For producers looking to move beyond paper records, CattleMax offers a cloud-based record-keeping system that helps manage more than just cattle. Kristen Evans, director of operations at CattleMax, said in a conversation with associate farm reporter Carli Davenport that the program can help producers organize cattle, equipment, pastures, financial information, and ranch tasks in one place. “CattleMax is going to be a full record-keeping operation for your ranch,” Evans said. “So, it’s not just cattle. It’s going to be equipment, pastures, some finances, and just keeping up with your tasks.”
The program also connects with major industry groups and organizations and can work with breed associations for registered cattle producers. “It’s a full record-keeping program that’ll keep up with your breeding and production records and work with your breed associations as well for those registered producers,” Evans said.
Moving Beyond Paper Records
For producers still relying on notebooks, filing cabinets or spreadsheets, Evans said CattleMax is designed to provide one central location for ranch information. “It’s going to be your one-stop shop,” she said. “You’re not going to be looking for the notebook in the pickup truck or finding the registration papers in the filing cabinet. All your records in one place.”
Because the program is cloud-based, producers can access their information from different devices. “It’s accessible on any device, so it’s all cloud-based,” Evans said. “Your phone, tablet, so whether you’re on the go or in the house on your laptop, you’ll be able to access that at any point in time.”
Using Data to Make Culling Decisions
Evans said keeping detailed records can also give producers information they can use when making management decisions, particularly as cattle prices remain strong and producers evaluate their herds. “A perfect one that everyone is familiar with is with cattle prices the way they are now,” Evans said. “Cull cows are big. CattleMax is going to help you show which cows need to be culled.”
By keeping track of a cow’s offspring and production history, producers can identify animals that may not be performing as well as others in the herd. “If you kept up with their offspring, you’re going to be able to pull those reports and say, hey, she has not produced. She’s on the bottom part of my production cycle,” Evans said.
Evans said those records can help producers identify which cattle should be removed from the herd, while also providing management information beyond individual animals. “You’ll be able to kind of pull those off and make better decisions that way, and that’s just on the cattle side of things,” she said.
Records Can Extend to Pastures and Hay
CattleMax can also be used to help producers keep track of other parts of their operation, including pasture rotations and hay production. “Even with if you’re doing pasture rotations, just seeing kind of what your inventory is and see how your production records are on the hay side as well,” Evans said.
The goal is to give producers a broader view of their operation by keeping different types of records together.
Designed for Producers of All Ages
For producers who may not consider themselves tech-savvy, Evans said CattleMax is designed to be accessible regardless of age or experience with technology. “Anybody can use it,” she said. “We have producers that are in their 80s or more, and then you have, you know, people’s grandchildren using it on their phones and tablets.”
Evans said producers can decide how much information they want to enter into the system, depending on what they want to get out of it. “What we tell people is what you put in is what you get out,” Evans said. “So you can just use it for inventory. You can go in and put every ounce of data that you can possibly put. It’s totally up to you what you put in.”
For producers considering the transition from paper records or another record-keeping system, Evans said they do not have to make the change alone. “Don’t be scared of it,” Evans said. “Like I said, phone, tablet, laptop, whatever you’re comfortable with is where you’d put all your information.”
She added that CattleMax can also help producers make the transition from existing systems. “We’re glad to help onboard as well,” Evans said. “So if they do have paper records or Excel or coming from another program, we’ll help them through all that as well.”
