the team. Sure, you're the boss but it shows a lot if you work a long side your employees at times. You could also plan employee fun time (when there's time) to bond as a team and show your employees that you care. ​ Best of luck with hiring for the coming growing season!

Chicken Tractors Benefits and Build Guidelines Looking to give your backyard chickens all the benefits of free-ranging while keeping them safe from predators and other potential harm? A chicken tractor might be the solution. These trendy livestock systems let you safely transport chickens around the yard for consistent access to fresh pasture space. There’s a lot to consider when setting up your own—here’s a primer for getting started. What is a Chicken Tractor? Though designs can vary, all chicken tractors are floor-less, mobile chicken coops. They are called “tractors” because they allow the chickens within to scratch up the top few inches of soil, like a plow, looking for seeds, sprouts, bugs, and other treats. By moving the tractor every few days, you give the flock continuous access to fresh pasture space. Chicken tractors will work for egg layers, meat birds, and even baby chicks. Many farmers use them for ducks, turkeys and other poultry depending on space. Why Raise Chickens on Pasture? Four Benefits of Chicken Tractors. Compared to traditional coops, are chicken tractors really worth the extra effort? These portable poultry containment systems have many benefits you might want to look at for your farm. 1. Healthier Diet for Birds—and You! Chickens raised on pasture eat more than pre-made feed. Instead, they spend their days pecking through the grass for protein-rich bugs and seeds. Not only can this make the birds healthier in the long run, but they will pass the benefits on to you through their nutrient-rich eggs or meat. Even better, it can help cut down on feed costs overall. 2. Boosts Soil Health Keeping birds on pasture offers benefits for your backyard. Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen, a natural fertilizer that aids the growth of green foliage. It’s their natural habit to scratch up the ground, which aerates the soil, disperses their droppings, and adds a boost of necessary nutrients. And, since the tractor gets moved every few days, you don’t have to worry about overloading the soil. 3. Protects Chickens from Predators Chickens attract many predators, meaning you risk losing your flock if you don’t keep them protected. A chicken tractor offers the best of both worlds by keeping birds contained while providing continuous access to fresh pasture space. Another benefit? Chickens in a tractor can’t freely roam your yard, which protects your wood chips and flower beds from their scratching. 4. Reduces Chicken Pest Populations Keep your chickens on pasture, and you may soon notice you’re dealing with fewer insect problems in the garden or orchard. In fact, many farmers move their birds into their garden during the off-season so they can snatch up insects hibernating in the soil and reduce infestations the following year. Chicken Tractor Features There are as many designs for chicken tractors today as people who use them. This means you have creative license to design your system as you see fit. But even so, the majority will include these features. Moveable All chicken tractors should be easily portable. If they are made to stay in one spot, they are essentially just chicken coops. They may be built with skids or wheels for transportation. Four wheels are usually unnecessary—you can get by with two on one end. Adequate Space Chickens require space to move around without crowding each other. Generally, plan to provide at least four square feet per egg layer and two feet for meat chickens. Make sure it includes enough roosts for all the birds to ensure they stay comfortable as they sleep. Nesting boxes are also necessary if you’re raising layers. Access to the Ground Most chicken tractors are “floor-less,” which gives the birds direct access to the pasture space below. Otherwise, they won’t be able to forage or spread manure. Even better—it minimizes coop cleanup for you! Protection from Predators and the Elements Chicken tractors should provide an enclosed box for the birds to get out of the sun and away from potential predators—especially hawks and coyotes. The perimeter of the tractor should be chicken wire to keep the birds in and bird-eaters out. Chicken Tractor Build Plans and Inspiration Jump online, and you’ll see dozens of different versions of chicken tractors. Some farmers make theirs from scrap materials such as used pallets or repurposed cars, while others go the prefab route and purchase them from trusted manufacturers. Before you finalize your design preferences, consider the merits of these popular designs. 1. Floorless Portable Field Shelter First up, is the floorless chicken tractor. This design offers a relatively large area for birds to graze, easy access to feed as well as protection. We've added some examples of how other farmers are building floorless chicken tractors below. • Polyface Farms Pastured Broilers Tractor: Regenerative farmer Joel Salatin keeps his meat birds in 10 ft. X 12 ft. X 2 ft. floorless, portable field shelters that fit 75 birds each. • Mason Dixon Acres PVC Chicken Tractor: Popular YouTubers demonstrate how to build lightweight and cheap structures for their birds. 2. Mobile Chicken Coops If you're looking for a more traditional coop just on wheels, take a look at the mobile chicken coops. These give your hens a little more protection, they come with the nesting boxes inside and might hold up a little better over the long haul depending on how they're made. • Sadie Lane Brooder Tractor: A two-story coop that offers a place to nest and added protection as well as floor space for birds to roam. • Barn Tractor: For those who prefer a more traditional chicken coop design, this barn tractor offers all the benefits of a permanent structure, but with wheels. 3. Greenhouse or Hoop Coops If winter is harsh in your climate you might want to consider a hoop coop. These are very versatile, can be light-weight and large. You can also make them with lot's of different materials to wrap or protect them for the season. • Sixth Day Ranch Hoop Coop: Large enough to walk inside, this lightweight coop easily fits 50 or more meat birds. • Grit and Grace Cattle Panel Hoop Design: This video gives you all the directions, tools and motivation for your hoop design build. 4. A-Frame Chicken Tractor Coop and photo credit: Kelsey Jorissen Olesen of Green Willow Homestead • BGS, A-Frame Chicken Tractor: The A-frame is light weight and gives predator and weather protection to your hens. You can always add a small moveable chicken fence around this for added protection. • Green Willow, Homestead, Mobile A-Frame Chicken Tractor If you want specific directions on how to build your coops, take a look at their site. The design isn't free but sometimes it saves you time starting with the whole picture before you start your build. 5. A little something else If you've tried some of these other coop plans with poor results it might be time to get creative with one of these other options. • The Suscovich Chicken Tractor:The paid step-by-step instructions on this tractor mixes a little A-frame, a little hoop house and a little floorless tractor all together into one. How to manage chicken tractor: Now that you have your tractor, one key piece to remember is the management and movement of the chickens or other types of poultry you might keep there. You want to keep up to date records and you don't want to over-graze. Movement: You want to move your tractor often so the chickens can take advantage of new areas to graze and scratch. Make sure that the tractor you build is one you can move easily. That might be with a truck or by-hand, it depends on the size and the space you have. Just remember to keep that in mind. Management: Keeping your poultry in a chicken tractor is one part of tending a flock—you’ll also need to track where you put it to ensure your birds get regular access to fresh pasture space, how long they've been there, what other feed you've given them, how much they weigh, how much they've cost you and more. One method for managing your poultry is through software, like Farmbrite. This easy-to-use program makes it possible to manage your entire agriculture business in one place. It provides insight into ways you can improve farm productivity, reduce inefficiencies, and increase production and sales. Don't take my word for it though, you can try for free here. As you can see there are a lot of options out there for chicken tractors but hopefully this article has given you the information you need to get started and manage chicken tractors on your farm.

With the expansion of mobile technology and the ever increasing access to reliable internat service there are more and more mobile apps being developed to support every type of organization. Farms and ranches are no exception. Many of these mobile apps are designed to help to collect information and determine issues that might be coming up for farmers in their fields, soil, weather and other updates concerning their land and crops. This can all be collected on their smartphone and used to problem solve for you.     There are some specifically, that we thought are helpful. They are apps working with weed and pest identification, weather, field mapping, commodity pricing, irrigation tools, pesticide application charts and more. Some people love all the tech and gadgets and of course, some people do not. Wherever you land on that spectrum here are some mobile apps in the agricultural technology realm to check out that just might help you be more successful this year. ​ AGriMobile This app features commodity news, weather, local cash grain quotes and charts, as well as local news. Xarvio A scouting app that identifies weeds, recognizes diseases, analyses leaf damage and field stress, crop emergence analysis and shows the nitrogen uptake. FarmDog App Scout your fields for issues, share field observations and treatment decisions. Field check App View pesticide applicators of any kind to locate specialty crop and beehive locations from their mobile device or tablet. FieldNet mobile This is a remote irrigation management tool. You can remotely change your irrigation as it shows irrigation pivots. Aphid Speed Scout Is an app through the University of Nebraska. It helps you track your aphid counts on soybeans (or other crops). Pl@ntNet This is a plant identification tool. You can sort by your location what types of weeds you find. Ag PHD App This app helps you identify problems in your field specifically with weeds and insects. It gives you the name, a photo and some control recommendations. Fambrite While you're checking out the mobile technology please keep in mine our software, Farmbrite. Our farm management app lets you track farm mapping and planning, weather updates, organization, and spending all while on the go. There are more and more agricultural apps popping up all the time with the goal of helping farmers and ranchers identify problems and solve them quickly.