RafterCSJ Enterpises has released their new animal tracking software. After
18 years of
running a small farm, and struggling to keep track of all of the details
involved in effective management of their animals, Chuck and Sandy Johnson
decided to computerize their farm.
After looking at a number of the systems available, they found that none of
them met their needs. The existing systems were too expensive, too
complicated, or too specialized to meet their needs. After some urging from
friends and other small farmers, they convinced Chuck, a computer
professional for the last twenty years, to design a simple, easy to use
program. The program had to be easy for non-computer people and must track
the things that were important to them.
The program had to keep track of the medical history of each animal, keep
track of who the animal was bred to, when the animal was due, and a list of
the offspring of each animal. The program should also be able to display a
picture of the animal.
Later an accounting system was added to simplify the bookkeeping for
the farm
After three years of designing and testing they have finally come up with
“MyFarm Animal Management System”. The system is written in Visual Basic 6.0
and uses an Access database. The program comes on a CD along with a 85+ page
bound manual, and
a built in Help system, with step by step instructions on how to use the
program. The program has been tested on Win 95, Win 98, Win 2000 and Win XP
Home Edition, Win
XP Pro, and Windows Vista.
Among
the features of this program are:
|
*Animal History for each animal
*Herd History for the entire farm
*Pictures of the animals
*Daily Reminders
*Status of an animal
*Basic information on the animal
*Basic Accounting system
*Multiple Database capability
*Reports including
*Livestock listings for the farm
*Owner reports for various family members
*Offspring reports
*Due Date Reports
*Display Cards (Stall Cards)
*Three and four Generation Pedigree
*Animal History
*Sales Lists
*Tattoo – Brand reports
*Profit and Loss Statement
*For Sale Flyers
*Breeding History
*Animal ID Listing |
How Can this program Help YOU?
The program had to be flexible, since most small farms have a variety of
animals. MyFarm has a due date calculator that can figure the due date on
Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Sheep, Goats, Cows, Llamas,
Pigs, and Horses. When you use this calculator, it figures out
when the animal is due based on the date the animal is bred and stores it in
the status field of the animal. It also sets up a reminder, so that seven
days before the animal is due, the program will notify you. This is great
for someone who works outside the farm. You know in advance when each animal
is due and can move the animal in to a stall or barn ready to give birth.
This
reminder system can also be set to remind you of any activity that you want.
Say for example that you want to be reminded when the next time you need to
worm your animals (always an important event on any farm). You can make an
entry as to when it needs to be done again. You can set how far in advance
you would like to be reminded. Then, each day you check the program and it
will tell you what you have going on and when.
For people with children in 4H or FFA, this program can prove invaluable to
assist with the necessary record keeping. The Animal History will not only
keep track of the shots or medicines an animal receives but can also be used
to record weight gains, feed purchases, or any other item that relates to
their particular animal. This can then be printed out and made part of their
permanent record.
The
animal history can also be used when selling an animal. Think of the impact
of presenting the new or prospective owner with a printed medical history of
an animal that you are trying to sell. The buyer need not wonder when and
how or even if an animal had been wormed. Add in the display card with the
animal’s picture and a pedigree and it may well be the difference between
making a sale or losing it.
It can provide the edge for your animals versus an animal with
no history.
If you
are like many of the small farmers in the world, we like to display the
result of our efforts. This means that we usually end up taking our animals
to the local fairs and shows. During these affairs there is the usual
herdsmanship judging where the owners are judged on their displays and
presentations about the animals. This program prints a color display card
with the animal’s picture, birth date, sire, dam and owner. These display
cards, or stall cards as they are commonly called, always help give your
displays a more professional appearance.
To get
the full impact that this program can make to your farming activities,
download the free trial version of the program. It will operate for a full
thirty days, giving you the ability to use all of the features of the
program before you decide. You can get this trial version by going to
http://raftercsj.com/html/myfarm.html .
Give it a try. What have you got to lose?
